# side-project Published articles for side-project. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Building Which-Fuji: A Side Project for Fujifilm Camera Enthusiasts DevFeed: [Building Which-Fuji: A Side Project for Fujifilm Camera Enthusiasts]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: masnun Published: 2026-06-28T06:11:45Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Abu Ashraf Masnun]() Topics: [Website](), [Web](), [Cloudflare](), [Search engine optimization (SEO)](), [Google Search](), [Structured-data](), [Content Management System]() Tags: [building](), [camera](), [cloudflare](), [cloudflare-pages](), [google-search](), [project](), [robots](), [seo](), [side-project](), [uncategorized]() ### AI overview The article presents Which-Fuji, a small website for helping people choose a Fujifilm camera. It describes the site's browse page, quiz, camera reviews, and longer-form articles, along with the author's reasons for building it. The project uses a static-first architecture on Cloudflare Pages and explores structured data, sitemaps, robots policies, and discovery in Google Search. ### Source excerpt I've been quietly working on a small side project for the last few weeks, and it's finally at a point where I can share it properly. Which-Fuji is a tiny website I built to help people figure out which Fujifilm camera to buy. That's it. No reviews, no affiliate spam, no walls of text -- just [...] The post Building Which-Fuji: A Side Project for Fujifilm Camera Enthusiasts appeared first on Abu Ashraf Masnun. ## Building Svitgrid, a Solar Monitoring Platform for Home Systems DevFeed: [Building Svitgrid, a Solar Monitoring Platform for Home Systems]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Ivan Ursul Published: 2026-05-21T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Ivan Ursul]() Topics: [Monitoring](), [dashboards](), [real-time](), [Fastify](), [Flutter](), [Modbus](), [TypeScript](), [Cloud Run](), [ESP-IDF](), [ESP32-S3](), [Firestore](), [Mobile]() Tags: [android](), [battery](), [cloud-run](), [energy-monitoring](), [esp-idf](), [esp32](), [esp32-s3](), [firestore](), [flutter](), [gcp](), [iot](), [java](), [migrations](), [mobile](), [modbus](), [mongodb](), [monitoring](), [real-time](), [side-project](), [solar](), [typescript](), [web]() ### AI overview This article explains how Svitgrid, a solar monitoring platform for residential systems, was built. It covers the product's goals, cross-platform clients, cloud backend, ESP32-S3 edge hardware, inverter data paths, and support for multiple inverter systems over Modbus TCP. ### Source excerpt Svitgrid dashboard: real-time power flow from PV to battery, home, and grid ## 30 Profitable Micro SaaS Ideas for 2026 (Validated, Solo-Founder Ready) DevFeed: [30 Profitable Micro SaaS Ideas for 2026 (Validated, Solo-Founder Ready)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Ayush Agarwal Published: 2026-04-03T00:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Dodo Payments Blog]() Topics: [Software as a service](), [Artificial Intelligence](), [No-code](), [Vibe coding](), [App]() Tags: [2026](), [ai](), [ai-tools](), [business](), [how-to](), [indie-hackers](), [no-code](), [pricing](), [saas](), [side-project](), [startup](), [vibe-coding]() ### AI overview A guide to 30 micro SaaS ideas for 2026, organized by category and accompanied by target audiences, suggested pricing, and validation guidance. It also explains how to validate an idea before building and monetize a product after gaining users. ### Source excerpt 30 micro SaaS ideas with market size, MRR potential, and proven monetization paths. Hand-picked for solo founders--each idea ships in under 30 days with $0-$2k startup cost. ## How I turned my Anki side project into a Kickstarter: A Walkthrough DevFeed: [How I turned my Anki side project into a Kickstarter: A Walkthrough]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2026-01-30T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Romes' Musings]() Topics: [Learning]() Tags: [kickstarter](), [project](), [side-project]() ### AI overview A personal walkthrough of developing Kanjideck from an Anki side project into a physical product and launching it on Kickstarter. It covers manufacturing and testing, company formation, accounting, pricing, digital infrastructure, marketing, burnout, and seeking help as a solo entrepreneur. ### Source excerpt Contents 1 The initial idea (August 2024) 1.1 What if ? 