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Halligan Labs · Software studio

Tools that open things.

A software studio named for the bar that gets firefighters through any door — fork, adze, and pick. We build the same kind of thing, for the parts of life that feel shut.

See what we're building The name
The name

What's a halligan?

The Halligan bar is a firefighter's forcible-entry tool: a fork, an adze, and a pick forged onto one shaft. Hugh Halligan, a deputy chief in the FDNY, designed it in 1948 — so a single person could open almost any door, gate, or wall standing between someone and safety.

Three ends, one tool
  • The forkSlides into the gap and pries the door off its hold.
  • The adzePulls, scrapes, and breaks what's in the way.
  • The pickPunctures the lock, the hinge, the hard point.
Why it matters to us

Most software keeps you in. We build tools to get you through.

To the thought, the memory, the conversation on the other side of the door. Software as a way in — not a place to stay.

Ryan Peters in firefighter turnout gear holding his helmet, with Marine One on the pad behind him
Ryan @ Marine One / POTUS LZ detail
The story
I've built software for thirty years. For eight of them I was also a volunteer fire officer — which is where I learned to trust a Halligan bar: the tool you reach for when a door won't give and something's behind it. No pretense, made to do one hard thing well, in the moments that matter most. Halligan Labs is my attempt to build software with that same honesty.
Ryan Peters— Founder, Halligan Labs
What we're building

Our first app: a journaling tool with a real presence and voice. You write — typed or spoken — and Luna answers, present, character-driven, and yours to shape over time.

  • Write by typing or dictation
  • A response that is present, not generic
  • Every entry becomes a thread you can return to
  • Private by default — your words stay yours
  • Now in private beta for iOS 17+ and Android 13+
Meet Luna
3:29
Morning
Wednesday · June 10

settles in with coffee

Morning, Alex. You slept on something — I can hear it. What's sitting at the front of your mind right now?

The talk I have to give this week. I keep rehearsing it and it keeps getting worse.

Then stop rehearsing it. Tell me the one thing you actually want them to remember — just to me, plainly.

Reply to Luna
Luna

Luna is AI and can make mistakes