WasmOcular
Browser-native tool for mining and visualizing Git repository data, with no server and no installation required. Built as my master's thesis at TU Wien.
The Idea
I wanted to prove that serious developer tooling can run entirely in the browser, with no server and no installation. WasmOcular lets researchers mine Git repositories and visualize the data inside a single browser tab powered by WebAssembly.
How It Works
The tool clones Git repositories directly in the browser using wasm-git, processes the data with Gitoxide in WASM, stores it in DuckDB-WASM, and renders interactive visualizations without a backend. The entire pipeline runs client-side.
Key Technical Decisions
- wasm-git for in-browser Git operations, no server-side cloning needed
- DuckDB-WASM as the analytical query engine, enabling fast SQL queries on repository data
- Apache Arrow for zero-copy data transfer between components
- React for the UI with a focus on responsive data visualization
Results
The thesis showed that WebAssembly is mature enough to support complex developer tools directly in the browser, and that this approach can open the door to a new generation of serverless research tooling.