5 Fun Python Projects to Build in a Weekend

Big tutorials can feel like gym memberships: exciting at sign-up, forgotten by Tuesday. 5 Fun Python Projects You Can Build in a Weekend flips that script. Each project is tiny, focused, and designed to be “finishable,” so you actually ship something. You’ll touch real skills—files, functions, APIs, dictionaries, the os module—without drowning in boilerplate. Finish one, get a win. Finish five, you’ve got momentum and a starter portfolio.

 

What you need before you start

• Python 3.10+
• A code editor (VS Code, Thonny, or IDLE is fine)
• How to run a script: python your_file.py
• Comfort with print(), input(), lists, and dictionaries — if not, start with our Python basics guide.

For docs, the official tutorial is gold: Python Tutorial.

 

1. Habit Tracker CLI (lists, files, and small wins)

Track any habit—reading, steps, water—right in your terminal. You’ll practice lists, loops, and file I/O so entries persist between runs.

FILENAME = "habits.txt"

def load_habits():
    try:
        with open(FILENAME) as f:
            return [line.strip() for line in f if line.strip()]
    except FileNotFoundError:
        return []

def save_habits(habits):
    with open(FILENAME, "w") as f:
        f.write("\n".join(habits))

habits = load_habits()

while True:
    cmd = input("(A)dd, (L)ist, (Q)uit: ").lower()
    if cmd == "a":
        habits.append(input("Habit entry: "))
        save_habits(habits)
        print("Saved!")
    elif cmd == "l":
        for i, h in enumerate(habits, 1):
            print(i, h)
    elif cmd == "q":
        print("Bye! Keep the streak alive.")
        break

Why it’s fun: Tiny dopamine hits every time you log a habit.
Skills: file handling, loops, simple persistence.

Stretch goals:

• Timestamp each entry with datetime.
• Add (D)elete by index.
• Export a weekly summary to summary.txt.

 

2. Personal Expense Splitter (functions & formatting)

Perfect for trips or shared dinners—calculate who owes what. You’ll practice input parsing, functions, and friendly output.

def split_bill(total, people):
    share = round(total / len(people), 2)
    return {name: share for name in people}

total  = float(input("Total amount: "))
names  = input("Comma-separated names: ").split(",")
people = [n.strip() for n in names if n.strip()]

result = split_bill(total, people)
for person, amount in result.items():
    print(f"{person} owes ${amount:.2f}")

Why it’s fun: Instantly useful, and your friends will think you’re a wizard.
Skills: functions, rounding, string parsing.

Stretch goals:

• Accept different contributions and compute differences.
• Save a receipt as CSV.
• Add currency symbol as a setting.

 

3. Weather-to-Playlist Bot (APIs & simple logic)

Grab today’s weather and suggest a mood-matching playlist theme. You’ll practice HTTP requests and JSON parsing. (Use your own keys.)

import requests

CITY = input("City: ")
KEY  = "YOUR_OPENWEATHER_KEY"
url  = f"https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q={CITY}&appid={KEY}&units=metric"
data = requests.get(url, timeout=10).json()

temp = data["main"]["temp"]
desc = data["weather"][0]["description"]

if "rain" in desc.lower():
    vibe = "Lo-fi beats"
elif temp > 28:
    vibe = "Summer bops"
else:
    vibe = "Chill acoustic"

print(f"{CITY}: {temp}°C, {desc}. Playlist vibe → {vibe}")

Why it’s fun: Connects the real world to your code.
Skills: APIs, requests, basic conditionals.
Helpful docs: Requests

For more on why APIs are such a powerful part of modern Python work, see our Why Learn Python article.

Stretch goals:

• Open a real Spotify playlist by vibe (with a static mapping).
• Cache yesterday’s result in a file and show the delta.
• Add emoji icons for sun/rain/snow.

