The very first thing I did this year was take on a paid commission. It wasn’t massive, but it mattered. I was asked to create a mock Discord UI replica for a Discord bot framework called robo.js. The team behind it was genuinely welcoming and friendly developers, good communication, no ego. I worked closely with them, delivered what was needed, and earned $150 for the work. It may sound small to some, but to me, it was my first ever paid commission every since I started programming since I was 13 years old. It was a solid reminder that my skills had real value. That payment passed hands, landed with me, and marked my first tangible win of 2026.
Repository: https://github.com/Wave-Play/robo.js
Not long after that, I dove straight into something much more ambitious.
I’m currently building a Discord bot inspired by Factorio, but entirely inside Discord. Factories, automation, progression, all translated into a chat-based experience. This project pushed me far beyond my comfort zone. I implemented advanced machine learning, pixel-style image generation, and even a web scraper to support dynamic asset creation. It’s easily one of the most technically demanding Discord bots I’ve ever worked on. I even had to invest my own money—around $15 into APIs and image generation tools just to make the vision possible. But for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t just building “a bot.” I was building a system.
Then came the idea that genuinely surprised me with how people reacted to it.
I started working on a project aimed at people who make a living designing Discord servers or those beginners who don't know how to make stylish Discord servers for their needs. The idea was simple in concept, but powerful in execution: an AI-powered website that generates full Discord server templates for you. It feeds data into an AI system enhanced with RAG techniques, and generates a server structure based entirely on what the user asks for.
The result? A unique ID sent to a built-in Discord bot. You invite the bot to a fresh server, run one command, and your entire server—roles, channels, categories is created instantly.
The idea received overwhelming positive feedback. People told me it might be one of the most useful and genuinely unique Discord projects they’ve seen. Even better, the team behind robo.js liked it so much that they expressed interest in integrating it directly into their framework—and possibly even supporting it financially. Development is ongoing (despite some contributors moving slower than hoped), but the vision is alive.
Alongside all of that, I made a conscious decision to take my own long-term project seriously.
I’ve been working on a Python package designed to help beginners understand and fix errors without ever leaving their terminal. Early 2026 marked the release of v0.4, exactly in line with the roadmap I set for myself. Hitting that milestone felt incredibly rewarding because it proved I could plan, commit, and deliver. I’m continuing to work on it steadily, one release at a time, making sure quality comes before speed.
Repository: https://github.com/DevArqf/DeBugBuddy
And finally, there’s the project driven almost entirely by nostalgia.
I’m part of a team reviving a game I played as a child—one that was officially marked end-of-life in 2020. A lot of people in the community missed it deeply, and we decided to bring it back. The project is built using Solar2D and Lua, and while it’s challenging, it’s also deeply meaningful.
Repository: https://github.com/DevArqf/FR2-Reborn
That’s how my 2026 started.
No shortcuts. No overnight success. Just consistent effort, risk-taking, learning, and building things that matter—to me and to others. I’m excited to see where this year leads, what I’ll learn next, and how far I can push myself.
This is only the beginning.
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