2 Manufacturing physical cards (September 2024) 3 Starting a Company in the U.S. (October 2024) 3.1 Accounting and Taxes 4 Spreadsheets and Pricing (November 2024) 5 Digital Infrastructure (December 2024) 6 Marketing and Ads (January 2025) 7 Burn-out (March 2025) 8 Reaching out for help (October 2025) 9 Launching on Kickstarter (January 2026) 9.1 Murphy's Law 10 Conclusion I think this is my first non-Haskell related post on this blog! This time, I want to walk through how I successfully launched Kanjideck on Kickstarter starting from zero, in my spare time. I want to go over the initial side project, how that turned into a more ambitious idea, manufacturing and testing a physical product, setting up a company, spreadsheets, setting up the digital infrastructure for the business, marketing and ads, burn-out, launching, and reaching out for help as a solo entrepreneur. 1 The initial idea (August 2024) In the summer of 2024, with nothing to do after having finished reading "Babel" by R. F. Kuang (a book which happened to be about language and etymology and that I thoroughly enjoyed), I decided to get back to learning Japanese. Japanese is a challenging language to learn (at least in the West). Mostly, that's due to Kanji, one of the three types of characters used in written Japanese. Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic scripts, where to each symbol corresponds exactly one sound, and there are about 50 of each (these can be learnt in about a week). On the other hand, there are about 2,136 Kanji needed for fluency1. Each Kanji is a (potentially complex) symbol with one or more readings and one or more meanings. Anyway, that means there are a lot of Kanji to memorize. I'm a big fan of spaced repetition and Anki. If you don't know about spaced repetition, see "How to Remember Anything Forever-ish". I had tried to study Kanji seriously in the past, but the resources I was using at the time, despite using them consisten ## Founder Mode: Dub's journey from side project to enterprise link attribution platform DevFeed: [Founder Mode: Dub's journey from side project to enterprise link attribution platform]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Tiffany Chen Published: 2025-02-10T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Mintlify Blog]() Topics: [Open Source](), [software-development](), [Front end]() Tags: [article](), [enterprise](), [for-founders](), [open-source](), [platform](), [side-project](), [vercel]() ### AI overview Steven Tey describes Dub's evolution from a side project using edge functions and middleware into an open-source link attribution platform. The article attributes its growth to design, transparent public development, and organic discovery, and describes its expansion into end-to-end marketing attribution. ### Source excerpt Founder Mode is a series uncovering how founders and early leaders operate at today's standout startups. ## Goals for 2025 DevFeed: [Goals for 2025]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-12-23T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Jack Franklin]() Topics: [browser-game](), [Sports](), [To-Do]() Tags: [2025](), [blog](), [browser](), [exercise](), [fitness](), [focus](), [game](), [goals](), [health](), [launch](), [leo](), [logistics](), [network](), [parenting](), [side-project](), [sleep](), [steam](), [v1](), [weekly](), [writing]() ### AI overview After a year centered on adjusting to new parenthood, the author sets six goals for 2025: exercise at least three times a week, launch the browser-based train logistics game OnTrack on Steam, take Leo swimming monthly, continue a weekly date night, write ten blog posts, and improve productivity at work. For OnTrack, success means defining and publishing a purchasable first version, with no sales target; the author may use Tauri to package the browser game. The goals reflect hopes that nursery will free time for exercise and work, and a desire to protect time for family, their relationship, and writing. ### Source excerpt As 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been the most incredible and challenging year of my life. In January our child Leo was born and our lifes as we knew them were changed forever. There is plenty to be written on the highs and lows of being new parents and without doubt it has been the most difficult and rewarding year of my life. This year it has been impossible to set routines and goals because our sole focus was Leo and adapting to parenting. Any other goals or accomplishments were secondary and whilst to some extent that will always be the case, I wanted to note down some goals I have for 2025 to hold myself accountable. Hopefully this time next year I'm smiling writing a post about how successful I've been! Exercise at least 3 times a week My health, both physically and mentally, has suffered this year from a lack of time to invest in myself. Weekly badminton sessions and long walks with Leo and the dog have kept things ticking over, but the lack of sleep, quick meals once Leo is asleep and having to balance parenting and returning back to work has had a negative impact on my fitness. With Leo at nursery in 2025, I hope to