---
title: "About"
url: "https://ricardodantas.me/about/"
markdown_url: "https://ricardodantas.me/about/index.md"
author: "Ricardo Dantas"
description: "Software developer and guitarist in Trentino, Italy. I build apps and terminal tools, make music as @darkfrets, and ride trails at weekends."
---

# Hi, I'm Ricardo.

Software developer by trade, guitarist by heart, mountain biker on weekends.

I'm a software developer. I build apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, web services, and open-source terminal tools in Rust. Outside of code I play guitar, make music as @darkfrets, and ride mountain bikes on the trails near my home.

## How I got here

My day job has mostly been TypeScript, Rust and some Python and Go along the way.

The apps started as side projects. I wanted tools I would actually use, and the good ones tended to be bloated or came with a subscription I did not want. So I built my own.

## What I build, and why

I like small, focused software. A timer should be a timer. A bookmark manager should save a link in one tap.

- **Small scope.** One job per app, done well.
- **Native.** I use each platform's own tools where I can: Swift and SwiftUI on Apple devices, Rust in the terminal.
- **Apple ecosystem.** Widgets, Apple Watch, iCloud sync and Shortcuts make an app feel like part of the device.

I also like the terminal. Feedo, Tickit, Perch and Hazelnut are Rust apps because I live there and wanted fast, keyboard-driven software.

There are trade-offs. Native apps take longer to build than cross-platform ones, and each platform needs its own work. In my opinion the result is worth it. You can see everything in [Projects](https://ricardodantas.me/projects.md).

## Languages

I speak English and Portuguese. Mentoring sessions and consulting calls are in English or Portuguese.

## Music

I play guitar and write and produce music as **@darkfrets**. It is where I put the part of my brain that does not care about shipping schedules. Original songs, a look at the gear and the production side, and the occasional experiment.

My latest release is *Edge Protocol*. You can listen to it and everything else on [the @darkfrets page](https://ricardodantas.me/darkfrets.md).

## Mountain biking

At weekends I ride trail and enduro on the trails around Lavis and Trento, on an e-MTB. I plan routes in komoot, record rides on a Garmin Edge and keep the data in Apple Health. I even built an app, SyncToHealth, to get my ride files in there. Follow my MTB adventures on [instagram.com/@ricardo_emtb](https://www.instagram.com/ricardo_emtb)

Trails and muddy shoes are about as far from a screen as I get.

## Say hello

The easiest way to reach me is email: [me@ricardodantas.me](mailto:me@ricardodantas.me). You can also find me on [Mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@ricardodantas), [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/ricardodantas.me), [X](https://x.com/ricardodantas), [GitHub](https://github.com/ricardodantas) and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdantas).

If you want career or AI advice, see [Mentoring](https://ricardodantas.me/mentoring.md). If you need something built, see [Consulting](https://ricardodantas.me/consulting.md).

## Where am I?

In 2026 my family and I moved to Lavis, a small town in northern 🇮🇹. Before that we lived in Stockholm 🇸🇪 and Dublin 🇮🇪.

I am still learning Italian, and the mountains make up for the paperwork.