how i write here

what this logbook is and how a post gets from a markdown file onto the site.

Osman Sultan2 min readmeta

this is the logbook. each entry is a markdown file in the site’s repo, and pushing to main publishes it. there is no cms behind it, which is the point: i write, i push, it’s up.

a post

every file starts with a few lines of frontmatter, then the writing:

md
---
title: how i write here
description: one line for the list page and link previews.
date: 2026-09-13
---


the post, in plain markdown.

the date is when i wrote it. the read time is worked out from the word count at build time, so there is nothing to fill in. updated, tags and draft: true are optional.

what i can use

everything github-flavoured markdown gives me: headings, lists, links, images, tables, footnotes1, quotes, and code with syntax highlighting.

a logbook is not a diary. it records what was tried and what happened, so the next attempt starts further along.

ts
// how the read time on this page is computed
import readingTime from "reading-time"


export function readTime(body: string) {
  return readingTime(body).text // "3 min read"
}
field required what it does
title yes the heading and the browser tab
description yes the line under it, and link previews
date yes date written, shown with the read time
updated no shown at the bottom when set
draft no true keeps it off the built site

interactive bits

a post with an .mdx extension can import components from the site. this is a rough underline that draws itself when it scrolls into view, and Atrios is the same hover card as on the about page. anything react can do, a post can do.

following along

there is an rss feed at /logbook/rss.xml.

Footnotes

  1. like this one. ↩