have more time during the week to exercise, and I'm starting with a goal of 3 times per week. I hope to do more, but if I can achieve this it will be a solid improvement over 2024. Launch my side project on Steam I've been working on OnTrack for over two years. It's a browser based train logistics game where you have to build a passenger network and balance customer satisfaction and finances. At times I have suffered from focusing on too many features and knowing how to wrap up a "v1". This year, I want to define and launch the first version. My definition of success here is that the game is on Steam and you can buy it. I have no expectation on sales or making any money, but it would be a huge achievement to meet this milestone. Because the game is browser based (I did venture into Rust before falling ba ## Learning full stack - Implementation details DevFeed: [Learning full stack - Implementation details]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: info@jeroenmols.com (Jeroen Mols) Published: 2024-11-14T00:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Jeroen Mols]() Topics: [Full Stack Development](), [implementation](), [API](), [Go Language](), [software-development](), [Authentication](), [Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS)](), [in-memory database](), [Authorization](), [HTTP](), [JSON]() Tags: [api](), [authentication](), [authorization](), [backend](), [blogs](), [cors](), [development](), [frontend](), [full-stack](), [full-stack-development](), [go](), [http](), [implementation](), [in-memory-database](), [json](), [side-project]() ### AI overview The final part of a full-stack development series explains the implementation of a to-do list project. It covers REST API design, authentication and CORS middleware, Go backend structure and routing, and an in-memory database serialized as JSON. ### Source excerpt To conclude my series on full-stack development, this part will look at the implementation, design choices, what worked well and what didn't. This builds on the to-do list project proposed in part 1 and the tech stack described in part 2. ## Choosing a technology stack for a full-stack to-do list side project DevFeed: [Choosing a technology stack for a full-stack to-do list side project]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: info@jeroenmols.com (Jeroen Mols) Published: 2024-11-06T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Jeroen Mols]() Topics: [Learning](), [Go Language](), [Back end](), [Ruby](), [Ruby on Rails](), [JavaScript]() Tags: [backend](), [blogs](), [full-stack](), [go](), [golang](), [javascript](), [learning](), [playwright](), [ruby-on-rails](), [side-project](), [svelte](), [tech-stack](), [typescript]() ### AI overview The article examines technology choices for a full-stack to-do list side project. It compares NodeJS, Ruby on Rails, and Go for the backend, and explains why the author chose Go after considering asynchronous JavaScript, Rails' batteries-included approach, and Go's static typing, concurrency, compilation speed, and performance. ### Source excerpt One of my main drivers for this side project was to make all technology choices myself. To do that effectively, I would have to consider the pros and cons of different options and frankly learn many new things. ## Learning Full-Stack Development Through Side Projects DevFeed: [Learning Full-Stack Development Through Side Projects]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: info@jeroenmols.com (Jeroen Mols) Published: 2024-10-27T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Jeroen Mols]() Topics: [Full Stack Development](), [software-development](), [Mobile](), [Front end](), [React](), [TypeScript](), [PostgreSQL](), [Database]() Tags: [blogs](), [career](), [database](), [development](), [full-stack](), [full-stack-development](), [learning](), [mobile](), [postgresql](), [react](), [side-project](), [side-projects](), [typescript]() ### AI overview The author explains how moving from mobile development to a full-stack team exposed gaps in foundational knowledge, especially around architecture and starting projects from scratch. They describe using side projects to learn and introduce a finance manager project built with React, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL. ### Source excerpt After pivoting my career to full-stack development, I missed the "depth" I used to have on mobile. So to build out more foundational full-stack knowledge, I decided to build a few side projects. ## Things I learned while building a yt-dlp wrapper DevFeed: [Things I learned while building a yt-dlp wrapper]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-10-10T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Arkadiusz Chmura]() Topics: [Software](), [Open Source](), [macOS](), [FFmpeg (Fast Forward