Mishka

If you want to get straight to it, the best tool to save code snippets is thiscodeWorks.com.

About 2 years ago when I was learning to code, I was spending way too much time searching for snippets on Google. And a little too much time actually writing down those snippets that worked into my notebook. 

Why not use a notes app you say? I tried them. I did. But they'd disappear. Just like my notes, my snippets would get buried below as new snippets would get saved at the top. What I liked about writing them was I could flip through a few pages and visually search my snippets. Half the time I can't even remember what title/name I give to a snippet, so a search bar was never handy. I had to see them.

But as I continued to code and the pages kept growing, this was clearly not a good solution. Not to mention that I had to manually type the snippet every time I needed them. 

So as I was discovering the superpower of code and learning I could solve pretty much any problem with code, I immediately knew what I needed to build. A tool to save & organize code snippets. 

What I didn't expect was other people to start using it & love it as much as I do. I've found an incredible group of users (or rather they found me), and they constantly share suggestions and feedback that have made the app so much more better than I could've ever imagined. 

With the help of the community at thiscodeWorks, here's 5 ways we've built it in a way that makes it the best tool to save code snippets online.

1. The code snippets don't disappear

Out of sight, out of mind. That's the problem with most notes apps. Your notes get buried in a list leaving you to only remember the ones you've recently saved, just because they're the first thing you see when you open the app. It's not just remembering what exact terms to search, but even remembering that you had those snippets saved in the first place.

The way code snippets are saved in thiscodeWorks is like a board. When you visit your dashboard, you can straight up see all the snippets you've saved. And even filter them down by language, hashtag, or collection to make scanning easier.

2. No typing or copy/paste to save snippets

One thing I've been appreciating as I continue to code is saving time. Sometimes you're so deep into programming that you don't even have the time to copy and paste a snippet you've found on Stackoverflow into your notes app. And then when you need it again, you're back to the rabbit hole on Google tracing the links that are purple.

One user suggested a button similar to Pinterest's badge you usually see when you hover over images online. He said how about a button to save code snippets you see online? So I built a Chrome extension that adds a Save button to any code snippet you see online. When you click it, it auto-saves the snippet AND the URL of the page, what it does and even the language. In just one-click!

3. Contextual information

Which brings me to contextual information. Oftentimes when you discover a snippet that's worked for you, there's a lot of added information that makes it useful. Which is why I could never get Github Gists. It only allows you to save the snippet and title?

On thiscodeWorks, in addition to the snippet itself you can save:

• the URL where you found it
• Some descriptive text about where it worked for you or explaining it
• hashtags

4. The Pinterest of code

An interesting outcome of building thiscodeWorks is how it's turned into the Pinterest of Code. A place to not only save & organize your code snippets, but to browse through the collections of others. Just like Pinterest, but for code.

It's always interesting to see what other coders are posting on the homepage and search snippets that have recently worked for others in the community. I'm working on building a personalized feed based on your language preferences and people you follow. So stay tuned ;)

5. Integration with other platforms

As coders in the community have grown from Hello World to software engineers and programming bloggers, there's been a need to share code as much as it is to save it. Therefore, we're working on integrations with other platforms.

The most exciting is where you can embed code snippets saved on thiscodeWorks on Medium, Wordpress and a whole other list of blogging platforms by just pasting the link. This is what it looks like:

The VS Code extension is in closed beta. If you're interested in being a beta tester, sign up here.

I hope I've convinced you to join the community! :D

Visit https://www.thiscodeworks.com

Save Code Chrome Extension: https://www.thiscodeworks.com/extension/chrome

If you have any suggestions or thoughts about how thiscodeWorks could be even better, please write to me at mishka@thiscodeworks.com.