# On Building Things You'll Throw Away

> Throwaway code is a feature, not a failure. A short essay on why your side project doesn't have to last forever to be worth building.

**Author:** Harshit Katheria
**Published:** September 12, 2025 (2025-09-12T00:00:00.000Z)
**Tags:** essay, process
**URL:** https://harshitkatheria.com/blog/throwaway-code
**HTML version:** https://harshitkatheria.com/blog/throwaway-code

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I used to feel guilty about side projects I never finished. There are folders on my hard drive full of half-baked ideas — abandoned todo apps, a sudoku solver that solved sudokus, a home automation system that automated nothing.

These days I think of them differently.

A weekend hack that taught you a new API is worth more than a polished app you'll never launch. The throwaway code was the *point*. The artifact was a side effect of learning.

## Three rules I try to follow

1. **Give yourself permission to quit.** Some ideas need a year, some need a Saturday. Knowing the difference only comes from doing both.
2. **Optimize for what you learn, not what you ship.** The sunk cost is fine. The opportunity cost of not starting the next thing is the real expense.
3. **Archive it anyway.** Future you, six months from now, will love seeing the mess you made.

The best portfolio isn't a list of polished products. It's a trail of breadcrumbs showing you actually think.

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## See also

- [Blog index](https://harshitkatheria.com/blog.md)
- [Projects](https://harshitkatheria.com/projects.md)
- [Homepage](https://harshitkatheria.com/index.html.md)
- [llms.txt](https://harshitkatheria.com/llms.txt)