Using static websites for tiny archives

Alex Chan wrote about creating tiny static websites for browsing files in folders with just an index.html and machine-readable metadata in metadata.js.

I create one website per collection, each with a different design, suited to the files it describes. For example, my collection of screenshots is shown as a grid of images, my bookmarks are a series of text links, and my videos are a list with a mixture of thumbnails and text.

This feels like a more approachable (to me) version of a 'home-cooked app' which was the subject of Blake Watson's 2023 talk and Maggie Appleton's 2024 talk. Both Alex and Blake did made their own bookmarking website/app.

It also feels like it would work well with a Johnny.Decimal system which emphasises files and folders.

(via Simon Willison)