Moving Picture Experts Group)](), [Command-line interface](), [GUI](), [App]() Tags: [app](), [command-line](), [ffmpeg](), [gui](), [macos](), [open-source](), [open-source-software](), [side-project]() ### AI overview The author describes lessons from building ClipSnag, a native macOS GUI wrapper for yt-dlp. The article discusses how open-source licenses affect bundling dependencies such as FFmpeg and explores downloading and executing executables on macOS. ### Source excerpt An opportunity to learn new things is a great reason to pursue side project. ## Kakashi: The Copycat Robot DevFeed: [Kakashi: The Copycat Robot]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Suresh Alse (noreply@blogger.com) Published: 2024-09-23T04:47:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Life Plus Linux]() Topics: [Code](), [Algorithms](), [3D]() Tags: [3d-printed](), [algorithm](), [aurdino](), [build](), [code](), [image-processing](), [mapping](), [project](), [scale](), [side-project](), [speed]() ### AI overview A developer describes building Kakashi, a robot that imitates hand movements using an Arduino UNO, LED display, pan-and-tilt brackets, and four servo motors. The article explains the hand-tracking algorithm, including scale-invariant coordinate mapping and conversion to motor angles. ### Source excerpt In this post, I want to share about "Kakashi: The Copycat Robot"--a fun side project I built a few years ago. The name is inspired by the famous character from Naruto, Kakashi Hatake, also known as the Copycat Ninja. The goal of this robot was to mimic Kakashi's ability to copy movements--though, of course, in a more limited way. Check it out for yourself! Here are the things I used to build this: Aurdino UNO board. Max7219 8x8 LED 3D printed Pan and Tilt brackets (2x) 4 servo motors Bread board and jumper wires. I will go through it in following sections: The Sharinghan Pan and Tilt motion Controller - Serial bus Tracking algorithm The Sharinghan Of course, our Kakashi needs a Sharingan! For those unfamiliar, the Sharingan is the special eye that grants Kakashi his copycat abilities in Naruto. For this, I used a Max7219 8x8 LED. It has 5 pins which I connected as follows: VCC - connect to 5V GND - connect to ground DIN - data in ports.h CS - chip select ports.h CLK - clock ports.h Then I found a led editor which I used to create a hex mapping of the sharinghan in different angles and wrote this code that loops around it. Aurdino: https://github.com/alseambusher/kakashi/blob/new_algo/src/led.h Client: https://github.com/alseambusher/kakashi/blob/new_algo/client/led.py Pan and Tilt Pan and tilt are the two motions using which you can basically cover any movement when used in combination. I used two of these to mimic arm movements. Each one is made up of a pan and tilt bracket, which you can either 3D print or purchase pre-made from Amazon. I attached two servo motors to each bracket. I won't go into assembly details, as there are plenty of great tutorials available on how to put one together. Each servo motor has 3 pins - 5V power, ground and control. I connected the four control cables to the following ports: I wrote a simple class to control the 4 servo motors and map it into pan and tilt actions. Controller - Serial Bus The serial bus acts as a communication channel ## New Free Tier DevFeed: [New Free Tier]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Zeno Rocha Published: 2023-06-12T00:00:00Z Content type: news Language: en Sources: [Resend]() Topics: [CI/CD]() Tags: [features](), [free-tier](), [multi-region](), [product](), [side-project]() ### AI overview Resend increased its free plan to 3,000 emails per month, with a 100-email daily limit, and upgraded current free-plan accounts. The update also limits free plans to one domain per team and reserves regional sending for Pro plans. ### Source excerpt Now you can send 3,000 emails per month for free. ## Friends Tournament - Tournament creation and management made easy DevFeed: [Friends Tournament - Tournament creation and management made easy]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marco Gomiero Published: 2020-06-12T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Posts on Marco Gomiero]() Topics: [Automation](), [Sports](), [racing-game]() Tags: [android](), [app](), [application](), [bloc](), [board-games](), [business-logic](), [cross-platform](), [download](), [flutter](), [generate](), [github](), [ios](), [leaderboard](), [management](), [mobile](), [native](), [score](), [side-project](), [simple](), [sports]() ### AI overview Friends Tournament helps organize video game, sports, and board game tournaments. Users enter the number of players, matches, and players who can play simultaneously; the app generates matches and rounds, then tracks scores and builds a leaderboard automatically. The author built it after manually arranging a Crash Team Racing tournament and chose Flutter with the Bloc pattern. The project is open source on GitHub and, at the time described, is available only for Android; an iOS release is a possibility, not a stated commitment. ### Source excerpt Today I want to share Friends Tournament, a side project that I have been working on for the past year during my spare time. Friends Tournament is a simple application that will help you to manage and organize tournaments with your friends. You can use it to generate videogames tournament, sports tournament, board games tournament, whatever type of tournament do you want. All you need to do is to provide the number of players, the number of matches and the numbers of player that can play at the same time. That's all! Friends Tournament will then generate the matches and the rounds for you. You can then keep the score of each player and a leaderboard will be generated automatically. ## Finding a Domain for Your Side Project DevFeed: [Finding a Domain for Your Side Project]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Fuzzygroup Published: 2020-05-17T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Scott Johnson]() Topics: [domain](), [Amazon Web Services]() Tags: [aws](), [domain](), [marketing](), [project](), [side-project](), [sideproject](), [startup]() ### AI overview The article argues that choosing a domain remains important for a side project but need not be perfect. It recommends generating keyword combinations and checking availability with Octopoly, while cautioning that Octopoly's domain registration prices are higher than AWS prices. ### Source excerpt I would argue that even in the age of the app, a domain for your side project is still absolutely important. Now, despite that, one of the truths of side projects is that your domain is important but you aren't going to be dogmatic about it in the way that a funded company approaches their naming. What I like to do for this is figure out possible options and then run with a multiple domain search service. I'm playing around with a project which has a couple of possible related keywords in the domain: chat sober talk safe text This gave me a bunch of combinations: safechat.com safechat.io safetalk.com safetalk.io soberchat.com soberchat.io sobertalk.com sobertalk.io safetexts.com safetexts.io sobertexts.com sobertexts.io safetexting.com safetexts.io A quick trip to octopoly and their search engine: https://my.octopoly.nz/das/search/ let me put in a bunch of these and find out which are available domains. I didn't end up with exactly what I wanted but I did end up with a good enough domain which was sufficient to move forward - and that's generally enough for a side project. Octopoly. Absolutely recommended. Note 1: I'm sure there are other options out there and ones that do automatic suggestions, etc. But the ones that I've seem are paid and none seem to work quite as well as Octopoly. Note 2: Do not register your domains thru Octopoly, their costs are insane. A .io domain is normally $39 when bought through AWS but it is $79 through Octopoly. Grumble. ## Retrospective on Using Jumpstart Pro for a Rails Side Project DevFeed: [Retrospective on Using Jumpstart Pro for a Rails Side Project]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Fuzzygroup Published: 2020-01-21T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Scott Johnson]() Topics: [Ruby on Rails](), [Template](), [software-development]() Tags: [app](), [back-end](), [css](), [development](), [email](), [front-end](), [html](), [jumpstart](), [projects](), [rails](), [retrospective](), [side-project](), [tests]() ### AI overview The author reflects on choosing Jumpstart Pro, an application template for Rails projects, as a major development decision in 2019. They describe its prebuilt features, including Devise, Tailwind CSS, transactional email, HTML templates, and tested scaffolding, and recommend it for new projects. ### Source excerpt I don't generally do the retrospective (save in an agile context) - I prefer to look forward. And, yes, I'll admit that given some of the crap in my personal life these days, there's a reason for that. Now, that said, I've been thinking back over my 2019 year and I wanted to comment on my single best development decision of 2019: Buying Jumpstart Pro was my single best development decision in all of 2019. Like a lot of developers out there, I'm a back end guy. Yes I can do front end stuff but it tends towards a local maxima that might best be defined as ugly or even, perhaps, fugly. And, now, I can happily say never again. Jumpstart Pro is an application template for your next Rails app that gives you: A prebuilt starting point where the things that you are going to do anyway are already done like devise like a CSS grid (Tailwind) like transactional email like html templates that look good like a scaffolding generator that is all setup including tests like ... I bought Jumpstart Pro back in August when I had a side project that I was already pretty deep into and since Jumpstart Pro is best for new projects, well, I put it aside - and that was stupid of me. I should have trusted that Chris Oliver, the author of Jumpstart, made Jumpstart awesome - because he did. When I finally realized how good Jumpstart was, well, I started a different side project because I wanted to experience Rails from his perspective. And now that I'm about to ship this new side project, the only thing I have to say is absolutely worth it. Best damn development decision I made in 2019. Recommended. ## Letting tools make choices DevFeed: [Letting tools make choices]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Jack Franklin]() Topics: [Developer experience](), [Tool](), [tech radar](), [Learning](), [Test-driven development]() Tags: [2020](), [acceptance-tests](), [application](), [approach](), [automatic](), [babel](), [beginners](), [bug](), [configure](), [control](), [engineering](), [environment](), [set](), [side-project](), [software](), [sprint](), [technical](), [technologies](), [time](), [tools]() ### AI overview The author argues that tools with sensible defaults can reduce setup work and leave more time for building the application. Earlier efforts to perfect configurations, coordinate tools, and tune ESLint consumed hours and sometimes stalled side projects. They now use fewer ESLint rules and favor opinionated tools such as Prettier, Parcel, and Jest, while acknowledging that edge cases may require more control. For beginners learning React, the author recommends starting with create-react-app so they can focus on React before taking on its underlying tooling. They retain strong technical opinions but advocate holding them lightly and staying open to discussion. ### Source excerpt In my first post of the year about technical choices I'm making in 2020 I finished with a point about letting tools make choices for you: I've become a fan of putting more of that burden onto the technologies I'm choosing such that I can focus in on the actual application. I would be surprised if the tools that catch my eye in 2020 aren't ones that follow this pattern. This has been a trend for me and my work over the last year or so and I wanted to use this post to expand on it. Holding onto control I would never have written a post like this a few years ago. One of my main decisions when deciding what tools to use was how much control I had over the entire surface area of the tool and how much I could customise it to my every need. My logic at the time was that if I could configure my environment and tools to precisely what I wanted, I would create this zen-like application that was set up to enable me to be the most productive I could be. Time spent configuring My approach wasn't correct because of two things that are true of all software: Software is never finished. Software is never perfect. I could never get to this perfect setup of tools because there would always be something left to do! Anyone who has worked on an engineering team knows this; teams create sprint boards and backlogs and those backlogs inevitably end up with far more items in than your team could ever achieve. I remember sitting down one evening after work to focus on a side project and losing the best part of the evening trying to get two different tools that I'd chosen to use playing nicely alongside each other. I finished for the night and realised that I'd made no progress. I didn't even need those tools to work together to allow me to make progress, but I was so concerned about having the perfect setup that I forgot about building the actual application. Once I had everything playing nicely, one of the tools would have an update which broke something and I'd repeat the process all over a ## How to Make Progress on a Side Project - Invert DevFeed: [How to Make Progress on a Side Project - Invert]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Fuzzygroup Published: 2019-10-31T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Scott Johnson]() Topics: [software-development](), [developer-productivity](), [Test-driven development]() Tags: [classes](), [code](), [controllers](), [developer](), [developers](), [development](), [framework](), [jobs](), [libraries](), [metrics](), [models](), [productivity](), [project](), [rake](), [rspec](), [side-project](), [side-projects](), [stats](), [tests](), [work]() ### AI overview The author recommends inverting the usual side-project routine by working on it first thing on days you choose to do it, before the workday leaves you tired or other obligations intervene. The