How do you choose between starting from scratch or leveraging existing tools?

I get that. Sometimes existing tools just don't fit your workflow or mental model. Building from scratch gives you total control to make it work exactly how you want. Plus you learn a ton in the process. The downside is the time investment. Depending on the project, leveraging existing tools/libraries can save a lot of time, even if you have to adapt your approach a bit. I usually start by researching existing options thoroughly. If nothing is even close to what I need, that's when I consider building from zero. Interested to hear other perspectives!