Publication-worthy and patentable are two separate things. So, I wouldn't approach from that perspective. Not to over simplify, but software is patentable if

Publication-worthy and patentable are two separate things. So, I wouldn't approach from that perspective. Not to over simplify, but software is patentable if it is new, useful, and not obvious given what has been done before. Once you make the software publicly available, you have one year to patent it in the U.S. Other countries don't grant this one-year grace period. So, foreign patent rights depend on filing before you make the software publicly available. I asked my colleague, who is a patent lawyer, his thoughts on this and he recommends just filing a full patent application, not a provisional patent application. A provisional patent application isn't cheap either. And you have to file the full application within a year anyway. So, it's just added costs, deadlines, and administrative hassles. Hope this is helpful.