suggested commitment is modest: sometimes 15 minutes, often about an hour, and rarely more. Using an estimate of three sessions per week, 60% consistency, and 30 minutes per session, the author calculates about 75 hours a year--enough, they argue, to build something with a modern framework, with weekend time adding more. The author connects this routine to treating a side project as self-care. The excerpt describes their own sizable, unlaunched project, but does not establish that the approach works for everyone. ### Source excerpt Because side projects are as ridiculous as someone doing push ups on top of a set of dueling pianos; Picture taken at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar, Austin, TX; Recommended Great Googly Moogly! My current side project is almost 10K lines of code in total or at least 5k lines (and yes there are tests, rspec, I don't know why it says 0 lines of tests): rake stats +----------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+-----+-------+ | Name | Lines | LOC | Classes | Methods | M/C | LOC/M | +----------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+-----+-------+ | Controllers | 1161 | 767 | 23 | 95 | 4 | 6 | | Helpers | 267 | 207 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 3 | | Jobs | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Models | 2151 | 1316 | 23 | 137 | 5 | 7 | | Mailers | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Channels | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | JavaScripts | 4351 | 3599 | 0 | 183 | 0 | 17 | | Libraries | 1304 | 811 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 113 | +----------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+-----+-------+ | Total | 9248 | 6714 | 50 | 458 | 9 | 12 | +----------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+-----+-------+ That's big for a side project and it is particularly big for something that hasn't actually launched yet. When I was building this, I made a deliberate decision about how I approached this side project which dramatically increased my productivity. My decision, right from day 1, was to Invert. Normally we think of a side project as something you do after work so what I did was to do my side project as my first thing every day I worked on it. Here's my thinking on this: A side project is something that a developer does for his or her or their self (pronoun, pronoun, pick a pronoun). Self comes before work. For serious developers, those that build side projects, a side project is literally self care. Thus do it first thing. What I have found is that if you wait until after the day is done, you are just plain tired. Often you have all the best intentions of working on something but you simpl ## Sunsetting Dank DevFeed: [Sunsetting Dank]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Saket Narayan Published: 2018-12-15T18:41:13Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Saket Narayan]() Topics: [Android](), [App](), [software-development](), [Reddit]() Tags: [android](), [app](), [building](), [dank](), [developer](), [development](), [exploring](), [github](), [project](), [reddit](), [side-project]() ### AI overview The developer announces that they are archiving Dank, an Android Reddit app started as a side project in 2017, after burnout made it difficult to balance the project with work and life. They are releasing the source on GitHub for others to use or fork. ### Source excerpt I've been trying to write this post for a while, but I kept throwing my words in the bin in hopes that things will improve. I believe it's now time to put an end to this. I started building Dank as a side project in January 2017. It was my playground for exploring Android. It [...] The post Sunsetting Dank appeared first on Saket Narayan. ## One commit a day DevFeed: [One commit a day]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Miguel Angel Quiñones Published: 2015-08-07T20:22:22Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Miguel Quinones]() Topics: [Test-driven development](), [User interface design]() Tags: [app](), [build](), [coding](), [commit](), [commits](), [completion](), [design](), [features](), [focus](), [future](), [job](), [minutes](), [motivation](), [programming](), [progress](), [project](), [projects](), [proof-of-concept](), [side-project](), [side-projects]() ### AI overview The author argues that a daily habit helps sustain momentum on long-term side projects: after taking a day off, they found it harder to restart, and the project stalled for more than a week. Their practice is to spend at least 20 minutes each day advancing the project. That work need not be coding; examples include updating a design, considering future features, or tweaking a landing page. The author says this regular attention preserves a sense of progress and makes returning to the project more satisfying, while working only on weekends left them frustrated and short of their goals. ### Source excerpt One commit a day. A lesson I've learned the hard way when dealing with long-term side projects. The first push You are starting a new side project. That new library, framework, cool app idea or just a hack you had in your mind for long time. Starting it is easy, as you find some spare time and kick off your editor of choice and start writing code. I've done this some times, but then if having a full time job, keeping with your side project is very very hard. But to successfully build something useful, something more than a proof of concept, you will need more than just one evening. Keeping up It's after some evenings working at home that I would say: "Today I will rest, I'm not working on my side project". And this act will make that the next day I will be thinking again that I can rest another day. And rest I will. The long streak of commits, progress and closeness to completion stops right there. It will be very hard for me to restart my work again. Stopping for one day made it harder to restart my work and delayed the whole project for more than a week. I've heard many people have this problem and the solution is very pragmatic: A commit a day. A commit a day When you work on a side project you do it because you want to use your spare time to build something. It's a project nonetheless so you still need some goals and motivation. I've found that stopping the regular work can kill your motivation and focus. So I've proposed myself whenever I work on a side project, I need to advance something every day. I'm building an app now (shh, top secret), so I will work on anything related to it at least 20 minutes every day. It does not have to be programming. It can be updating a design, thinking of new features to add in the future, tweaking landing page, or actually coding. This act of keeping up with your project makes it so that I will focus more on it, and I will not loose the sense of progression. Also if I will work on the project only during weekends I found that ## Ninety Days of Commits DevFeed: [Ninety Days of Commits]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2015-07-26T12:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Jake Yesbeck]() Topics: [software-development](), [Open Source](), [Programming]() Tags: [developers](), [development](), [github](), [open-source](), [side-project]() ### AI overview The author reflects on ninety days of making daily commits to a public GitHub repository, averaging three to four substantial commits per day. They describe how daily software development improves focus, confidence, and familiarity with projects, while frequent iteration helps immature software gradually develop better structure. ### Source excerpt It has been ninety days since I started the Year of Commits initiative. The criteria behind this challenge was to make a commit to a public Github repository every day. Technically, a commit like the following satisfies that criteria: However, if I allowed this commit to be my sole contribution for a day, I would be cheating no one except myself. In reality, I have been averaging 3 to 4 decent size commits a day. Spending around an hour or two total per night. Github is an awesome piece of software that tells a visual tale of when I am most productive: Over this quarter of a year, I have accrued some interesting learnings about developing open source software. 1. Writing software every day just feels good. Not missing a single day of writing software has made a significant improvement in my confidence and attitude. In the same way exercising daily makes your body feel more sturdy, developing software daily keeps my mind focused and clear. Like warming up a car before a drive, writing software every day makes it very easy for me to jump into a new project or build a new feature. I think most of my fellow software artisans have been in this situation: You go on vacation or maybe just a very relaxing weekend, then the next day at work or when you open that side project again, you end up spending a lot of time getting familiar with the software. Even if you just wrote it a few days ago, the break has made some tiny details less sharp. Writing software every single day helps eliminate this. 2. Immature software is expected While writing software, there are a total of 0 people that look at what they just wrote and say: "This software is already bad and I have only just written it". However, this statement can be more true than we would like. The potential in a new project is always the best part, right? Developers around the world usually jump at a change to do green field development. After all, with no legacy software around we can make what ever our heart desires. It c