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Incompetech is Kevin MacLeod's personal site for royalty-free music and a growing set of self-contained browser tools, including custom graph paper generators, calendars, and an emoji finder. It's useful if you need music you can use without licensing fees, or a quick utility that runs without ads, tracking, or cookies. The site's own description sums it up as "Custom graph paper generators and royalty-free music."

What you'll find on the site

The homepage currently highlights three tool areas alongside the music:

• Emoji Finder — searches all current emoji plus the yet-unreleased Unicode 18 spec set, and over 300 special characters. It offers browse or instant search, one-click copy, favorites, recents with batch copy, and four copy formats: character, codepoint, HTML entity, and CSS escape.
• Calendars v2 — a local HTML/JavaScript rework of Kevin MacLeod's 26-year-old Perl scripts, producing public domain documents with live previews.
• Graph Paper v2 — 16 new generators (Numbered Axes, Engineering Pad, Ternary Plot, Cross-Stitch, Numbered Hex Map, Go Board, Two-Point Perspective, Habit Tracker, Split Page, Bead Paper, Dots & Boxes, Battle Mat, and more), with PNG and SVG download formats.

Privacy and offline use

The tools are built to avoid the usual web clutter. According to the site, the Emoji Finder uses no cookies, ads, or tracking, and saves settings in your browser. It's described as a public domain, self-contained web app: you can download the page and it works offline. The calendars follow the same pattern — no ads or tracking, no dependencies, no network needed, and you can download a local copy for your desktop or intranet. Graph Paper v2 is likewise serverless and carries a Creative Commons 0 public domain license.

Who it's for

• Creators needing background music — royalty-free tracks from Kevin MacLeod, a widely used source in video and podcast production.
• Developers and designers — the emoji copy formats (codepoint, HTML entity, CSS escape) and the downloadable, dependency-free tools fit offline or intranet workflows.
• Anyone printing or planning — graph paper, habit trackers, battle mats, and calendars generated in the browser and exported as PNG or SVG.

Things to know before you rely on it

The Emoji Finder includes Unicode 18 spec emoji that may not render on your system yet — the site notes that unreleased characters like the meteor (expected around 2028) only appear once your browser supports them. If an emoji shows as a blank box, that's a font/system limitation, not a site error. There's also an Emoji Tester Tool to check your system's emoji level.

The site's own framing is deliberately low-key: no ads, no tracking, "zero money-dollars," and tools you can download and keep. If you want a music library or utility that works offline and doesn't phone home, this is the fit. If you need a hosted service with accounts, sync, or support, it isn't that.

Incompetech Calendars v2 is a browser-based calendar generator you can use to create and print public domain calendar documents. According to the site, it's a local HTML/JavaScript rework of Kevin MacLeod's 26-year-old Perl scripts, and it runs entirely in your browser with no ads, tracking, or cost. You can download a local copy and use it on a desktop or intranet without a network connection or dependencies.

What the tool actually is

The site describes Calendars v2 as a "locally usable and sharable Public Domain App that makes Public Domain documents." That framing matters for two reasons:

• Public domain output — the documents you generate aren't encumbered by licensing restrictions, so you can share or redistribute them.
• Local operation — it's a self-contained HTML/JavaScript app. Once you have the file, it doesn't need to phone home.

The site notes the calendars skipped over a long chain of technologies (ColdFusion, PHP, Java, Python, Drupal, React) and landed as a single-step rewrite of the original Perl scripts.

What you can do with it

Based on the site's description, the practical uses are:

• Generate calendar documents in the browser — no install, no account mentioned.
• Download a local copy — put it on your desktop or intranet and run it offline.
• Share it — because it's public domain and self-contained, you can pass the file along.
• Use live previews — the site says live previews were finally added after being on the "to do" list for 25 years.

Key characteristics at a glance

How to get started

1. Go to the Calendars v2 page on incompetech.com.
2. Use the live preview to configure the calendar you want.
3. Download a local copy if you want offline or intranet use.
4. Generate and save the calendar document.

The site doesn't specify particular calendar types, formats, or configuration options beyond what's quoted above, so check the page itself for the current set of choices.

Things to keep in mind

• The "no cookies" and "no tracking" claims come from the site's own description of its apps; the calendar entry specifically emphasizes "No ads or tracking."
• The site doesn't mention login requirements, so it's unclear whether any features are gated — treat it as browser-only unless the page says otherwise.
• Because the app is self-contained, an old downloaded copy won't receive updates; re-download if you want the latest version.

