Just shipped a big update to my retro sound effects generator (3 years in)

December 8, 2025

Hey IH! 👋 Long time no see. 😊

I wanted to share an update on my micro-SaaS, Jsfxr Pro. It's a retro 8-bit sound effects generator for game developers and musicians.

Back in 2022 I was maintaining an open-source sound effects generator called jsfxr at sfxr.me. One day I checked the stats and it was getting 10k+ hits per month. I thought: "What if I built a Pro version with features people actually want?"

So I did. I built the whole thing in ClojureScript (both frontend and backend), launched it, and have been iterating ever since.

What I shipped

This week I released a bunch of features that have been requested for a while:

- New export formats - OGG, MP3, and native SFXR files (previously just WAV)

- JSON editor - For precise control over sound parameters, or copying sounds between projects

- Full data export - Download all your packs and settings as a backup

- Tooltips on all sliders - Explaining what each parameter actually does

The export formats were the most requested feature. Game devs & musicians need different formats for different engines, DAWs, and platforms.

The stack

For those curious, it's all ClojureScript:

- Frontend: Reagent (React wrapper)

- Backend: Node.js + Express via my framework Sitefox

- Database: SQLite

- Payments: Stripe

I love this stack. It's incredibly productive and I can move fast as a solo dev.

What's working

The thing that's worked best is building on top of an existing project with traffic. I didn't have to do much marketing - people were already using sfxr.me and some percentage convert to Pro.