How I Built a Zero-Dependency Technical Research Blog with Just HTML, CSS, and Markdown

Source: Dev.to

The Problem

• Technical notes scattered across Notion, Google Docs, and random markdown files
• No central place to organize research on new technologies and platforms
• Setting up a blog feels like overkill—why do I need a database for markdown?
• Want to share knowledge but don’t want to maintain complex infrastructure
• Diagrams and code examples should just work without plugins

The Solution: Tech Research

A static blog that turns a folder of markdown files into a searchable knowledge base—deployed free on GitHub Pages with zero dependencies.

# Add an article, run the script, push. Done.
echo "# My Research" > researching/new-topic.md
./update-manifest.sh
git push

Your research is live in seconds, not hours.

How It Works

Write in Markdown – Create .md files in the researching/ directory with GitHub‑flavored syntax.

Run the Manifest Script – ./update-manifest.sh scans your articles and builds the index.

Push to GitHub – GitHub Actions automatically deploy to GitHub Pages.

Browse and Search – The SPA loads your manifest and renders articles on demand.

No build step. No Node.js. No framework churn.

Get Started in 30 Seconds

git clone https://github.com/quochuydev/tech-research.git
cd tech-research
python -m http.server 8000   # or: npx serve .

This gives you:

• index.html – The single‑page application that renders everything
• researching/ – Drop your markdown articles here
• update-manifest.sh – Regenerates the article index
• manifest.json – Searchable registry of all your content

Topics You Can Research

Why This Works

• Zero Dependencies – Pure HTML/CSS/JS means nothing breaks when packages update.
• Mermaid Diagrams Built‑in – Architecture diagrams render without extra tooling.
• GitHub Pages = Free Hosting – Push and forget; GitHub handles SSL and CDN.
• Markdown First – Write naturally, let the SPA handle rendering.
• Version‑Controlled Knowledge – Your research history lives in git commits.

Try It

Fork the repo and start documenting your own tech research:

git clone https://github.com/quochuydev/tech-research.git
cd tech-research
# Create your first article
cat researching/my-topic-overview.md
---
title: My First Research
category: Learning
---

# Topic Overview

Your research goes here...
EOF

./update-manifest.sh

Open index.html in your browser—your article is already there.

Website: