building small tools
I have a folder on my computer called “small-tools” filled with single-purpose utilities I’ve built over the years. A JSON formatter. A color palette generator. A markdown table builder. None of them are particularly sophisticated, but I use them constantly.
There’s something satisfying about building small, focused tools. They scratch an immediate itch, they’re simple enough to understand completely, and they’re finished in a way that larger projects rarely are.
The appeal of constraints
Small tools are naturally constrained. They do one thing, and the scope limitation forces you to think carefully about the essential features. You can’t add “just one more feature” indefinitely because the tool’s identity depends on staying focused.
This constraint is liberating. You’re not trying to anticipate every possible use case or build something that scales to millions of users. You’re solving a specific problem for yourself and maybe a few other people with similar needs.
Learning through building
Each small tool is also a learning opportunity. Want to understand how parsing works? Build a calculator. Curious about web APIs? Make a weather widget. Interested in data visualization? Create a simple chart generator.
The feedback loop is fast because the scope is manageable. You can go from idea to working prototype in an evening, and from prototype to polished tool in a weekend.
Compound value
Over time, these small tools accumulate into a personal toolkit. I have utilities for common formatting tasks, converters for different data types, and generators for boilerplate code. Each one saves a few minutes here and there, but collectively they add up to significant time savings.
More importantly, the process of building them has made me a better programmer. Each tool taught me something new about problem-solving, user interface design, or technical implementation.
Distribution and sharing
Not every tool needs to become a product. Some are valuable precisely because they’re personal and specific to your workflow. But the ones that solve common problems are worth sharing.
I’ve put several of my tools on GitHub, not because I expect them to gain massive adoption, but because someone else might find them useful or want to build on the idea.
Starting small
If you’re looking for a side project, consider building a small tool instead of a large application. Pick something that annoys you in your daily work and build a focused solution. The constraints will teach you things that open-ended projects don’t.
The best part? You’ll actually finish it.
Current project: A simple CLI tool for converting between different time formats, because I’m tired of manually calculating UTC offsets.