What 100 devs taught me about monetizing small code

1 points by splimeproject 2 days ago

Hey HN,

A few days ago I asked: “How do you monetize personal code if it’s not really an app?”

I wasn’t sure what to expect — but wow. 60+ comments later, I’ve got a lot to think about.

Some of you shared great ideas: microtools, paid APIs, digital bundles, and usage-based services. Others shared tough truths about open source monetization, idea theft, and how hard it is to “just sell code.”

One theme came through clearly: there’s value in small, useful code — but few tools make it easy to share or monetize it *without turning it into a full product or startup*.

So we’re building something lightweight to explore that space. Think of it as a graph-based system where you can plug in small functions (in Python, Go, Rust, Node, even CLI tools), visualize how they connect, and share or even monetize them if you want. We’re focusing on:

Visual orchestration of multi-language functions Easy swapping of nodes without breaking the graph Local-first, no vendor lock-in Optional monetization (sell a function, not a SaaS)

This project came directly out of the discussion on this thread, and we’ll be sharing updates and early access invites for anyone interested in testing it out.

We'll post here again — and also share progress via: - X / Twitter - https://x.com/splime_proj - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sp-lime - Telegram group - https://t.me/+8ekv5cANUXllZDJi

If you want to help us test the early prototype (or just follow the journey), feel free to join. And thanks again — the HN comments gave this project shape and momentum