[HN Gopher] Ask HN: How do you monetize personal code if it's no...
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Ask HN: How do you monetize personal code if it's not an "app"?
Hey HN, I've been thinking a lot about this lately and wanted to
ask -- how do you monetize your personal code if it doesn't really
fit into a classic product or SaaS model? For example: * I have a
trained ML model that solves a niche task really well -- but
turning it into a full-blown app seems like overkill. * I've
written a CLI tool that processes log files better than anything
else I've found, but it's too specialized to justify making a
company out of it. * I built a few small functions in different
languages (Python, Go, Rust) that do neat things -- data cleanup,
API scraping, PDF generation -- but none of them are "products" by
themselves. I'm exploring ways to package and expose this kind of
work: maybe as paid APIs, small function services, or even "pocket
FaaS" instances others can plug into. Curious if anyone here has
tried something similar -- or if you've seen creative ways to turn
technical tools or utilities into sustainable side income. Thanks
in advance for sharing ideas or examples!
Author : splimeproject
Score : 39 points
Date : 2025-04-12 20:56 UTC (2 hours ago)
| splimeproject wrote:
| If anyone here has successfully monetized something like this --
| small tools, niche models, clever functions -- I'd love to hear
| how you approached it. Even if it didn't work out, examples and
| lessons are super helpful. Let's share ideas -- maybe we can
| figure out some creative paths forward together!
| Uzmanali wrote:
| I created a niche CLI tool to clean messy CSVs. It was too small
| for a startup, so I made a simple landing page. Then, I shared it
| in forums and added a 'buy me a coffee' link. To my surprise, it
| brought in small but steady income. You can also bundle tools
| into a digital product (like a 'developer toolkit') and sell on
| Gumroad. APIs and microservices on RapidAPI or GitHub Sponsors
| also work if your tool solves a real pain point.
| codr7 wrote:
| A book?
|
| https://github.com/codr7/hacktical-c/tree/main
| gdulli wrote:
| Semi related, is there any sort of service or type of
| professional that does mentoring/handholding of someone who has
| the core code that does something but who won't/can't take the
| steps on their own to make it a service or app they could sell?
| edoceo wrote:
| Hello there.
| gdulli wrote:
| Hey. I'll check out your site.
| darkotic wrote:
| Oh hi.
| actionfromafar wrote:
| How timely, good day to you!
| 1dom wrote:
| Like someone to package up and sell your code and give you
| money in return? Isn't this software engineering employment?
| (Sorry, couldn't resist)
|
| But seriously, it does sound like a product person or sales
| person might be able to give you some useful direction.
| gdulli wrote:
| Yeah to be more specific I mean I'm sure I'm not unique,
| there's a whole class of people who can create something
| easily but who don't have the personality or wherewithal or
| desire to sell it or pretend it could be a unicorn or seek
| out a formal co-founder.
|
| But who'd be happier tending to the day to day of keeping
| their own service growing and running well than other kinds
| of employment.
| hello_newman wrote:
| IMO you don't need to build a full app or company. You could just
| build a series of niche sites or properties. If your code solves
| a specific pain point really well, wrap it in a simple front end
| or paid API and let people use it.
|
| Some possible ideas:
|
| Micro SaaS: Turn it into a one-page tool (log parser, file
| cleaner, PDF transformer) with Stripe and add rate limits. People
| pay for simplicity.
|
| Paid API: Use RapidAPI or Plain.com to expose it. Charge per hit
| or via metered billing. Maybe even a slackbot for some of these
| would make sense.
|
| Productized utility: Sell it as a $49/month "done-for-you"
| service to whatever niche audience would benefit (dev teams, SEO
| people, lawyers, etc).
|
| Digital bundle: If it's CLI or script-based, package it up with a
| guide or demo on YouTube and sell on Gumroad.
|
| You're not necessarily building a startup, and that's fine! just
| something useful enough for strangers to pay for which is more
| than enough
| aristofun wrote:
| > it's too specialized to justify making a company out of it
|
| How do you know? Did you try?
| nzzn wrote:
| Just look at the work to date as a portfolio for your resume and
| go get a job with someone that will pay you and perhaps give you
| some small amount of equity. You don't have the skills to sell.
| Move on
| fathermarz wrote:
| Honestly wrapping code in a front end is enough of an "app"
| experience that people don't care as long as it brings value.
| Perfect case I ran into last week, I had to convert a legacy .pst
| outlook file to .eml for new outlook. Only a handful of these
| tools exist and I picked the one that had a front end and a nice
| looking installer. $110 to that company for something I will
| likely never use again.
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