// about
Built from real-world technical experience.
I'm Tyler South. SouthForge AI is my independent software studio — focused on practical AI-assisted products, not generic automation noise.
I've spent over 15 years in IT service environments, working across cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, email authentication, firewalls, cloud systems, and business support workflows.
That background shapes how I build: secure by default, useful before flashy, and focused on everyday problems people actually need solved.
How it started
I discovered AI-assisted development in early 2026 and started building on my own time — practical products first, not slide decks.
I had no prior software development experience. On April 21, 2026, I made my first git commit. In less than two months I logged hundreds of hours building and shipped live apps: Toolport (then called Conduit) and Toolport Teams, Cubby, Ceiling, ReadyGig, Burnwatch, LimitWatch, GameGod, the Rundown beta, the shared product platform behind them, and ProjectForge.
That work now includes native mobile development. I build and ship Apple (iOS) and Android apps with Expo and React Native — ReadyGig is in review on the App Store and Google Play, and RigCast, a truck-aware weather and road-risk app for OTR drivers, is in testing on both stores.
Every product shares the same habits — secure defaults, scoped AI, and validation before release — described in my work section.
// shipping log — what shipped recently
- Cubby clipboard live
A native-feeling Win+V replacement for Windows 11: months of searchable history, encrypted locally, rich formats and screenshot OCR, one-click Ditto import, and reliable capture over remote desktop. Free and open source at cubbyclipboard.com.
- Ceiling live
A local-first Windows tray app for AI capacity: remaining usage and reset times across Codex, Claude, Cursor, Gemini, and Copilot in a calm strip above the taskbar, with honest live/stale/error states. Code-signed at ceiling.win.
- Conduit is now Toolport
Full rename shipped: new name, new brand, toolport.app live with 301s from the old domain, and the Product Hunt page carried over intact. Same local-first MCP gateway.
- GameGod live
Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox libraries read as one mythic identity: a data-driven god class, a rarity-weighted power rank, yearly Wrapped, and a friend-circle leaderboard at gamegod.app.
- Conduit gaining traction
Local-first MCP gateway open-sourced under MIT — picked up GitHub stars and a community fork in its first day. Set up each MCP server once, use it across every AI client.
- RigCast in testing
Truck-aware weather and road-risk app — trailer-aware crosswind scoring, chain-law alerts, and a Go/Caution/Wait/Shut Down verdict. Native iOS + Android in review on both stores.
- ReadyGig native iOS & Android
Expo + React Native apps with camera capture, GPS avoid list, and push reminders — submitted to the App Store and Google Play, same account as the web app.
- LimitWatch measured-usage pipeline
Pairs in-app cap % readings with Claude Code transcript burn; build strips internal account labels before shipping site data.
- folloback MVP
X OAuth board with niche filtering, follow confirm loop, and reciprocity scoring — built in public at @getfolloback.
- Burnwatch public launch
Observe-only Python SDK, multi-tenant ingest, and 13 explainable spend-detection rules for AI agent wallets.
- ProjectForge v0.11
Autonomy guardrails, visual regression baselines, and profile-driven supervised passes for ZIP-based projects.