IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Jeffgeerling.com has been migrated to Hugo

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Hugo's Breaking Changes Cause Maintenance Burden

Users frequently lament Hugo updates breaking custom/forked themes, leading to abandoned sites.
"dijit: I regret it... Hugo breaks userland relatively often and a complex theme like the one I have requires a lot of maintenance. Like.. a lot. Now I can't really justify the time investment of fixing it so I just don't post anymore."
"sylens: I recently broke my Hugo blog theme when updating and had to migrate to a whole new theme, it was a pain."

2. Pin Versions for Stability

Consensus on pinning Hugo versions via CI, Docker, or binaries to avoid breakage; binary search for regressions.
"smarx007: How about specifying a version in the CI config?"
"varun_ch: I’ve slowly grown to realize there’s some software you just don’t need to update... Unless the new version of the software includes some feature I need, I can be totally fine just running an old version forever."
"ZoomZoomZoom: Binary search is the latest trick people use."

3. Custom SSGs Offer Control Without Bloat

Many praise writing personal static generators for stability, aesthetics, and features like comments.
"susam: I decided to migrate my personal website to a Common Lisp (CL) based static site generator that I wrote myself... I understand every line of code... adding a new feature or section to the site is usually quite quick."
"cthor: Getting someone else's SSG to do exactly what you want (and nothing more) takes longer than just building it yourself."

🚀 Project Ideas

SSG FreezeFrame

Summary

  • A project-level version manager or "launcher" for Static Site Generators (SSGs) that ensures architectural stability over years of neglect.
  • It addresses the "broken build" syndrome where updating Hugo/Jekyll/Zola or the underlying OS/architecture breaks custom themes or configuration.
  • The core value proposition is "cold-blooded software" as a service: providing a guaranteed, reproducible execution environment for any specific version of an SSG without requiring the user to manage Docker, Nix, or manual binary searches.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Long-term bloggers and developers who post infrequently and find their tools broken between updates.
Core Feature A CLI wrapper that reads a .ssg-version file and automatically fetches/runs the correct, architecture-compatible binary.
Tech Stack Rust or Go (for a single binary wrapper), GitHub Releases API, and a curated registry of SSG checksums.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • HN users expressed deep frustration with Hugo breaking "userland" and themes: "Hugo breaks userland relatively often... Now I can't really justify the time investment of fixing it."
  • Solves the need for a "launcher" like Rust’s rust-version mentioned by user eloisant.
  • Offers a cleaner alternative to the "bad idea" of committing binaries to Git.

StaticDiff-CI

Summary

  • A specialized CI/CD specialized tool or GitHub Action that performs "visual and structural regression testing" specifically for static site migrations and updates.
  • It solves the fear of "silent breakages" when upgrading an SSG version or switching themes (e.g., Hugo adding trailing slashes or changing Markdown parsing).
  • The core value proposition is confidence in updates through automated "before and after" comparisons.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers migrating from one SSG to another (e.g., Jekyll to Hugo) or upgrading major versions of a current tool.
Core Feature Automated "Normalize and Diff": zeroing out timestamps/dynamic hashes, then comparing HTML structure and assets.
Tech Stack Node.js (with Playwright for visual diffs) or Python-based CLI tool.
Difficulty Low
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Directly addresses advice from chrismorgan: "build your site with the old and new versions... and diff the directories, to avoid regressions."
  • Solves the problem where "internal redirects are really easy to miss" mentioned by seanwilson.
  • Provides a safer path for users like nickjj who manualy scripted their 500+ post migration.

CommentCore (Sidecar)

Summary

  • A "tiny" self-hosted comment system designed specifically as a sidecar for static sites, focusing on absolute minimal features and longevity.
  • It facilitates a middle ground between "heavy" dynamic CMSs and "third-party dependent" SSGs (like Disqus).
  • The core value proposition is "ownership of feedback" without the complexity of a full-blown server-side framework.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Static site users who want to avoid third-party comment trackers but don't want to build a custom backend.
Core Feature A small binary that accepts POST submissions, stores them as flat files, and sends a notification email.
Tech Stack Go (single binary), SQLite or Flat files, and a JS snippet for the frontend.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: $10 one-time "Support the dev" license.

Notes

  • Solves the debate sparked by 1dom and susam regarding "shoehorning" interactivity into static sites.
  • Addresses the fear of third parties: "Pretty much every single option there involved letting a 3rd party collect and own the comments."
  • Follows the successful logic of susam’s Common Lisp implementation: simple scripts that write to text files for manual review and subsequent static rebuilding.

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