8 Free CBT Anxiety Tools I Built in Vanilla JS (No Signup, No Backend)

As a developer who struggled with anxiety, I built these tools for myself. They're free, privacy-first, and run entirely in your browser — no signup, no backend, no data collection.

Why Vanilla JS?

I chose vanilla JavaScript because:

  • Privacy: Your data never leaves your browser
  • Speed: No API calls, no loading spinners
  • Simplicity: View source, understand everything
  • Portable: Works offline, save as HTML

The 8 Tools

1. CBT Thought Record

The core CBT exercise. Identify automatic thoughts, challenge distortions, reframe. Built with localStorage persistence so your records stay private.

2. Anxiety Grounding Kit

5-4-3-2-1 sensory grounding, box breathing visualizer, panic button for acute moments. Mobile-optimized for use during anxiety attacks.

3. Distortion Detector

Paste your anxious thought, get the cognitive distortion identified. Trained on 10 distortion patterns: catastrophizing, mind-reading, fortune-telling, all-or-nothing, etc.

4. Exposure Hierarchy Builder

Build exposure hierarchies for phobias/anxiety. Drag-and-drop ordering, printable PDF export, progress tracking.

5. Worry Postponement Notebook

"Postpone worry" technique with scheduled worry time. The notebook captures intrusive thoughts and schedules them for later review.

6. Body Scan Meditation Timer

Guided body scan with gentle audio cues. No accounts, no subscriptions — just a timer that works.

7. Values Clarification Worksheet

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) values clarification. Identify your core values, align actions with what matters.

8. Breathing Pacer

Customizable breathing pacer (4-7-8, box breathing, resonant frequency). Visual + audio guidance, no distractions.

Why I Built These

I tried popular CBT apps. They had:

  • Monthly subscriptions ($10-30/month)
  • Data collection and selling
  • Bloated features I didn't need
  • No offline access

I built what I needed: simple, private, free tools that work in a browser.

Technical Stack

  • Vanilla JS (ES6+) — no frameworks
  • CSS Grid/Flexbox — responsive design
  • localStorage — persistence
  • Web Audio API — breathing sounds
  • Print API — PDF export

No React, no Vue, no npm. Just HTML/CSS/JS files you can:

  • View source and audit
  • Save to your desktop
  • Host anywhere (GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel)

Open Source

All 8 tools are open source on GitHub: github.com/alexcoledev/cbt-toolkit

MIT licensed. Fork them, modify them, host your own version.

What's Next

I'm building:

  • Mood tracker (simple, no graphs that sell your data)
  • Panic button (one-tap grounding for acute moments)
  • Therapy prep worksheet (get more from your therapy sessions)

Follow my GitHub for updates.

Try Them

All 8 tools are live at alexcoledev.github.io/cbt-toolkit

No signup, no email, no paywall. Just free CBT tools.

If you found these helpful, consider buying me a coffee — I'm a solo dev building free mental health tools.

Tags: cbt mentalhealth tools javascript privacy productivity