I know how to code but I genuinely have no idea what to build and it's frustrating

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Traditional_Crazy200@reddit

Build a small compiler, build a small debugger, make your own implementation of a red black tree, make a visulaization of a ulam spiral in opengl, make pong in opengl or maybe even vulkan, Use a game engine to make a game... write your own js framework, the world needs more of those...

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Flat_Adeptness_9240@reddit

you’re not alone. Think of it like this: some of the best devs started by automating their own annoyances. Next time something bugs you IRL or online, ask, “Can I make this better?” Before you know it, that annoyance turns into a project you actually care about.

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WasabiQueemin@reddit

Even if something already exists can’t you find a new dimension to add to it?

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leviem1@reddit

Real shit, most things that you will think of is either small enough that it’s been done, or is going to take a team of 15 engineers 2 years to solve and you don’t have that time or money

The only way to get to the point where you can be a part of a team working towards something big is by reinventing the wheel and learning first hand why we don’t use squares for wheels. Or contributing to something that already exists (maybe consider contributing to open source)

Along the way you might build and publish a few tools that people like but you probably won’t make much or any money on them. And one day you might just be able to start your own company, but even if not, you end up building lots of amazing things along the way

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backfire10z@reddit

> why we don’t use squares for wheels

Big Circle got to them first :(

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crawlpatterns@reddit

nah this is super common, knowing how to code and knowing what to build are wierdly different skills. i’d stop trying to find a “perfect” idea and just remake something you already use, but add one small thing that annoys you less. small projects count way more than they feel like they do, especally when you actually finish them. once you finish a few boring little things, better ideas kinda start showing up on their own.

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frivolityflourish@reddit

I enjoy building little text based and soon... 2D games for fun.

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yellowmonkeyzx93@reddit

I know your feeling. I remember one milestone was building a coding portfolio of my own, to house and showcase the other projects.

Additionally, doesn't mean you can't make smaller projects for fun. Something that means more to you. Then, you could build up on that initial smaller project.

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aleques-itj@reddit

I write what I want to write. Something already existing doesn't mean it isn't interesting or worthwhile to build myself.

There's a ton of Gameboy emulators.

I wanted to write one. I wrote one. It was very fun.

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Outrageous_Branch_72@reddit

Did you start fron scratch? I don't even know how to begin with it.

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Basic_Palpitation596@reddit

I rebuild already exisiting software, sometimes trying to replicate their architecture or design patterns purely to understand how it works under the hood.

I built my own React as my gateway into metaprogramming and I am obviously not expecting frontend devs to use my version of React.

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

that's fair honestly, and that's a different kind of motivation

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pier4r@reddit

Repeating what already exists is great for learning. If you add fun to it, that is great.

I mean it is like solving a puzzle or learning something. Someone already did it, but you do it for your own development.

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JohnBrownsErection@reddit

"Every idea I come up with either already exists, feels too small, or I lose motivation halfway because it doesn't feel like it solves anything real."

Do it anyway lol

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InternetSolid4166@reddit

Find some OSS you use and contribute. I use Sonarr and Radarr, for example. Could you improve anything? Could you fix some bugs?

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sockcman@reddit

It doesn't matter if it exists or not, that's not the point of projects. Also small projects are the best, that means you can get more projects done. Just pump em out.

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

Well, actually I've been building small projects for the past 2 years but it never felt satisfying honestly.

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QuarryTen@reddit

for example?

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JGallows@reddit

All large projects are just a bunch of small projects combined.

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PandorasBucket@reddit

That's funny I have a backlog of projects a mile long and even with AI I still can't get them all done.

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Dry_Marionberry_4822@reddit

You have 25 years of experience, why did you leave it?

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Dry_Marionberry_4822@reddit

I'm in the same boat as you. Send me a message so we can study together. I'm studying Java.

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nnofficial2414@reddit

I used to think like that too. But I realized it’s not about building more apps or features. It’s about finding what doesn’t work in the existing things. If you read App Reviews or Instagram Page comments, you would notice there are many complains which are worth looking at.

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UnoMaconheiro@reddit

Every idea already exists because humans have been bored for a long time. Build it anyway.

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FORKLEY_ANNOYING@reddit

What do you know? What do you like (not tech stack, outside of academics)? Ill tell you to build something

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

I m onto something that creates curiosity among users and get them on an adventure

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FORKLEY_ANNOYING@reddit

Choose short topics you like and have info about and make a learning platform that stimulates the mind, Visuals, interactives, games, quizzes. Etc Very short, very informative, very interactive. Now you know how to move. 1) Think of something you like 2) Think of medium you can express what you like through your knowledge 3) look for examples of execution 4) execute Always do what you like, always make what you enjoy.

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beyondthebit@reddit

I try to make things that fit in my own situation. I'm still learning so it doesn't need to be big, and it also doesn't matter to me if something already exists. When I encounter a small inconvenience I just go "would I be able to code up a tiny solution for this tiny problem" and then I just try, and often it works!

