This site is built from scratch. No Next.js, no Hugo, no Gatsby — just a simple Node.js build script that converts markdown files into HTML pages.

Why Build From Scratch?

Most static site generators are great, but they come with opinions I don’t need. I wanted something I fully understood, could modify in minutes, and that would never break because of a dependency update.

The Stack

  • Markdown files with YAML front-matter for content
  • markdown-it for converting MD to HTML
  • A ~150 line build script that handles everything
  • S3 + CloudFront for hosting
  • GitHub Actions for deployment

How It Works

Write a markdown file, push to GitHub, and it’s live. That’s it.

const posts = loadPosts();
for (const post of posts) {
  const html = render(template, post);
  fs.writeFileSync(outputPath, html);
}

The entire build takes under a second.