Nolan Lawson on the shrinking role of tiny utility packages
Nolan Lawson argues that LLMs are reshaping the value proposition of small open-source libraries. His decade-old utility package blob-util — which still registers 5+ million weekly downloads — exemplifies the class of tiny, educational libraries that offered both a solution and a teaching moment. Today, an LLM such as Claude can generate equivalent utility functions instantly, removing much of the friction that used to send developers to npm.
What changed, and why it matters
- The immediate availability of LLM-generated code reduces incentives to add a small dependency just to handle routine tasks.
- That shift tends to erode the educational role these packages once played: many small libraries bundled tutorials and examples that helped developers learn underlying APIs and patterns.
- Built-in platform features and Node/browser standardization have already reduced demand for some utilities; LLMs accelerate that trend by making quick, dependency-free snippets trivial to obtain.
Where open source still adds value
Lawson suggests that the most durable, worthwhile open source will be work that an LLM cannot easily reproduce — projects that require original research, creative problem-solving, or highly niche expertise. Examples include investigations into performance and memory leaks or exploratory libraries that introduce genuinely new ideas. Human-driven experimental frameworks and deep-dive tools are less likely to be supplanted by canned agent output.
A modest, pragmatic note
The post is not a eulogy; it is a recalibration. Small utilities are not vanishing because of poor design but because the ecosystem and toolchain have evolved. There remains fertile ground for contributors who focus on novel problems, thorough documentation that teaches rather than just answers, and projects that push the boundaries of current tools.
For the fuller argument and examples, read the original piece by Nolan Lawson: https://nolanlawson.com/2025/11/16/the-fate-of-small-open-source/
