karpathy.github.io

This is a personal blog built with Jekyll, a tool that turns simple text files into a static website. Instead of using a heavy, database-driven platform like WordPress, the author opted for something much lighter and faster.

The main benefit of this approach is speed and simplicity. Jekyll takes your blog posts (written in plain text or Markdown format) and converts them into HTML pages that load instantly in a browser. There's no database to query, no plugins to slow things down, and no complicated admin interface to navigate. The whole site is just files, which means it's easy to back up, version control, and deploy anywhere.

Jekyll works by reading your content files, applying a template design, and generating a complete static website. You write posts in a straightforward format, Jekyll builds the HTML, and then you upload those files to a web server. It's the opposite of WordPress, where every page request triggers code to run on the server and fetch data from a database.

This setup appeals to developers and technical writers who want full control over their content and don't need the complexity of a full CMS. It's particularly popular with people who want to host their blog on free platforms like GitHub Pages, track changes to their posts using Git, and avoid the maintenance headaches of keeping WordPress and its plugins secure and updated. The trade-off is that you need to be comfortable editing text files and running commands, rather than clicking buttons in a web interface.