
GitHub Codespaces
CodeTasty
Glitch
StackHive
Codiad
Dirigible
StackBlitz
Cloud Shell is a free admin machine with browser-based command-line access for managing your infrastructure and applications on Google Cloud Platform.

Pinterest
PureRef
Eagle App
Milanote
Allusion
digiKam
weheartit.com
A visual reference manager for creatives. Organize your reference library and build moodboards on an infinite canvas, all in one desktop app.

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, CloudShell seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 13 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | docs.cloud.google.com | refern.app |
| Pricing | — | |
| Platforms | — | |
| Company | — | Startup from Canada · 1 - 9 employees · 2026 |
| Listed in |
In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.


No description of CloudShell yet.
refern is a local-first desktop app for collecting, organizing, and working with visual references. The library side gives you folders, hierarchical tags, smart folders, ratings, color labels, color search by hex, image-to-image visual similarity, and more than 14 typed search operators, all...
What each product offers, as listed by its team.


Possible disadvantages
An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.


Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


As answered by people managing CloudShell and refern..
refern.'s answer:
I'm an artist, and too often I was frustrated: I couldn't find the right pictures, I struggled to organize and keep track of my reference images, and I was juggling too many apps when all I wanted to do was draw. I wanted one tool that could do it all, with every component well integrated. So I made refern.
refern.'s answer:
The flow of collecting references for art usually goes like this:
find references and inspiration online -> save and organize those images -> use them on their own or in a moodboard -> reuse them for the next project or share them with others
Normally that means a different app for each step. refern does all of it in one place, with every part built to work together.
refern.'s answer:
Most tools solve only one part of the reference workflow, so artists end up juggling several. refern combines them in one app: Eagle-style organization and search, a PureRef-style infinite canvas, and an Obsidian-style graph of how your references connect. It never copies your files, so it doesn't double your disk usage. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, works fully offline, and is a $30 one-time purchase with no subscription. Built in Rust, it stays fast even on libraries with hundreds of thousands of images.
refern.'s answer:
Individual artists and creative professionals: illustrators, concept artists, digital painters, designers, and photographers. They collect and organize large libraries of visual references, build moodboards, and study from reference. refern is built for solo creators rather than teams, spanning hobbyists and students through working professionals.
refern.'s answer:
refern is a Tauri v2 desktop app with a Rust backend and a React 19 (with React Compiler) plus TypeScript frontend. Data is stored locally in SQLite (rusqlite) with FTS5 full-text search. The interface uses Tailwind CSS, Zustand, and TanStack Query, with motion/react for animation. The infinite canvas and graph view are built on react-three-fiber and three.js. Thumbnailing, perceptual hashing, and color and visual similarity run in Rust with rayon and SIMD.
Share your experience with using CloudShell and refern.. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


The Google Cloud Shell API empowers organizations to automate cloud operations, accelerate software delivery, and improve efficiency. By providing a programmatic interface for managing Cloud Shell environments, the API unlocks new... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
Command-line (gcloud) -- Those who prefer working in a terminal can enable APIs with a single command in the Cloud Shell or locally on your computer if you installed the Cloud SDK which includes the gcloud command-line tool (CLI) and... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
Gcloud/command-line - Finally, for those more inclined to using the command-line, you can enable APIs with a single command in the Cloud Shell or locally on your computer if you installed the Cloud SDK (which includes the gcloud... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
Tracking refern. since Mar 2024.
When comparing CloudShell and refern., you can also consider the following products.

GItHub Codespaces is a hosted remote coding environment by GitHub based on Visual Studio Codespaces integrated directly for GitHub.
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Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that you can use to find ideas for all your projects and interests.
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CodeTasty is a programming platform for developers in the cloud.
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The simple way to view and organize your multiple reference images.
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Glitch is the friendly community where everyone builds the web. Simple, powerful interface for creating web apps.
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Unify your creative inspiration in one place. Store anything – inspiring images, design mockups, illustrations, screenshots and more.
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