If your goal is a no-frills, offline-capable calendar generator with unrestricted output, Calendars v2 is built for exactly that. If you need integrations, cloud sync, or collaborative editing, nothing in the site's description suggests those exist.

Incompetech Graph Paper v2 is a browser-based graph paper generator that adds PNG and SVG downloads, runs without a server, ships under a Creative Commons 0 (public domain) license, and introduces 16 new generator types. It suits anyone who needs printable or embeddable grid paper — teachers, engineers, designers, crafters — and who wants a local, ad-free tool rather than a hosted service. The trade-off is that it is a static page you run yourself, not a cloud app with accounts or syncing.

What changed in v2

The August 4, 2026 release is described on the site as a rework of the original generator. The headline changes:

• New download formats: PNG and SVG, in addition to whatever the earlier version produced.
• Serverless operation: You can download a local copy and put it on your desktop or intranet. No dependencies and no network connection are required to use it.
• Public domain license: Creative Commons 0, so generated documents and the tool itself carry no restrictions.
• 16 new generators, listed below.

The 16 new generators

The site names these additions:

1. Numbered Axes
2. Engineering Pad
3. Ternary Plot
4. Cross-Stitch
5. Numbered Hex Map
6. Go Board
7. Two-Point Perspective
8. Habit Tracker
9. Split Page
10. Bead Paper
11. Dots & Boxes
12. Battle Mat
13. Alpha- (the excerpt cuts off here)

The excerpt ends mid-item, so the full name of the thirteenth generator and the remaining three are not confirmed by the available text. Check the live page for the complete list before relying on a specific one.

How the serverless model works

The tool is a self-contained HTML/JavaScript page. The practical workflow:

1. Open the Graph Paper v2 page in a browser.
2. Configure the grid type and parameters you want.
3. Download the output as PNG or SVG.
4. Optionally save the page itself locally — on a desktop or an intranet server — so it keeps working offline with no network access.

Expected result: a generated grid image or vector file you own outright, plus a reusable local copy of the generator. Because there is no backend, there is nothing to sign into and no per-use cost mentioned in the source material.

What the license lets you do

Creative Commons 0 places the work in the public domain. In practice that means you can copy, modify, redistribute, and use the output — including the tool itself — without attribution or permission. The site frames this as "makes Public Domain documents," so both the generator and its output fall under the same terms.

Choosing between PNG and SVG

Pick SVG when the grid must resize cleanly or be edited; pick PNG when you just need a ready-to-print or ready-to-paste image.

Common snags

• Offline copy behavior: Since settings and generation run in the browser, confirm your saved local copy opens correctly before depending on it in a no-network environment.
• Generator list completeness: The published excerpt is truncated, so verify the exact set of generators on the current page rather than assuming all 16 names.
• No account or sync: Nothing in the source indicates cloud storage or cross-device sync — treat it as a local, single-machine tool.

Where it fits

If you want a no-cost, no-tracking, offline-capable grid generator with public domain output, v2 covers that. If you need collaboration, saved projects, or hosted sharing, this is not that kind of tool.

The Incompetech Emoji Finder is a public-domain, self-contained web app from incompetech.com (Kevin MacLeod's site) that lets you browse or search emoji and special characters, then copy them in one click. It works without cookies, ads, or tracking, and you can download the page to run it offline. It is the right tool if you want a fast, no-frills way to grab an emoji or symbol and paste it into text, code, or design work.

What it includes

• Current emoji plus unreleased Unicode 18 spec emoji. The finder lists all current emoji and also includes characters from the yet-unreleased Unicode 18 specification. According to the site, new emoji such as Monarch butterfly, Pickle, Lighthouse, and Meteor appear as soon as your browser can render them.
• Over 300 special characters. Beyond emoji, it covers symbols like ⇧, Δ, ₿, ⁂, ⊄, ♣, ♬, 5⁄6, and even kaomoji such as ┌(・。・)┘♪.
• No cookies, ads, or tracking. Settings are saved in your browser rather than on a server.

How to find and copy a character

1. Open the Emoji Finder on incompetech.com.
2. Browse or search. You can scroll the full list, or use instant search to jump straight to a character.
3. Click to copy. A single click copies the character. The site describes this as "one click copy."
4. Paste it wherever you need it.

