Dev Tools · 1h ago
Open-source chess diagram tool built over 7 months gains little traction
A developer built an open-source chess diagram export tool over 7 months, achieving 5 GitHub stars, 6 forks, and a handful of npm downloads. The tool exports high-resolution PNGs up to 1200 DPI without watermarks or accounts. The creator acknowledges poor discoverability on GitHub and npm as key challenges.
Meridian48 take
A cautionary tale that building a polished tool isn't enough — distribution and audience size matter, especially for niche developer tools.
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7 months building an open-source chess tool. Here's what actually happened. →
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