Making software that lasts.
Purplelink LLC is a one-person software studio in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 2026 by Benjamin Ampel. It builds native macOS and iOS apps for researchers and Apple-platform users, plus free in-browser tools for academic writing (LaTeX compilation, BibTeX validation, citation generation) that process files in memory and never store them.
Its free Scholar Utility Belt extension is used by 1,000 researchers and rated 4.5★ on the Chrome Web Store.
The LaTeX studio built for how researchers write.
ModernTex is a native macOS manuscript studio. Multi-file editing, a PDF preview that stays in sync, citation management, and submission-readiness checks — shaped around the manuscript workflow, not a generic text editor.
- Source and PDF stay in sync as you type, with click-to-locate between them.
- Three compile modes for drafting, full builds, and submission.
- Citation management with BibTeX autocomplete and reference checks.
- Submission-readiness checks before you upload to a journal.
Shipping now · Chrome extension
Scholar Utility Belt
Journal quality badges (ABDC, FT50, UTD24, SJR), citation velocity, author metrics like h-index and g-index, academic lineage trees, and retraction alerts — added directly to Google Scholar. Rankings are bundled locally: no tracking, no accounts.
use it
Rating and install count from the Chrome Web Store.
macOS & iOS
More from the studio
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VitaeAcademic research management for macOS: track submissions, grants, projects, and your CV in one local-first app. Free, notarized, no App Store required.
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HaeaAn on-device iOS health app. Integrates sleep, nutrition, activity, and biometrics to surface patterns and trends through advanced ML — privately, entirely on-device.
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GlobePinA travel mapping app for tracking every place visited, every flight taken, and every destination on the list. Map visualization, stats dashboards, and shareable travel postcards.
Free · in your browser
Free tools for academic writing
LaTeX to PDF, BibTeX validation, citation generation, Markdown conversion, and more than twenty others. Everything runs in your browser or an ephemeral container.
Files are processed in memory and never stored. No account, no upload retention.
Browse all toolsGet in touch
Build with
Purplelink.
If a project sounds like a fit, send a note. Reach out and let's talk about what you're building.
ben@purplelink.llc