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Personal Productivity

Publish Your Own Useful Mini App

A small web app, live at a real address, that does one thing you currently do badly in a group chat — and that you can send to someone tonight.

One screen, no accounts, no database. Scope it properly, describe it precisely, build it, fix the first thing that breaks, and publish it.

Before you start

What it takes

Time
1 hour to 1 hour 30 min
Level
Beginner
Tools
Lovable · ChatGPT
Cost to run
Free. Lovable's free plan includes a limited number of edits per day, which is enough for one small app if you plan before you type. Publishing to their free web address costs nothing. A custom domain is about $12 a year and completely optional.

Last checked and updated 1 August 2026.

The plan

What you will do

All 5 steps, in the order you do them. There is a short setup before the first one, listing what to have open.

  1. Pick something small enough to finishAbout 10 minutes
  2. Write the briefAbout 12 minutes
  3. Build itAbout 20 minutes
  4. Fix the first thing that is wrongAbout 15 minutes
  5. Publish it and hand it to someoneAbout 12 minutes

Free

Publish Your Own Useful Mini App can be your free Build.

Not a preview and not a sample. One Build of your choosing, all the way to a thing that works — and you only get one, so it may as well be the one you actually want.

  • Every step in order, with the exact prompt to paste and where to paste it
  • A checkpoint after each step, so you know it worked before moving on
  • The walkthrough, the templates and any files that go with it
  • Your place kept, so you can put it down and come back to the same step