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[ARTICLE · art-153477] src=deathplanswitch.com ↗ pub= topic=ai-tools verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

Show HN: Death Plan Switch, a self-hosted dead man's switch for solo devs

Peter Bishop, a developer with over 25 years in graphics and web tech, launched Death Plan Switch, a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted dead man's switch that notifies designated contacts and keeps a solo developer's business running if the owner goes missing or dies. Bishop said the tool was authored with the help of Claude Code after writing an extensive Markdown document and passed 42 unit tests, and he has used it for the last few weeks. Bishop cited a 2012 hospitalization in which he lost his business because he could not get data to his technical second-in-command in time.

read1 min views2 publishedOct 20, 2026

Hi HN,

I'm Peter Bishop and I've been working in graphics and web tech for over 25yrs.

I've recently launched Death Plan Switch to solve a major problem in my succession plan. What if I go missing or die? The right people are told and my business can continue to operate for my clients.

There's a backstory to this project, I was hospitalised in 2012 and lost my business back then and I couldn't get the data to my technical 2IC in time without frustrating my clients.

Death Plan Switch solves this problem, it's free to download and use or study under the MIT license.

I've been using it for the last few weeks. It was authored with the help of Claude Code after writing an extensive MD document and it passed 42 unit tests.

I hope you get some use out of it, or it inspires your own succession plans. My clients are telling me this is a strong sales feature when they trust me with their hosting and technology accounts.

Happy to answer any questions.

Kind regards, Peter Bishop.

Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161408](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161408)

Points: 2

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