> is it the hacker spirit

I had this philosophical / existential crisis question lately about my project, and I think I'm at peace with it.

Yes. Gluing together stuff (AKA building on other giants' shoulders) can be done in a neglecting, "just hack it all up until starts to work" way, and it can also be done in a reproducible, "unit tested", documented way that enables you to eventually put even more "hacks" on top of it to deliver value.

Anything is "hacker spirit", as long as you make something _functional_ out of pieces that haven't functioning in a way you wanted before. Let it be witty, hackish, or beautiful, maintainable, as long as it holds up your business or gives you simply joy.

Yes, and I would even go as far as saying that even being functional isn't required. Trying to make something cool and failing counts as "hacker spirit".

It all boils down to getting your hands dirty, instead of passively consuming the products of others.