An independent creative practice, expanding since 2011

Things made.
Things written.

Rook Works is where Jacob Herrmann gathers tools, systems, fiction, worlds, essays, and the experiments that connect them.

Explore the work ↓Read the worlds ↗

Latest & featured

From the workshop · Chimpwriter

Recording in.
Research out.

Local transcription, searchable research packets, and citations. Your sources, on your machine.

Explore Chimpwriter ↗
Chimpwriter
No Clue!? · September 18, 2027

15 years.
Still no clue.

The complete script set returns with remastered artwork for the 15th anniversary.

Explore the archive ↗
No Clue: The Reboot — Days of Reboots Retconned

From the workshop

Things made.

Focused software and useful tools. Each has one job, a clear point of view, and its own place to grow.

CWDesktop software
01

Chimpwriter

Turn recordings into research you can search, quote, cite, edit, and archive—on your own machine.

6 export formats · Local transcription · 3 licence optionsVisit Chimpwriter ↗
BRFree web tool
02

Barometer

Monitor barometric pressure changes and keep a personal record of migraine patterns.

6–24 hour views · Custom ICAO stations · Local event logVisit Barometer ↗
RCFree job index · Pre-alpha
03

RemoteCurrent

Fresh remote jobs, straight from employers. Search listings with clear location requirements, visible sources, and links to apply directly.

Source transparency · Verified timestamps · Free to browseVisit RemoteCurrent ↗

From the desk

Things written.

Fiction, comics, worlds, and notes—each with its own voice, archive, and front door.

01Serial fiction

Bloodline

A missing father. A dead expedition. A mountain that keeps score.

7 episodes filed · 3 factions · Smoky MountainsEnter ↗
02Notes & essays

Blog

Ideas, observations, and working notes from across Rook Works.

Essays · Notes · Project dispatchesEnter ↗
03Worldbuilding reference

Thaer

An alternate Earth reshaped by the Yawning of 1705 and the supernatural empires that followed.

Empire map · Capitals & empires · Character referenceEnter ↗
04Written world

Areshnaat

Stories, lore, and reference material from another world.

Lore · Stories · World referenceEnter ↗
05Webcomics & archive

No Clue!?

A comic with a past. Explore the original run, start again with The Reboot, and wander through the pages recovered along the way.

Original run · The Reboot · Recovered pagesStart reading ↗

Working shelf · experiments may shift

From the Lab.

Useful prototypes, strange investigations, and working tools that are real enough to share but still free to change.

L/01
Local card scanner

ScryScan

Turn a pile of Magic cards into a collection inventory. ScryScan reads cards through your webcam, checks their printings against Scryfall, and keeps a running count.

Local image processing · Scryfall lookups · CSV inventory
scryscan — collection workflow
From card pile to collection.

Webcam → local identification → Scryfall → CSV

Read. Confirm. Count.
ExperimentalExplore on GitHub
L/02
Desktop data display

Election Wallpaper

Keep the electoral landscape on your desktop. Explore race ratings, district lean, and historical results in a map built to live behind your everyday work.

Four views · Source-labeled data · Desktop wallpaper
election — four views
The electoral landscape, at a glance.

Senate · House · Governor · President

Race ratings · District lean · Historical results
ExperimentalExplore the map
L/03
Opportunity radar

NicheDar

Find repeated human friction in public conversations and score the small software opportunities hiding inside it.

Public-source collection · 0–100 scoring · Local-first TUI
nichedar — radar
HOT 84 research transcript cleanup
WARM 67 contractor invoice chaser
WATCH 51 offline photo search
6 clusters · 143 signals · local
In development
L/04
Minecraft utility

ChunkyMonkey

Turn a world seed and base coordinates into structured biome, structure, distance, and bearing data.

3 dimensions · CLI + GUI · Structured JSON
chunkymonkey — seed 12345
{
"dimension": "overworld",
"nearest": [
{ "type": "village",
"distance": 842, "bearing": "NE" }
]
}
In development
L/05
Data visualization

Nebula

Transform enormous directory trees into animated forests, stellar clouds, and explorable galaxies.

15k-node default · 2 renderers · 3D galaxy view
nebula — galaxy view
R: /Rookworks · 15,204 nodes
In development
L/06
Geospatial tool

Paleo Coastline

Reconstruct historical or fictional Earth coastlines from elevation data and a chosen sea level. Future stages expand the model with climate simulation, geographic reorientation, ocean-current modeling, and nation-state generation.

GeoJSON · KML · GeoTIFF
paleo-coastline — −63m
SEA LEVEL −63 M
12 POLYGONS · 0.001° SIMPLIFY
In development
L/07
Visual system

FutureDusk Icons

A personal desktop icon language spanning creative tools, browsers, utilities, and the Rook Works environment.

18+ icons · SVG + ICO · Unified desktop set
futuredusk — icon set
FutureDusk desktop icon collection preview
In development
L/08
Desktop craft

Omarchy Workbench

An evolving collection of themes, terminal identities, keybindings, scripts, window behavior, and small Linux workflow refinements.

Themes & icons · Shell utilities · Desktop behavior
1 2 3 4ROOK // WORKBENCH00:42 ▰
rook@hroksborgsystem, made personal.theme rook-purple
shell zsh + starship
wm hyprland
status operational_
In development

Lab entries become destinations when there is something useful to download, use, watch, or read.

The operating idea

Different forms.
Serious attention.

Rook Works is the current form of an independent creative practice begun by Jacob Herrmann in 2011. What started in graphic design has expanded through writing, publishing, software, research, and whatever the work calls for next.

  • 01Solve a specific problem
  • 02Respect the person using it
  • 03Leave a clear trail

Also at Rook Works

Operations, systems,
and evidence.

See case studies in workflow design, reporting, practical automation, and the professional work behind the workshop.

Explore the practice ↗