Pulkit Aggarwal, widely known online as Pulket and by the handle @justpulket, is an Indian app developer, product builder and entrepreneur based in Mumbai, India. He has published 11 apps across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, reaching around 300,000 total downloads across 198 countries.
He is best known as the creator of ZenDiary, an AI journaling and mental wellness app, and DirectChat, a WhatsApp utility downloaded over 190,000 times across 50+ countries. More recently he builds open-source AI agents, the Open Extractor Agent for web extraction and Aro, a Finder-aware file agent for macOS.
Pulkit is currently pursuing an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM Mumbai), which he began in 2025. Before that he completed a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering at IIIT Surat (2020–2024), where he taught himself to code.
His path into software was self-driven. Every app he's built started with a problem he personally had that habit of building because “I wish this existed” became the foundation of everything since. His work sits at the intersection of engineering, design and product thinking, with a growing focus on AI agents, privacy-first software, and small tools that do one thing well.
~300k
total downloads
198
countries reached
2
ios apps
2
open-source ai agents
11
apps shipped
quick facts
the short version
- full name
- Pulkit Aggarwal
- known online as
- Pulket · Just Pulkit · @justpulket
- profession
- App developer, product builder & entrepreneur
- location
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- currently
- MBA student at IIM Mumbai (2025 – present)
- education
- B.Tech, Electronics & Communication, IIIT Surat (2020 – 2024)
- best known for
- ZenDiary, DirectChat, and open-source AI agents
- total reach
- ~300,000 total downloads across 198 countries
- hi@pulket.in
what i do
areas of work
mobile app development
Designing and shipping production Android and iOS apps used by hundreds of thousands of people, idea to store listing.
ai & agents
Building LLM-powered consumer apps and open-source agents that feel genuinely useful, inspectable, and safe, not gimmicky.
product design
Clean, minimal, distraction-free interfaces. Clarity and simplicity beat feature bloat every time.
indie entrepreneurship
Launching, growing and maintaining apps solo, development, design, marketing, support and analytics, all of it.
building in public
Sharing the process on YouTube as Just Pulkit and writing essays on software, AI, startups and personal growth.
privacy-first software
Local-first storage and strong encryption, trusting users with their own data instead of mining it.
apps & projects
things i've built
zendiary
open ↗ai journaling & mental wellness
An AI-powered journaling and mental wellness app. Its companion, Zeni, reads entries, detects emotional patterns, offers gentle thought reframing, and tracks mood over time, all with local AES-256 encryption. 25,000+ users, a 4.8-star rating, and 100,000+ entries written. Pulkit built it to manage his own anxiety before releasing it.
directchat
open ↗whatsapp without saving contacts
A lightweight Android utility to message anyone on WhatsApp without saving their number first. Built in a weekend to scratch his own itch, it quietly went viral, 190,000+ downloads across 50+ countries with a 4.5-star rating.
open-source ai agents
open ↗open extractor agent & aro
Two inspectable, open-source agents. Open Extractor Agent turns a URL and a plain-English goal into structured data with a FastAPI + Playwright flow you can watch live. Aro is a Finder-aware AI file agent for macOS that turns plain English into careful, multi-step file work, every command visible, guarded by local safety checks.
timeline
the journey so far
2025 to present
mba at iim mumbai
Studying strategy, operations and the business side of building products at the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, still shipping code on the side.
2024
launched zendiary
Released an AI journaling app built privately to manage his own anxiety. It grew to 25,000+ users and a 4.8-star rating.
2023
directchat goes viral
DirectChat crossed 190,000+ downloads across 50+ countries, almost entirely through organic word of mouth.
2022 to 2024
building as an indie developer
Published a series of Android and iOS apps, growing to around 300,000 total downloads across 198 countries.
2020 to 2024
b.tech at iiit surat
Electronics and Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Information Technology Surat. Taught himself to code here.
skills & tools
how i build
languages & frameworks
backend & cloud
artificial intelligence
design & tooling
approach
how i think about building
The best products come from solving your own problems, every app started with a problem I personally had.
Simplicity wins. DirectChat does exactly one thing. ZenDiary hides its complexity behind a calm interface. Aro shows you every command before it runs.
Trust is the product. Building for mental health and for software that touches your files means privacy and inspectability can't be afterthoughts.
“i didn't build this to exit. i built this to exist.”on zendiary
faq
frequently asked
Who is Pulkit Aggarwal?
Pulkit Aggarwal, known online as Pulket (@justpulket), is an Indian app developer, product builder and entrepreneur based in Mumbai, India. He is an MBA student at IIM Mumbai and an engineering graduate of IIIT Surat. He has shipped 11 apps with around 300,000 total downloads across 198 countries, including ZenDiary and DirectChat, plus open-source AI agents Open Extractor Agent and Aro.
What does Pulkit Aggarwal do?
Pulkit Aggarwal designs, builds and ships mobile applications for Android and iOS, and builds open-source AI agents. He works as an independent developer and product builder, handling development, design, marketing and support himself. He also makes videos on YouTube as Just Pulkit and writes about software, AI and startups.
What apps and projects has Pulkit Aggarwal built?
Pulkit Aggarwal has shipped 11 apps, including 2 iOS apps, across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. His most notable are ZenDiary, an AI journaling app with 25,000+ users, and DirectChat, a WhatsApp utility with 190,000+ downloads across 50+ countries. He also builds open-source AI agents, the Open Extractor Agent (web extraction) and Aro (a Finder-aware macOS file agent).
What is Open Extractor Agent?
Open Extractor Agent is an open-source AI web extraction agent built by Pulkit Aggarwal. It runs locally with FastAPI and Playwright, turns a public URL plus a plain-English request into structured data, and shows the live agent flow, generated Python, plan JSON and raw trace.
What is Aro?
Aro is an open-source, Finder-aware AI file agent for macOS built by Pulkit Aggarwal. It opens with Control + Space, reads the current Finder folder and selected files, and turns plain English into careful, multi-step file work, planning one step at a time, showing every shell command, and running only what passes local Rust safety checks.
What is ZenDiary?
ZenDiary is an AI-powered journaling and mental wellness app created by Pulkit Aggarwal. It helps people track mood, understand emotional patterns and reflect through an AI companion called Zeni. It is free, private, uses local AES-256 encryption, and is available on Android and iOS. ZenDiary has 25,000+ users and a 4.8-star rating.
Where did Pulkit Aggarwal study?
Pulkit Aggarwal completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering at IIIT Surat (2020–2024) and is currently pursuing an MBA at IIM Mumbai (Indian Institute of Management Mumbai), which he began in 2025.
Where is Pulkit Aggarwal based?
Pulkit Aggarwal is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Is Pulkit Aggarwal the same person as Pulket?
Yes. Pulket is the online name and handle used by Pulkit Aggarwal. He is also known as Just Pulkit and uses @justpulket across YouTube, Instagram and Twitter/X. His personal website is pulket.in.
How can I contact Pulkit Aggarwal?
Pulkit Aggarwal can be reached by email at hi@pulket.in. He is also on YouTube (@JustPulket), Instagram (@justpulket), Twitter/X (@justpulket), GitHub (pulket), LinkedIn (pulket) and Substack.
connect
find me online
Reach me at hi@pulket.in, or follow along on any of these.