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EducationalWatch8551@reddit

Give up then 👍 more money for me.

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Kane_ASAX@reddit

I solved this by building a platform. A place where all those small projects can contribute in some manner to a large system. It allows me to learn how my job set up certain systems, why they prefer doing something one way etc.

I'm still building on it, but I've gotten to a point where I can hook up small stuff to it.

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ElectricalTears@reddit

Idk I’m stuck here too. The singular idea I had I couldn’t even start because I couldn’t figure out what to search to even get things going.

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CrookedDesk@reddit

Don't sit down in front of an IDE or think about the code at all to begin with.

Sit down in front of a word doc instead, write down ideas, vague concepts of ideas, maybe some goals, or obstacles you've faced (however minor) that you wished there was an easy solution to.

The "programming" should be the absolute last step in any project, imho. It's the means to an end, and shouldn't be touched until you're confident in exactly what your project entails and have written out a plan for yourself.

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tms102@reddit

You stare at a blank screen? Try turning your monitor/PC on.

What was your reason for learning how to write code in the first place?

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

lmao fair point on the monitor 💀 and honestly my reason was pretty vague — just wanted to "build things" and get a good job. never had a specific problem I was dying to solve. maybe that's exactly why I'm stuck, I came in with skills but no real purpose behind them

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DopeFlavorRum@reddit

AI comment

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tms102@reddit

Any industry or type of company you're specifically interested in? Any technologies? Do you have any other hobbies or anything?

Having interests like these help steer on what you can build.

I like physical card games so I decided to work on a tool to help design cards which could grow into something that helps design card games.

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KC918273645@reddit

The secret is to not compare your project to others and just do what you would like to do.

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cheyyne@reddit

It's fine if something already exists. Clone a game like tetris or pacman from scratch. Put your own spin on an app you like, make a barebones version of it, whatever.

The only fight is towards your own mastery. Relevance will come as you build achievement

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SourceScope@reddit

Build something that exists

Find a small program and make something similar

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NoCredit2554@reddit

Did you think it was going to be easy?

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Embarrassed_Scar_515@reddit

Dude video games. What do you even mean? Just make something fun, and creativity follows naturally.

If you don’t know any gameplay loops, spend a couple hours on Brotato and slay the spire. Promise it’ll give you the inspo you need

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HereForC0mments@reddit

Professional software engineer of 20 years here. Don't worry about whether an idea you have has already been done or not, because YOU haven't done it yet and the process of building it will allow you to learn how, which is all that matters when you're new and learning how to program. Pick something you find interesting, as you'll need that motivation to push through the hard parts to finish it. But also make sure it's something that's a reasonable size and can be finished in a reasonable amount of time - i.e., don't try to build an entire Microsoft Excel clone or something so large in scope.

As an example, I recently started learning how to build GUI applications and my first real project is a simple app that draws graphs based on data in CSV files. There are tons of apps that can do that, and Excel is one of the most commonly used for that purpose, but it was something I was having to do a lot of and so having a dedicated app for it felt like a good project for me. I doubt I'll ever post it for others to download, cause there are tons of apps that do it well already, but the point of doing it is for me to learn how to build something like that, not make a product for sale.

Sometimes you just have to start writing and see where the journey takes you.

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tailguard@reddit

Build what you wish you had or what your brother or mother needs. Start somewhere.

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Aphor1st@reddit

One of my favorite things I have built was a web app that allows me to track all my house plants their care and schedule and I can also upload photos and track growth. It makes it soo easy to see who needs fertilizer, who needs to be rotated etc.

Im sure you have some random thing like this somewhere. Dog training, recipe storage with a feature to search by ingredients, a tarot card reading app, make your own weird random reddit bot (or is that not a thing after the API changes?), outfit organizer (upload all individual items and what common things you wear together). Im sure there is something useful you can make even if something out there already does it.

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DrShocker@reddit

Make youtube but with fewer ads.

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grantrules@reddit

Who cares if something already exists.

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abrahamguo@reddit

Try brainstorming with AI for some inspiration.

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

Yeah I've done that, it helps a little. But even the best idea from AI feels like I'm building in a vacuum. I think what I actually need is someone who genuinely has a problem and wants it solved — not just a randomly generated concept. Does that make sense or am I overthinking it?

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i7azoom4ever@reddit

What I've been doing for the past few month (been learning C#) is ask every friend this question "do you have a very simple need that surprisingly no app offers it so I can create it for you?" And it worked every time. I had gathered many projects to figure out over the next few programming sessions.

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abrahamguo@reddit

OK — ask your non-technical friends what would be helpful to them, or contribute to existing open-source projects that have issues or roadmaps.

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Formal-Treat2407@reddit (OP)

lowkey the most interesting problems probably come from people who don't know anything about tech. they just know something in their life is annoying and broken. no filter, no "is this feasible" just raw frustration. that sounds way more fun to build around tbh

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