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! Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43667887 Points: 64 # Comments: 18

Avr 13, 2025 - 01:24

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.

Ask HN: How do you monetize personal code if it's not an "app"?

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