In praise of small, finished tools

I have a folder full of ambitious projects that are 80% done. I also have a handful of tiny utilities that are completely finished. Guess which ones other people use.

Finished is a feature

A finished tool has edges. You know what it does and — just as importantly — what it doesn’t. That makes it easy to trust.

How I keep things small

1. Write the README first.
2. Cut every feature that isn’t in the README.
3. Ship when the README is true.

The quiet payoff

Small tools rarely get attention. They do get used, which is better.