If a character shows up as a blank box (the site calls this a "square of tofu"), your system doesn't yet support that Unicode set — for example, an emoji from a newer spec that your browser or OS can't render.

Copy formats for developers

The finder offers four copy formats, which matters if you're writing code rather than plain text:

Favorites, recents, and batch copy

You can mark characters as favorites and the app keeps a list of recently used ones. Both support batch copy, so you can grab several characters at once instead of copying them one by one.

Offline and self-hosted use

The app is public domain and self-contained. You can download the page and it works offline, which also means you can put a copy on your desktop or an intranet without any network dependency. This is useful if you want a stable, private emoji reference that doesn't rely on an external service.

Checking your emoji support

The site also links to an Emoji Tester Tool, which tells you your "emoji level" — essentially which Unicode emoji sets your current system can display. This helps explain why some newer characters may not render for you.

Who it's for

• General users who want a clean, ad-free way to find and copy an emoji or symbol.
• Developers who need codepoints, HTML entities, or CSS escapes and want batch copy.
• Anyone needing an offline or intranet-hosted reference with no tracking.

If you mainly need a quick emoji and dislike ad-heavy, tracker-laden alternatives, this tool is built specifically to avoid those problems.

Yes. Incompetech describes its tools as having "no ads or tracking" and "zero money-dollars," with settings saved in your browser rather than on a server. The site's own descriptions also say several tools are Public Domain, self-contained web apps that you can download and run offline. The main caveat is that these claims come from the site itself, and the available page evidence does not include a formal privacy policy or terms page, so you are relying on the developer's stated design rather than an audited third-party review.

What "free" means here

The site's language is unusually direct. For the Calendars v2 tool it says "Zero money-dollars," and for the Emoji Finder it lists "No Cookies (or ads, or tracking, or really anything)." The Graph Paper v2 entry states a "Public Domain License: Creative Commons 0."

That combination points to two separate kinds of free:

• No cost to use — the tools run in your browser with no paywall described.
• No restrictions on the output — CC0 means you can use generated documents without attribution.

The page evidence does not show pricing links or payment platforms, which is consistent with a no-cost model, but absence of a price is not the same as a guarantee. If you need a contractual assurance of free use, the CC0 license on the generated output is the more concrete commitment.

How the privacy design works

The privacy approach is architectural rather than policy-based. Instead of promising not to collect data, the tools are built so there is little to collect:

• Settings stay local. The Emoji Finder says "Settings are saved in your browser," meaning preferences live in local storage, not an account.
• No cookies, ads, or trackers. Stated explicitly for the Emoji Finder.
• Downloadable and offline-capable. The Emoji Finder is described as a "Public Domain self-contained web app" that works offline once downloaded. Calendars v2 is "a locally usable and sharable Public Domain App" with "No dependencies. No network needed." Graph Paper v2 is "Serverless" and can be put on an intranet.

The practical effect: if you download a local copy, your usage does not touch Incompetech's servers at all. That is a stronger privacy position than a site that merely promises not to log you.

What you can verify yourself

Because the tools are self-contained, you can check the claims directly:

1. Open a tool such as the Emoji Finder or Graph Paper v2.
2. Download the local copy the site offers.
3. Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and reload the local file.
4. Watch for outbound requests. A genuinely self-contained app should generate little or no external traffic.

This is the same method you would use on any "privacy-friendly" web tool, and it does not depend on trusting the developer's wording.

Where to be careful

• The claims are self-reported. The page evidence contains no independent audit, privacy policy, or third-party certification.
• "No tracking" applies to the tools described. The evidence covers the Emoji Finder, Calendars v2, and Graph Paper v2 specifically, not necessarily every page on the domain.
• Offline use is the strongest guarantee. If privacy is your priority, downloading a local copy removes the network dimension entirely.
• Check the license for your use case. CC0 is broad, but confirm it applies to the specific tool and output you need.

Bottom line

Incompetech presents itself as free and privacy-friendly by design: no ads, no cookies, no tracking, local settings, and downloadable Public Domain apps that run offline. For most users that is more than enough, and the offline copies let you verify it rather than take it on faith. If you need formal legal or compliance assurances, treat the site's own statements as a starting point and inspect the downloaded code or license text yourself.