I've been coding on and off for about two years, but I feel like I haven't made as much progress as I would like. I realized that I rely too much on AI, so I've set up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi, blocked access to most chatbot websites, and even used browser extensions for added protection. Now, I'm on a quest to come up with real projects that can help me learn something valuable.
For example, I'm a music producer who uploads type beats on platforms like YouTube and Beatstars, but the uploading process is becoming a hassle with too many menus to navigate. I'd like to create a desktop GUI app that uses web automation to help streamline these uploads, utilizing Google's API for YouTube.
So far, I've defined some Pydantic types in Python and started working on a setup wizard, but I'm feeling overwhelmed by feature creep and would love some tips on planning and breaking the project into manageable tasks.
2 Answers
Consider projects that align with your hobbies—like your music production tools. Since uploading is a pain point, try to see if Beatstars has an API you can work with, as this could make your development easier than automating clicks. If there’s no API, you might try monitoring the network requests made in your browser to understand the upload process, which can help you automate it more effectively.
It's great that you want to create something useful! When it comes to project ideas, think about problems or annoyances in your daily life that you could solve through coding. For example, your music production project is solid because it addresses a specific pain point. One recommendation is to start with the core functionality first—like just uploading to YouTube—before adding additional features. Focusing on one task at a time can help prevent feeling overwhelmed!
I checked, and it looks like Beatstars doesn’t have an API, but reverse engineering the upload process could be useful. I'll set up my developer console to observe network requests during the upload. Thanks for the guidance!