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A Prickly Pear Studio
SaaS Products & Mobile Apps

SaaS products and mobile apps that make daily work simpler.

A Prickly Pear builds focused SaaS tools, Slack bots, and native mobile apps. We prioritize predictable behavior, fast interactions, and codebases that stay easy to maintain.

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13+ Active Products Slack Bolt Framework Kotlin Android Jetpack
Live Studio Demos
#ops-duty TurnHero Bot
/turn Today at 9:00 AM

Current hero on duty: Sarah Chen.

View 8 Slack Bots

Built with TypeScript, Slack Bolt, and Cloud Firestore.

Pragmatic, friendly software

Zero unnecessary layers. Built to run cleanly.

About Our Studio

Engineering software that feels dependable and pleasant.

A Prickly Pear started with a straightforward premise: software products should do their jobs reliably without demanding constant upkeep. Whether running inside a Slack channel or resting in your pocket on Android, our applications aim to make daily tasks feel lighter.

01

Direct Utility

Every tool solves one real problem. We avoid multi-tier dashboard configurations when a simple slash command or single screen delivers what people need.

02

Pragmatic Codebases

We write modular TypeScript, modern Kotlin, and Astro components. Keeping dependencies lean ensures our applications stay stable over months and years of operation.

03

Friendly Experience

Utility software should never feel sterile. We use cheerful color palettes, clear copywriting, and thoughtful error messages so interactions feel welcoming.

Our Production Workflow

From initial operational friction to long-term maintenance.

Click steps to preview

Step 1: Direct Scoping

We isolate one real operational bottleneck. Instead of building multi-tier admin dashboards with endless menus, we identify whether a single Slack slash command or a focused mobile screen delivers what people need.

Our Software Catalog

Independent tools and applications maintained across our monorepo.

In-House Products
S

Slack Applications

Slack Bolt APIs, interactive modal forms, operational queues, ephemeral message handling, and scheduled team workflows.

  • • Slack Bolt JS / TS
  • • Block Kit UI Kit
  • • Event Subscriptions
M

Native Mobile Tools

Android applications built with modern Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, localized SQLite databases, and clean architecture boundaries.

  • • Kotlin & Jetpack
  • • Jetpack Compose
  • • SQLite / Room Storage
W

Web & Cloud Systems

Static site delivery with Astro and Tailwind CSS, Firebase Hosting deployments, Cloudflare DNS configurations, and email routing.

  • • Astro v5 SSG
  • • Tailwind CSS v4
  • • Firebase & Cloudflare
Product Catalog

SaaS apps, custom websites, desktop utilities, and mobile tools.

Explore independent applications and websites created and maintained by our studio, including website development projects, desktop HUD utilities, native Android tools, Slack workflow bots, and interactive web tools.

Showing all 16 projects

Showing all 16 projects

Website Development #berryessa-garden

Berryessa Community Garden

Accessible community portal, interactive orchard map, and live CMS for San José gardeners

Author: Elena Vazquez Ayala

Designed and developed by Elena Vazquez Ayala, this senior-friendly community garden website and real-time management portal serves the City of San José Berryessa District with an illustrated 62-tree orchard map, bulletin board, and neighbor stories.

Key Highlights

  • Senior-accessible WCAG AAA reading experience with one-tap A / A+ / A++ text scaling and print-ready bulletins
  • Illustrated 62-tree community orchard map with custom botanical SVG stickers and live tree availability status
  • In-place visual Content Management System (CMS) with Google Sign-In for garden coordinators
  • Protected Firestore confidential orchard roster separating public tree status from private gardener assignments
  • Shareable clean URLs for announcements and gardener stories with multi-photo galleries and client-side WebP compression

Technologies

berryessacommunitygarden.org
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Desktop Apps #karaoketime

KaraokeTime

Floating lyrics prompter & RGB audio visualizer for Spotify on Windows

A floating, minimalist Spotify-style prompter HUD that shows synchronized lyrics with a smooth 60 FPS continuous marquee and audio-reactive RGB visualizer on Windows.

Key Highlights

  • Zero-login automatic detection using native Windows System Media Transport Controls (SMTC)
  • Ultra-smooth continuous right-to-left marquee flowing at 60 FPS with synchronized lyrics via LRCLIB
  • Audio-reactive 36-microcell RGB LED visualizer bar dancing to system bass and beats
  • 6 distinct color profiles including Cass Golden Rose, Rainbow Chroma Wave, Spotify Neon Green, and Cyberpunk
  • Always-on-Top floating miniplayer with Spotify-style dotted grab handles (⋮⋮) and mouse-wheel font zoom

Technologies

karaoketime.apricklypear.studio
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Mobile Apps #sammen

Sammen (ITTTT)

Private native Android space for two partners

A private native Android application built for two partners with real-time touch streaming, private chat channels, and shared checklists.