 

4. Screenshot Renamer & Sorter (os, datetime, automation)

If your “Downloads” folder looks like a digital junk drawer, this one’s for you. Auto-rename screenshots by date and move them into tidy folders.

import os, shutil
from datetime import datetime

SRC = input("Source folder: ").strip()
DST = input("Destination folder: ").strip()
os.makedirs(DST, exist_ok=True)

for name in os.listdir(SRC):
    if name.lower().startswith("screenshot") and name.lower().endswith((".png", ".jpg")):
        src_path = os.path.join(SRC, name)
        stamp    = datetime.fromtimestamp(os.path.getmtime(src_path)).strftime("%Y-%m-%d_%H%M%S")
        new_name = f"screenshot_{stamp}{os.path.splitext(name)[1].lower()}"
        dst_path = os.path.join(DST, new_name)
        shutil.move(src_path, dst_path)
        print("Moved:", new_name)

Why it’s fun: Immediate payoff—your desktop looks 10x cleaner.
Skills: os, shutil, timestamps, file extensions.

Stretch goals:

• Sort into subfolders by year/month.
• Add a dry-run mode (print actions, don’t move).
• Include other prefixes like “IMG_” or “Screen Shot”.

 

5. Quiz Me! Flashcards (dicts, loops, scoring)

Turn any topic into a quick quiz: Python basics, capitals, vocabulary—you name it.

cards = {
    "What does CPU stand for?": "central processing unit",
    "Keyword to define a function in Python?": "def",
    "Symbol for a Python comment?": "#"
}

score = 0
for q, a in cards.items():
    guess = input(q + " ").strip().lower()
    if guess == a:
        print("✅ Correct!")
        score += 1
    else:
        print(f"❌ It was: {a}")
print(f"Your score: {score}/{len(cards)}")

Why it’s fun: Fast feedback, instant learning loop.
Skills: dictionaries, string handling, basic scoring.

Stretch goals:

• Shuffle questions (random).
• Load cards from cards.txt (one Q/A per line, split by |).
• Track best score in highscore.txt.

 

Make the most of your weekend: a plan

• Saturday AM: build Projects 1 & 2 (base versions only).
• Saturday PM: add one stretch goal each.
• Sunday AM: build Projects 3 & 4 (base versions).
• Sunday PM: finish Project 5, clean code, push all to GitHub in a weekend-python-projects repo with short READMEs.

Small wins stack fast. By Sunday night, you’ll have five finished projects and a confident grin. For more career-focused skills, check out Top Python Skills Employers Look For in 2025.

 

Common speed bumps (and quick fixes)

• “ValueError: invalid literal for int()” → You converted text to number by accident; validate input first.
• File not found → Use try/except FileNotFoundError and create the file on first run.
• Nothing happens → Did you save and run with python file.py from the right folder?
• Weird quotes → Replace curly quotes with plain " in code copied from the web.
• API timeouts → Add timeout to requests.get and handle network errors gracefully.

 

FAQs

1. How much Python do I need first? Basics only: print(), input(), lists, dicts, and how to run a file — see our beginner’s Python guide.
2. Can I really finish these in a weekend? Yep. Each base version is tiny. Stretch goals are optional icing.
3. Do I need any paid services? No. All projects are free; the weather project needs a free API key.
4. What if I get stuck? Google the exact error. The official docs and Stack Overflow will be your co-pilots.
5. How do I show this to employers? Push each project in its own folder with a readable README and a “How to run” section.
6. What should I build next? Pick one project and add a GUI (try tkinter) or a web front end (Flask/FastAPI) — more ideas in our Python articles.

 

Conclusion

5 Fun Python Projects You Can Build in a Weekend isn’t just a catchy title—it’s a strategy. Finishable, useful, and confidence-boosting. You’ll touch files, functions, APIs, automation, and data structures without biting off more than you can chew. Ship small, ship often, and keep leveling up. Monday-you will thank weekend-you. Keep learning and practicing with more from our Python tutorials.