Brent Balzer / Software engineer & photographer
I build tools that make everyday life easier. That includes AI agents, home lab infrastructure, and apps for my family. When the light's right, I pick up the camera.
Selected work
A few projects where curiosity turned into something useful.
01AI & developer tools
One place to manage Claude and Codex agents across 35+ projects. Follow agent output as it happens, keep track of sessions, and see what each run costs.
How it works
02Infrastructure & automation
An AI agent that watches Docker services, reads logs, diagnoses problems, and restarts services. Built to take some of the routine work out of running a home lab.
How it works
03Software for everyday life
A video mailbox for my kids, personalized AI bedtime stories, and a newsletter tool for my wife’s work. Software built around the people who use it.
Made for everyday life
A custom Next.js site with client galleries, a blog, and an admin dashboard.
Next.js · TypeScript · Docker
Linux and NAS infrastructure with Caddy routing, Authelia authentication, and CrowdSec protection.
Docker · Caddy · Authelia · CrowdSec
A web app for recording catches, spots, and conditions from days out on the kayak. Naturally, I built an app instead of using a notebook like a normal person.
Next.js · TypeScript · SQLite
A little about me
I'm Brent, a software engineer in Port Washington, Wisconsin who probably overengineers everything. I like understanding how things work, then finding a way to make them work better.
My home lab runs 35+ containers on a Linux server and a NAS, handling everything from family apps to my photography portfolio. I have opinions about reverse proxies.
If I can automate it, I do. Sometimes that means spending a weekend automating something that takes five minutes to do by hand. I'd do it again.
Away from the keyboard, I'm usually chasing golden hour with a Sony A7IV, out on the kayak pretending to fish, or building something new that makes my wife ask, "Why do we need that?"
Codex and Claude are part of my development workflow, from exploring ideas and writing code to debugging and refining what I build.
Let's talk shopAway from the keyboard
Wisconsin landscapes, golden-hour light, and the people who make a moment worth keeping.
Sony A7IV · GM II lenses · Lightroom
The toolkit
TypeScript, Python, React, Next.js, Flask, Node.js, Tailwind CSS, PostgreSQL, SQLite
Docker, Linux, Caddy, Authelia, CrowdSec, networking, Git
OpenAI Codex, Claude AI, agent orchestration, prompt engineering, server-sent events, automated service recovery
Words I live by
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
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Have an engineering project, a photography question, or a home lab story? I'd love to hear it.
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