When you're new to coding, tutorials and courses are helpful — but real growth happens when you start building. Mini projects are the perfect way to practice what you’ve learned, gain confidence, and build a portfolio piece by piece.
Whether you’re learning JavaScript, Python, or another beginner-friendly language, here are 20 detailed mini project ideas you can build right away.
1. Tip Calculator
This project calculates the total bill amount including a tip percentage. The user enters the original bill and selects how much they want to tip (e.g., 10%, 15%, 20%).
What you’ll learn:
- How to capture and process user input
- Use basic arithmetic to calculate totals
- Display results dynamically in the UI or console
đź› Bonus: Add a feature to split the bill among multiple people.
2. To-Do List App
A classic beginner app. Users can add new tasks, mark them as completed, and delete them.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Arrays/lists to manage tasks
- DOM manipulation or terminal display
- Event handling like click, submit, or keypress
đź› Bonus: Use localStorage (JS) or a file (Python) to persist tasks between sessions.
3. Rock, Paper, Scissors Game
Let users choose Rock, Paper, or Scissors and play against the computer, which randomly selects its move.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Conditional logic
- Random number generation
- Game result logic (win, lose, draw)
đź› Bonus: Keep a score counter for the player and computer.
4. Hex Calculator
This project lets users convert numbers between hexadecimal and decimal, and even perform basic hex arithmetic.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- How to convert between number bases (hex ↔ decimal)
- Input validation for different formats (e.g., only 0–9 and A–F)
- Functions for conversion and math logic
🛠Bonus: Want to see a working, full-featured version? Try the live hex calculator. It supports conversion, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using hexadecimal values — all in one tool.
5. Quiz App
Create a multiple-choice quiz with predefined questions and a score at the end.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Arrays/objects for storing question data
- Looping through questions
- Conditional rendering based on user answers
🛠Bonus: Add a “restart quiz” button and use a timer for each question.
6. Digital Clock
Show the current time in HH:MM:SS format and update it every second.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Working with the Date object (JS) or datetime module (Python)
- Using setInterval() or while loops with delay
- Time formatting
đź› Bonus: Add themes for AM/PM or light/dark mode.
7. Random Quote Generator
Show a random quote every time a button is clicked.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Arrays/lists and random selection
- DOM manipulation
- Event handling
đź› Bonus: Fetch quotes from a public API.
8. Unit Converter
Allow users to convert values between different units (like meters ↔ feet, kg ↔ lb, etc.).
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Arithmetic and conversion formulas
- Functions for each unit pair
- Clean and readable UI or text-based options
9. Palindrome Checker
Ask users to input a word and check if it reads the same forward and backward.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- String manipulation
- Conditional logic
- Error handling for non-alphabet input
10. Weather App (API)
Let users enter a city name and fetch current weather using a public API like OpenWeatherMap.
*What you’ll learn:
*
- Fetching and parsing JSON
- Handling asynchronous code (promises or async/await)
- Displaying dynamic data
Final Thoughts
These 10 projects are perfect for beginners looking to apply what they’re learning in tutorials. Start small, focus on one project at a time, and don’t worry about being perfect. The goal is to build, learn, and improve.
Once you finish one, share it with the community using the #showdev tag on CodeNewbie. Ask for feedback, connect with other learners, and most importantly — have fun with code!
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