1041 lines
34 KiB
Markdown
1041 lines
34 KiB
Markdown
# Writing Guide
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Reference for creating content on levineuwirth.org. Covers file placement, all
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frontmatter fields, and every authoring feature available in the Markdown source.
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---
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## File placement
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| Type | Location | Output URL |
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|------|----------|------------|
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| Essay | `content/essays/my-essay.md` | `/essays/my-essay.html` |
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| Essay (with co-located assets) | `content/essays/my-essay/index.md` | `/essays/my-essay/index.html` |
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| Blog post | `content/blog/my-post.md` | `/blog/my-post.html` |
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| Poetry | `content/poetry/my-poem.md` | `/poetry/my-poem.html` |
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| Poetry collection | `content/poetry/collection-name/*.md` | `/poetry/collection-name/*.html` |
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| Fiction | `content/fiction/my-story.md` | `/fiction/my-story.html` |
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| Composition | `content/music/{slug}/index.md` | `/music/{slug}/` |
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| Standalone page | `content/my-page.md` | `/my-page.html` |
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| Standalone page (with co-located assets) | `content/my-page/index.md` | `/my-page.html` |
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| Draft essay | `content/drafts/essays/my-draft.md` | `/drafts/essays/my-draft.html` (dev only) |
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File names become URL slugs. Use lowercase, hyphen-separated words.
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If a standalone page embeds co-located SVG score fragments or other relative assets,
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place it in its own directory (`content/my-page/index.md`) rather than as a flat file.
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Score fragment paths are resolved relative to the source file's directory; a flat
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`content/my-page.md` would resolve them from `content/`, which is wrong.
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---
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## Drafts
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In-progress essays go under `content/drafts/essays/`. Both flat files
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(`content/drafts/essays/my-draft.md`) and directory-based essays
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(`content/drafts/essays/my-draft/index.md`) are supported.
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Drafts are **included** in `make watch` and `make dev` (which set `SITE_ENV=dev`)
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and **excluded** from every production build (`make build`, `make deploy`).
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They are also invisible to tags, author pages, backlinks, stats, and feeds.
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To preview a draft:
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```bash
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make watch # Hakyll live-reload with drafts visible
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make dev # clean build + Python HTTP server with drafts visible
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```
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When the draft is ready, move it into `content/essays/`.
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---
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## Frontmatter
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Every file begins with a YAML block fenced by `---`. Keys are read by Hakyll
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and passed to templates; unknown keys are silently ignored and can be used as
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custom template variables.
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### Essays
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```yaml
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---
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title: "The Title of the Essay"
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date: 2026-03-15 # required; used for ordering, feed, and display
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abstract: > # optional; shown in the metadata block and link previews
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A one-paragraph description of the piece.
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tags: # optional; see Tags section
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- nonfiction
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- nonfiction/philosophy
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authors: # optional; overrides the default "Levi Neuwirth" link
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- "Levi Neuwirth | /me.html"
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- "Collaborator | https://their.site"
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- "Plain Name" # URL optional; omit for plain-text credit
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affiliation: # optional; shown below author in metadata block
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- "Brown University | https://cs.brown.edu"
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- "Some Research Lab" # URL optional; scalar string also accepted
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further-reading: # optional; see Citations section
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- someKey
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- anotherKey
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bibliography: data/custom.bib # optional; overrides data/bibliography.bib
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csl: data/custom.csl # optional; overrides Chicago Author-Date
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no-collapse: true # optional; disables collapsible h2/h3 sections
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repository: https://git.levineuwirth.org/levi/repo # optional; "Repository" link in metadata
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js: scripts/my-widget.js # optional; per-page JS file (see Page scripts)
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# js: [scripts/a.js, scripts/b.js] # or a list
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# Epistemic profile — all optional; the entire section is hidden unless `status` is set
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status: "Working model" # Draft | Working model | Durable | Refined | Superseded | Deprecated
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confidence: 72 # 0–100 integer (%)
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importance: 3 # 1–5 integer (rendered as filled/empty dots ●●●○○)
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evidence: 2 # 1–5 integer (same)
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scope: average # personal | local | average | broad | civilizational
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novelty: moderate # conventional | moderate | idiosyncratic | innovative
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practicality: moderate # abstract | low | moderate | high | exceptional
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confidence-history: # list of integers; trend arrow derived from last two entries
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- 55
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- 63
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- 72
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# Version history — optional; falls back to git log, then to date frontmatter
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history:
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- date: "2026-03-01" # ISO date as a quoted string (prevent YAML date parsing)
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note: Initial draft
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- date: "2026-03-14"
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note: Expanded typography section; added citations
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---
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```
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### Blog posts
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Same fields as essays. `date` formats the `<time>` element in the post header
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and blog index. Posts appear in `/feed.xml`.
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### Poetry
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Same fields as essays. Poetry uses a narrow-measure codex reading mode
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(`reading.html`): 52ch measure, 1.85 line-height, stanza spacing, no drop cap.
