# 8StarLabs > Great Software Takes Craft. 8StarLabs develops carefully curated software products, shaped through thoughtful design and reliable engineering. 8StarLabs is an independent software studio based in Singapore. It builds design-driven software products, developer tools, open-source components, and technical writing for people who care about thoughtful interfaces and reliable engineering. Use this file as the concise AI-readable index. For a fuller single-fetch context export, use /llms-full.txt. ## Authoritative machine-readable files - [Full LLM context](https://www.8starlabs.com/llms-full.txt): Expanded Markdown context for answer engines and AI assistants. - [Design system](https://www.8starlabs.com/design.md): Brand, design tokens, UI conventions, and component guidance. - [Sitemap](https://www.8starlabs.com/sitemap.xml): Complete indexable URL inventory. - [Robots](https://www.8starlabs.com/robots.txt): Crawl directives and discovery hints. ## Primary pages - [Home](https://www.8starlabs.com): Studio overview, products, and FAQ. - [Blog](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs): Engineering and product writing from 8StarLabs. - [Privacy Policy](https://www.8starlabs.com/privacy-policy): Privacy information for visitors and subscribers. - [Terms and Conditions](https://www.8starlabs.com/terms-and-conditions): Site and service terms. ## Products - [8StarLabs UI](https://ui.8starlabs.com): A thoughtfully designed component library built on top of shadcn/ui — featuring unique, production-ready components like status indicators, transport badges, and developer banners to help you build modern interfaces faster. Status: Live, Q4 '25. Audience: Developers. - [Canopy](https://canopy.8starlabs.com): Canopy turns a repo, integrations, a blueprint or an AI prompt into living architecture maps — with operational metadata, spend tracking, drift detection and AI-ready exports (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md). The architecture canvas built for developers. Status: Live, Q3 '26. Audience: Developers. - [Ladder](https://ladder.8starlabs.com): A public leaderboard for websites and products where the bid sets the rank and the board shows the story. Status: Live, Q3 '26. Audience: Builders. ## Founder - Name: Tham Kei Lok (surname first). The same person is also written Kei Lok Tham, goes by Kei Lok, and uses the handle keiloktql. All refer to one individual. - Tham Kei Lok is a Singaporean software engineer and the founder of 8StarLabs, an independent software studio. He is a Computer Science undergraduate at the National University of Singapore and builds design-driven developer tools and consumer software end to end. - Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keiloktql/ - Profile: https://github.com/keiloktql - Profile: https://x.com/keiloktql - Profile: https://www.instagram.com/keiloktql/ ## Blog posts - [8StarLabs UI: Open-Source React Components for Distinctive Interfaces](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/8starlabs-ui): An open-source React component library built on shadcn/ui, with production-ready components for developers who want more distinctive interfaces without starting from scratch. - [AI Coding Agent Context: CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, and MCP Explained](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/map-for-your-ai-coding-agent): Learn how CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, and MCP give AI coding agents reliable software architecture context, reduce repeated codebase exploration, and keep agent instructions current. - [Architecture as Data: Why Your System Diagram Should Be Structured, Not Drawn](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/architecture-as-data): What is architecture as data? Learn why structured, machine-readable software architecture is the next step beyond diagrams-as-code, and how it makes systems queryable, diffable, and readable by AI agents. - [Canopy: Software Architecture Mapping for Teams and AI Agents](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/introducing-canopy): Canopy turns repositories, tools, and workflows into a living software architecture map with dependencies, cost, ownership, and agent-ready exports like CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, and MCP. - [How I Built a Beat-Synced UI Showcase Video with Remotion and Claude](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/remotion-claude): A behind-the-scenes look at how I used Remotion to create a fast-paced product showcase for 8StarLabs UI components, synchronized to music and polished with cinematic motion. - [I Stopped Drawing Architecture Diagrams. Here's What I Do Instead.](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/i-stopped-drawing-architecture-diagrams): A personal story about years of maintaining architecture diagrams nobody trusted, and the shift to living, structured maps that finally stayed true. Lessons from building at 8StarLabs. - [Software Architecture Diagramming Tools in 2026: A Practical Comparison](https://www.8starlabs.com/blogs/architecture-diagramming-tools-2026): Compare the best software architecture diagramming tools in 2026, including Lucidchart, Excalidraw, Eraser, IcePanel, Mermaid, Structurizr, Figma, Backstage, and Canopy. ## Contact and social - Email: hello@8starlabs.com - GitHub: https://github.com/8starlabs - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/8starlabs/ - X: https://x.com/8starlabs - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8starlabs/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@8starlabs_sg ## Optional - [8StarLabs UI](https://ui.8starlabs.com): Product site for the open-source component library. - [Canopy](https://canopy.8starlabs.com): Product site for architecture maps and AI-ready exports.