Key Highlights

  • Secure 1-to-1 pairing using 6-character Crockford Base32 invite codes with 24-hour expiration
  • ThumbKiss real-time touch streaming with proximity detection and synchronized heartbeat haptics
  • Live Sketch collaborative canvas with quadratic Bezier curve smoothing and direct PNG export to chat
  • Private chat channels with upward pagination, emoji reactions, and vanish secret mode
  • Categorized shared checklists and anniversary countdown counters with leap year clamping

Technologies

itttt.app
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Mobile Apps #remindme

remindme!

Voice-first Android reminder app powered by Gemini AI

A voice-first Android reminder application powered by Google Gemini AI that converts spoken requests into exact device alarms.

Key Highlights

  • Voice-first audio recording interface parsed by Gemini 2.5 Flash through Firebase Vertex AI
  • Confirmation cards summarizing title, date, time, and recurrence before setting system alarms
  • Exact system alarms via Android AlarmManager with Snooze and Dismiss actions
  • Partner reminder sharing via deep links with sender attribution
  • Local-first persistence using Room database with optional Cloud Firestore sync

Technologies

remindme.masiosare.dev
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Mobile Apps #bookish

Bookish

Quiet, cozy space for reading clubs with chapter pacing and spoiler-free discussions

A quiet reading club application crafted for friends to read together, set chapter deadlines, and share reflections without algorithmic noise.

Key Highlights

  • Private invite-only reading circles with customized club shelves
  • Gentle chapter milestones and reading pace reminders
  • Quiet, spoiler-protected discussion threads per chapter
  • Warm editorial paper-inspired color themes crafted for focused reading
  • Multiplatform availability across web and native Android

Technologies

studio.bebookish.club
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Slack Bots #turnhero

TurnHero

Automated duty roster and rotation bot for Slack

An automated duty roster and rotation bot for Slack that updates native user groups and manages shift swaps.

Key Highlights

  • Automated Slack user group member synchronization on daily or weekly schedules
  • Slash command /turn returning current on-duty heroes across active rotations
  • Forward schedule command /turn next projecting duty rosters 14 days in advance
  • Shift swap modal allowing teammates to propose and confirm duty handovers
  • Out-of-office detection that skips absent teammates and assigns the next person

Technologies

turnhero-masiosare.web.app
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Slack Bots #guestwatch

GuestWatch

Slack security and license auditor for guest accounts

A Slack security and license auditor that detects inactive contractor accounts and computes monthly seat savings.

Key Highlights

  • Automated member scans using cursor-paginated Slack users.list to detect guest accounts
  • Inactivity tracking evaluated against configurable 30, 60, or 90 day thresholds
  • Potential monthly savings calculator based on deactivated multi-channel guest seats
  • Weekly administrative briefing delivered to a designated channel with one-click actions
  • Pre-deactivation grace alerts and whitelist exceptions for approved contractors

Technologies

Web app in development Coming Soon
Slack Bots #dibsqueue

DibsQueue

Mutex lock and waiting queue manager for Slack

A mutex lock and waiting queue manager for Slack that prevents deployment collisions on shared staging environments.

Key Highlights

  • Resource reservation via slash command /dibs claim with custom durations
  • Automated FIFO waiting queue via /dibs wait for occupied resources
  • Release timers with a 10-minute warning before unlocking and notifying the next user
  • Slack App Home tab showing real-time resource status, held locks, and queue lengths
  • Interactive buttons to claim, extend, release, or wait without typing commands

Technologies

dibsqueue-masiosare.web.app
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Slack Bots #celebratebot

CelebrateBot

Automated birthday and work anniversary celebrations for Slack

An automated celebration app for Slack that announces birthdays and anniversaries with scheduled morning cards.

Key Highlights

  • Scheduled morning announcement cards posted at 9:00 AM in the local workspace timezone
  • Interactive wish buttons for instant reactions such as high fives and virtual coffee
  • Self-service onboarding modal for employees to record birth date and hire start date
  • Privacy controls allowing employees to hide birth year or opt out of announcements
  • Idempotent delivery using composite event keys preventing duplicate notifications

Technologies

Web app in development Coming Soon
Slack Bots #coffeepair

CoffeePair

Opt-in team connection and coffee chat bot for Slack

An opt-in team connection bot for Slack that introduces coworkers for casual coffee chats through direct messages.

