Ask HN: How do you keep track of small pieces of useful code?

I just have a giant .txt file, one for each programming language. Anything I google more than once goes there.

It's an optimization. Useful for rare bits of code, but not so useful for common things like converting an int array to string array. The common things become muscle memory and are removed from the file.

CTRL+F to search. Most of it is self-documenting, in the form of functions or methods that I can just copy into a project.

I don't think any cloud based tools are useful for this because they're too slow with login and search.

I use https://gist.github.com

I have created two files everything.js and everything.php. Any time I find a useful function I just add it to those files with a comment and example (if php inside a !defined_fn block).

For local weekend projects I'm not embarrassed to say that I sometimes just include the whole file. It saves me a lot of time and helps me work on the thing I intend to work on instead of searching the net or wasting time on thinking what implementation is the best.

I like working in c#, so I have a folder in my Dropbox that holds a collection of linqpad files (.linq) about how to do something or other in c#. I also make sure to keep my custom classes/extensions in there as well as a folder within called "mockdata" which has exactly the content you'd expect; three versions of mock data I generated from Mockaroo: one that's a SQLite DB, a csv, and a json file. Also have a lorem.txt folder in there.

I'd love to be able to reorganize that into three subfolders: one for .linq linq queries, one for .cs files instead of .linq files, and another for the mock data. Would be great if I could have all of my c# snippets in .cs files and play with them in VS Code, but I can only run the files in VS Code if I'm working with .NET Core.

I've got a similar but far smaller collection for python snippets and experiments (i.e., playing with an API).

Start a folder (or even a single file) for code snippets. If you want it accessible on many machines, put it in Dropbox, or a Github repo, or whatever you like. A separate "Evernote for code" is the last thing you need.

Personally, I have "snippets.org" file in my "wiki/" subfolder on Dropbox.

Interesting question. I never have. I just search for it if I need it. Usually on the web, but sometimes in the codebase.

I find the idea of a personal library of code snippets quite weird. The thought never crossed my mind and I know nobody who uses something like that.

If you are on a Mac, you could try Quiver. It's a general purpose note taking app aimed at developers that handles code via Markdown. You can then tag and orgnaise everything. I use it along with Notability on iPad (for hand written stuff)

I am the developer of canSnippet, a macOS (https://www.cansnippet.com/) and web-based (https://www.cansnippet.org/) snippet management tool. canSnippet allows the user to easily save and reuse pieces of useful code/text.

In addition to the code itself, canSnippet also support tags and a description for your snippet.

If it’s really that useful, I’ve probably used it once. So the next time I need it, I find the code where I used it last time.

If I can find anything common that I think others would use, I'd blog it (under https://www.jvt.me/posts/categories/blogumentation/), and am looking at building common snippets into ie Ruby Gems that can be shared and improved over time

I have a utilities library that I constantly expand and reference it in all projects.

I have many code snippets, whih I keep either on Box Sync or Drive depending on platform. Would be happy to share them! Would you be interested?

I'd definitely be interested in peeking at/copying other snippets too.

I use both Gitlab snippets and a repository with a mkdocs website.

I think a git-like system complete with dependency resolution at function level like Ritch Hickey told in a podcast about would be a great sollution for code reuse.

I have one giant emacs org-mode file.

It contains most of my brain, I wish I started this when I was younger.

I find MS OneNote to be a great tool. Easy to organize, easy to toss stuff into. Fast.

I have a whole directory tree ~/useful/{scripts,snippets,values}/ etc.

Private Github gists. But I also have a dropbox for bad code I find in projects.

In my zim-wiki Computer directory, I have a page called 0_Quickies.

Editor snippets!

GitHub gists

very often a "remark" or a non compiling comment is included in the source code snippet. e.g.

rem "this code does nothing"

    let i=1

    for i=0

       beep

    else end