I tried to build a SaaS. I'm shipping tiny libraries instead.

The author spent seven days developing ChatProof, a testing framework for AI chat UIs, before realizing that product-market work like cold outreach and positioning was not their strength. They pivoted to shipping small, zero-dependency TypeScript libraries that solve specific pain points with the Anthropic SDK, releasing three packages in five days totaling 480 lines of code and 50 unit tests. The author argues that building focused utilities that solve real personal problems can be a more sustainable and authentic path for engineers than forcing a SaaS product.

For 7 days I poured energy into ChatProof — a testing framework for AI chat UIs. The problem was real: every team building Claude/GPT wrappers hits the same streaming-render bugs, and existing e2e tools weren't built for non-deterministic LLM output. I had a competitive analysis. I had a PRD. I even had a name. Then I admitted something to myself: product/market work just isn't my strength. I'm a builder. I love writing TypeScript. I love designing APIs. I love npm test going green. I do not love writing cold DMs. I do not love figuring out which subreddit my ICPs hang out in. I do not love crafting positioning documents. Once I named it, the pivot was obvious. Instead of one ambitious SaaS, I'd ship tiny zero-deps libraries that solve specific Anthropic SDK pain points I personally hit. Each one: The goal isn't to build a unicorn. It's to leave a GitHub trail that demonstrates I can ship real code, get organic distribution through npm + search, and let the work compound over months. Day 1 — claude-stream-collector Consume Anthropic Messages streaming events into a typed CollectedResult . Handles tool use input JSON delta accumulation the SDK leaves this to you and merges cache token usage across message start + message delta the SDK overwrites . ~120 lines, 6 tests. Day 3 — claude-retry Smart retry for Anthropic API calls. Respects retry-after headers which the SDK's built-in retry doesn't always honor , exponential backoff with jitter, custom retry predicates, AbortSignal support. ~180 lines, 25 tests. Day 5 — claude-pricing Calculate Claude API cost from token usage. Bundled pricing table with smart model-alias resolution strips date suffixes , batch API discount, session CostTracker with budget alerts. ~180 lines, 19 tests. Three packages, ~480 lines of code, 50 unit tests. All public. All on npm. 1. Match the work to who you are, not who you think you should be. Indie Hackers and Twitter are full of advice assuming you're a generalist who loves every part of building a company. Many great engineers aren't, and that's fine. Tiny libraries are a perfectly valid path if you optimize for shipping over selling. 2. Zero-deps is a feature, not a constraint. Every dependency is a future maintenance burden, a potential security issue, and a reason for someone to skip your package. For 100–500 line utilities, you almost never need anything but Node's standard lib. 3. Series narratives compound. Each package on its own is a small thing. But three packages with shared types TokenUsage flows from claude-stream-collector → claude-pricing cleanly form a tiny ecosystem. Each new package strengthens the others. 4. Build in public ≠ build for engagement. I posted about each release on X and 即刻. Engagement so far: zero likes, zero replies. Downloads on the first package: 129 in 7 days. People install packages they discover via search and never engage with the announcement. That's fine — the artifacts persist longer than any tweet. 5. Pivoting hurts less when you preserve learning. ChatProof isn't dead. The painpoint research, competitive analysis, and architecture thinking from those 7 days informed every package since. Especially: I knew the streaming pain because I'd done the homework. More small packages: claude-cache-helper , claude-tools-typed , maybe claude-prompt-toolkit . Same shape — small, focused, zero-deps. I'll keep posting about them but won't measure success in likes. If you're stuck on an indie project trying to be a "real founder," maybe try shipping a single utility you'd actually use. You might find you ship four more before you'd have written a single landing page. Three packages: claude-stream-collector — typed stream eventsclaude-retry — smart retry + backoffclaude-pricing — cost calc + trackerBuilding in public: ship-log-2026