Death Plan Switch, a newly presented self-hosted tool for independent web developers, is designed to notify selected people when a business owner stops responding to regular check-ins. The project was highlighted on October 20 as a free, MIT-licensed option for solo operators whose clients, domains and hosting arrangements may depend on one person.
The software sends its operator an email at the same time each week. A response requires pressing a confirmation button; merely opening a link is not accepted because automated email scanners can visit links without human involvement. If the operator does not check in, the system first contacts the nominated next of kin. A confirmation that the operator is safe ends the process without alerting anyone else.
If nobody confirms that the operator is well, Death Plan Switch moves to the next stage and sends prepared messages to the remaining contacts. The developer says the timing means those contacts should be notified no more than 13 days after the last successful check-in. The process can also be cancelled after notifications begin, and people who have already been contacted are then told that the alert was false.
The project grew from a continuity problem familiar to one-person technology businesses. Its creator runs a web studio in regional New South Wales and manages client websites, domains and hosting. The business already had an encrypted document containing operational information, with the password held by a backup developer and another copy held by a lawyer. The missing component was an automated way to notice prolonged silence and contact people in a deliberate order without alarming family after an ordinary short absence.
Death Plan Switch is written in PHP and does not require a database. The developer says installation can largely be completed in a browser, although scheduling the recurring job through crontab is a technical step. The installer provides the required crontab line. The source is available for people to host themselves, modify or use as a starting point for their own continuity process.
The tool does not replace the underlying succession plan. Users still need to decide what operational information should exist, how it should be protected and who should receive it. Its narrower role is to provide the trigger between a missed check-in and a planned sequence of notifications.
The creator says the system has been running in a personal trial with a next-of-kin contact and backup developer confirmed. That is an early self-reported deployment, not evidence of broad operational testing. Prospective users should therefore test their mail delivery, escalation timing and cancellation path before relying on it for a business-critical handover.
