Ask HN: How long does it take you to prototype a new tool?

I think I am similar to many engineers in that I have a long list of side projects that I have built and would like to build. I recently noticed that it can take me a while to get going because of my expectation for the length of time to get a new project off the ground -- even if I choose a fairly standard/modern stack.

I'm curious how much time/effort people put into a fun "side project" before it gets to an alpha stage. A night? A weekend? A week?

If your answer is "it depends", imagine an app that does the following:

- Standard sign-up/sign in - CRUD on creating a list of items - You receive a single item from each list at a given frequency

Or any other simple app you can name