Your Side Project Deserves a Notebook, Not a Repo

Why “just throw it in a repo” slows builders down
- Notebooks: Code + Context in the Same Place
Your Side Project Deserves a Notebook, Not a Repo
The Side Project Reality: Momentum > Architecture
- Where AI Supercharges Notebook‑First Building
- From Notebook to Repo — When You’re Ready
📌 Further Reading
- Scribbler Resources
- Literate Programming & Jupyter
To Summarize

TL;DR: Repos are where code goes to sleep. Notebooks are where ideas come alive. If you’re hacking on a side project nights & weekends, you don’t need a perfect dependency tree — you need a fast, writable, runnable scratchpad where code, notes, experiments, AI help, and shareable demos live together. That’s why we built Scribbler.

Why “just throw it in a repo” slows builders down #

Open a blank GitHub repo and what happens? You start thinking about: folder structure, build tools, lint rules, CI, README formatting, package managers, version bumps… and suddenly you’re doing plumbing instead of prototyping. For side projects — especially exploratory ones — front‑loading infrastructure is creative friction. Many promising ideas stall right here.

A notebook‑first workflow flips that script. Instead of proving you can ship a production system, you prove the idea — in code you can run right now, right next to the explanation of what you were trying to learn, test, or validate.

Notebooks: Code + Context in the Same Place #

Builders rarely remember why past‑you wrote that function. A notebook keeps the “what” and the “why” glued together:

Markdown blocks capture intent, decisions, and TODOs.
Executable code cells show the current state of an experiment.
Outputs inline: logs, tables, DOM snippets, charts.
Easy branching: duplicate a notebook, try a wild idea, compare results.

Compare that to digging through /src/experimental/v2-old/try-3-final-really branches in a repo. With notebooks, yesterday’s thinking is visible and runnable. Here’s the complete article with clickable links to Scribbler blog posts, Jupyter resources, and Knuth’s literate programming references:

Your Side Project Deserves a Notebook, Not a Repo #

When you kick off a side project—whether it’s tinkering with APIs, crafting small JavaScript tools, or diving into data—your first instinct might be to git init and create a bare repo. But too often, that repo becomes dusty docs, fragmented scripts, and forgotten READMEs. What if you started with a notebook instead?

🎯 A Notebook Is a Narrative-First Approach #

Many Scribbler articles underscore this philosophy:

These pieces show how Scribbler makes experimentation central, keeping code and reasoning in one interactive space.

📚 Rooted in Literate Programming #

This notebook‑centric mindset has deep philosophical roots:

Knuth believed programs should be written as works of literature for humans first, computers second. Modern notebooks like Jupyter follow that ethos.

🔍 Jupyter and Literate Computing #

Jupyter popularized literate computing, combining Markdown, math, and executable code:

🧠 Why Notebooks Fit Side Projects Perfectly #

Advantage	‍Why It Matters for a Side Project
Narrative-driven flow	Capture your thought process—not just final code.
Interactive exploration	Run experiments, tweak parameters, visualize instantly.
Self-documenting history	Keep text, code, and outputs together.
Easy sharing	Export to HTML, PDF, or publish as live docs.

The Side Project Reality: Momentum > Architecture #

Most side projects die from lost momentum, not bad architecture. A notebook lowers the activation energy:

Start with a quick Markdown note: “Idea: tiny AI‑powered regex tester.”
Add a code cell, import a library from CDN, test it.
Screenshot + share to Twitter for feedback.
Iterate before you scaffold a full app.

When (not if) the idea takes off, then formalize the repo. Until then, optimize for speed of iteration + shareability.

Where AI Supercharges Notebook‑First Building #

AI in Scribbler isn’t a gimmick — it’s a multiplier when you’re moving fast:

Generate starter code for a widget, API call, or visualization from a Markdown note.
Explain errors in context using the current cell state.
Refactor or translate snippets (ES module → CommonJS, browser → Node mock, etc.).
Summarize a messy notebook into bullet points or a README draft.

Because the AI sees your code and your commentary in one place, it can give more relevant answers than when you paste fragments into a chat box.

From Notebook to Repo — When You’re Ready #

A notebook‑first flow doesn’t replace repos; it feeds them. When your experiment proves real value:

Extract stable modules.
Promote rough notes into documentation.
Generate test stubs from working notebook code.
Link the original notebook in the repo’s /examples or /docs folder so future contributors see the origin story.

📌 Further Reading #

Scribbler Resources #

Literate Programming & Jupyter #

To Summarize #

Your side project doesn’t need another empty repo — it needs a creative workbench. A space where you can think in Markdown, test in JavaScript, pull in AI when stuck, and share progress before the idea goes stale.

Start in a notebook. Ship faster. Learn in public. When it’s real, then give it a repo.

Try Scribbler and start your next experiment in under a minute: app.scribbler.live.