Key Highlights

  • Opt-in participation managed via channel membership or personal App Home toggle
  • Private 3-way direct messages introducing matched pairs with conversational prompts
  • Graph-based non-repeat pairing algorithm checking against the previous 5 rounds
  • Flexible pairing schedules with weekly, biweekly, or monthly rounds
  • Snooze controls in App Home and dynamic trio formation for odd participant counts

Technologies

Web app in development Coming Soon
Slack Bots #anonpulse

AnonPulse

Anonymous feedback and suggestion tool for Slack

An anonymous feedback and suggestion tool for Slack allowing employees to submit questions under pseudonyms.

Key Highlights

  • Anonymous submission modal opened via /anon slash command or message shortcut
  • Generated animal pseudonyms attached to public messages to protect identity
  • Channel routing directed to specific topics such as Executive AMA or Engineering
  • Two-way anonymous relay forwarding public thread replies into private direct messages
  • Encrypted author identity storage in Cloud Firestore with zero payload leakage

Technologies

anonpulse.apricklypear.studio
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Slack Bots #snappoll

SnapPoll

Fast inline Slack polling with real-time progress bars

A fast interactive polling application for Slack featuring dynamic progress bars and anonymous voting.

Key Highlights

  • Fast inline poll creation syntax using /poll with quoted questions and options
  • Real-time ASCII progress bar updates reflecting votes without channel clutter
  • Cryptographic anonymous voting mode hashing user identifiers with per-poll salt
  • Single-choice and multi-choice voting configurations
  • Hidden results mode revealing vote counts only after poll conclusion

Technologies

snappoll.apricklypear.studio
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Slack Bots #stalemate

StaleMate

Slack channel governance and inactive channel archival

A Slack channel governance bot that scans for inactive channels, provides grace warnings, and archives idle channels.

Key Highlights

  • Configurable inactivity threshold scans detecting channels without recent messages
  • 7-day grace warning cards posted directly in candidate inactive channels
  • One-click interactive button resetting channel activity and keeping it active
  • Whitelist protection preventing core channels from automated archival
  • Administrative audit logging with one-click unarchive actions in admin channels

Technologies

Web app in development Coming Soon
Utilities & Games #qrcode

Make A QR Code

Web QR code generator with short links and analytics

A web-based QR code generator supporting URLs, Wi-Fi networks, and vCards with vector SVG rendering and analytics.

Key Highlights

  • Client-side vector SVG and high-resolution PNG rendering via HTML5 canvas
  • Specialized input schemas for website URLs, Wi-Fi credentials, and vCards
  • Visual customization for dot shapes, corner eye styling, and color gradients
  • Dynamic QR codes backed by server-side HTTP 302 redirection
  • Dashboard tracking scan counts, device platforms, and visitor locations

Technologies

makeaqrcode.app
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Utilities & Games #anyhuman

AnyHuman

Historical demographic life decision role-playing game

A historical decision game exploring human demographic probabilities across historical eras and life milestones.

Key Highlights

  • Lottery of Birth generating mortal origin across six historical eras
  • Childhood survival checks reflecting era-specific infant mortality probabilities
  • Life decision card engine balancing vigor, kinship, wealth, and fate meters
  • Interval partitioning algorithm calculating exact human ID out of 109 billion
  • Archival memorial scorecard generating downloadable life chronicles

Technologies

anyhumanever.com
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Utilities & Games #territory-pong

Territory Pong

Retro arcade boundary conquest web game

A retro arcade game combining paddle physics with territory conquest and dynamic boundary mechanics.

Key Highlights

  • Polygonal arenas supporting 2-player duels, 3-player triangles, and 4-player quads
  • Dual field simulations featuring spring-mass membranes and pushable 3D blocks
  • Radial deformable boundary web flexing and cratering on high-speed ball impacts
  • Solo play against predictive trajectory AI and local shared-screen multiplayer
  • Five distinct game power-ups including multi-ball frenzy and smash boost mechanics

Technologies

territory-pong-masiosare.web.app
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Coming Soon Future Openings

Join us in building focused everyday tools.

A Prickly Pear builds and maintains dedicated SaaS products and native mobile apps. While our core team is compact and we do not have active openings today, we plan to grow our engineering and product design team as our catalog expands.

Future roles and disciplines on our radar:

Inquire About Future Roles Send background notes or portfolio links directly to hi@apricklypear.studio
Product Support & Feedback

Questions, feedback, or need product support?

Need help with one of our Slack apps or mobile tools? Have a feature request, bug report, or partnership question? Send us an email.

Official Studio Email

hi@apricklypear.studio

Replies usually arrive within 24 to 48 business hours.

Quick email subjects:

Product Support Feature Request Partnerships