My Open Source Journey: From Side Projects to 10+ npm Packages
How building open-source tools at GLINCKER taught me more about software engineering than any job ever could.
Gagan Deep Singh
Founder | GLINR Studios
When I published my first npm package in 2023, I had no idea it would become a habit. Today, I maintain 10+ packages under the @glincker and @typeweaver scopes, and the journey has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.
Why Open Source?
Working at enterprise companies teaches you how to build at scale. But open source teaches you how to build for other developers. The constraints are different:
- API design matters — your interface IS the product
- Documentation is mandatory — nobody reads your Slack messages
- Backwards compatibility — you can't just deploy and move on
- Community feedback — real users with real problems
The GLINCKER Ecosystem
It started with GLINCKER, an all-in-one platform I've been building since 2020. As the platform grew, I kept extracting useful pieces into standalone packages:
glin-profanity
A lightweight profanity detection library supporting 24+ languages. What started as a content moderation feature for GLINCKER became one of our most downloaded packages. It even has an MCP server integration for AI assistants.
GeoKit
The @glincker/geokit suite came from a real need: making websites AI-ready. It includes tools for auditing AI-readiness scores, generating llms.txt files, and converting URLs to clean markdown for LLM context windows.
CommitWeave
Under @typeweaver/commitweave, this CLI tool brings smart git commits with emoji support and conventional commit formatting. Born from frustration with inconsistent commit messages across our team.
Lessons Learned
- Start small — my most successful packages solve one problem well
- Monorepo everything — managing 10 packages would be impossible without workspaces
- TypeScript first — type safety isn't optional for published packages
- CI/CD from day one — automated publishing saves hours every week
- Eat your own dog food — every package I publish, I use in production
What's Next
I'm working on expanding the GeoKit suite and building more developer tools under GLINR Studios. The goal is to make every developer's workflow a little bit smoother.
If you use any of these packages, I'd love to hear about it. Open an issue, send a PR, or just say hi.