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`poetryCompiler` enables `Ext_hard_line_breaks` — each source newline becomes
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a `<br>`, so verse lines render without trailing-space tricks.
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**Poetry collections** — poems can be grouped into subdirectories:
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```
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content/poetry/shakespeare-sonnets/
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├── index.md ← collection landing page (uses pageCtx)
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├── sonnet-1.md ← individual poem
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├── sonnet-2.md
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└── …
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```
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Collection index pages (`content/poetry/*/index.md`) compile as standalone
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pages. Poems inside collections (`content/poetry/*/*.md`, excluding
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`index.md`) compile with `poetryCompiler` just like flat poems.
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**External / non-original poems** — use `poet:` instead of `authors:` to credit
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an external author without generating a (broken) author index page:
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```yaml
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---
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title: Sonnet 60
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date: 1609-05-20
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poet: William Shakespeare
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tags: [poetry]
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---
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```
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`poet:` is a plain string. The metadata block shows "by William Shakespeare" as
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plain text. Do not use `authors:` for poems you did not write; that would create
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an `/authors/william-shakespeare/` index page linking to the poem.
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### Fiction
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Same fields as essays. Fiction uses the same codex reading mode as poetry:
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62ch measure, chapter drop caps + smallcaps lead-in on `h2 + p`.
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### Standalone pages
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Only `title` is required. Pages use `pageCtx`: no TOC, no bibliography, no
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reading-time, no epistemic footer.
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```yaml
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---
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title: About
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---
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```
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Add `js:` for any page-specific interactivity (see Page scripts).
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### Music compositions
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Compositions live in their own directory. See the Music section for full details.
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```yaml
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---
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title: "Symphony No. 1"
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date: 2026-01-15
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abstract: >
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A four-movement work for large orchestra.
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tags: [music]
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instrumentation: "orchestra (2222/4231/timp+2perc/str)"
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duration: "ca. 32'"
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premiere: "2026-05-20"
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commissioned-by: "—" # optional
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recording: audio/full-recording.mp3 # optional; full-piece audio player
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pdf: scores/symphony.pdf # optional; download link
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category: orchestral # orchestral | chamber | solo | vocal | choral | electronic
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featured: true # optional; appears in Featured section of /music/
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score-pages: # required for score reader; omit if no score
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- scores/page-01.svg
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- scores/page-02.svg
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movements: # optional
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- name: "I. Allegro"
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page: 1 # 1-indexed starting page in the reader
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duration: "10'"
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audio: audio/movement-1.mp3 # optional; per-movement player
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- name: "II. Adagio"
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page: 18
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duration: "12'"
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---
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```
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---
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## Tags
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Tags use slash-separated hierarchy. `nonfiction/philosophy` expands to both
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`nonfiction` and `nonfiction/philosophy`, so the piece appears on both index
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pages.
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```yaml
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tags:
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- nonfiction/philosophy
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- research/epistemology
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```
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The top-level segment maps to a **portal** in the nav:
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| Portal | URL |
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|--------|-----|
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| AI | `/ai/` |
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| Fiction | `/fiction/` |
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| Miscellany | `/miscellany/` |
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| Music | `/music/` |
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| Nonfiction | `/nonfiction/` |
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| Poetry | `/poetry/` |
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| Research | `/research/` |
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| Tech | `/tech/` |
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Tag index pages are paginated at 20 items and auto-generated on build.
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---
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## Authors
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The `authors` key controls the author line in the metadata block. When omitted,
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it defaults to "Levi Neuwirth" linking to `/authors/levi-neuwirth/`.
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Author pages are generated at `/authors/{slug}/` and list all attributed content.
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Pipe syntax: `"Name | URL"` — name is the link text, URL is the `href`.
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The URL part is optional.
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---
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## Citations
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The citation pipeline uses Chicago Author-Date style. The bibliography lives at
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`data/bibliography.bib` (BibLaTeX format) by default; override per-page with
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`bibliography` and `csl`.
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### Inline citations
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```markdown
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This claim is contested.[@smith2020]
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Multiple sources agree.[@jones2019; @brown2021]
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```
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Inline citations render as numbered superscripts `[1]`, `[2]`, etc. The
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bibliography section appears automatically in the page footer. `citations.js`
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adds hover previews showing the full reference.
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### Further reading
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Keys under `further-reading` appear in a separate **Further Reading** section
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in the page footer. These are not cited inline.
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```yaml
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further-reading:
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- keyNotCitedInline
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- anotherBackgroundSource
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```
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A key can appear both inline and in `further-reading`; it is numbered in the
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bibliography and not duplicated.
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---
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## Footnotes → sidenotes
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Standard Markdown footnotes are converted to sidenotes at build time.
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```markdown
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This sentence has a note.[^1]
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[^1]: The note content, which may contain **bold**, *italic*, links, etc.
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```
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On wide viewports the note floats into the right margin. On narrow viewports
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it falls back to a standard footnote. Sidenotes are numbered automatically.
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Avoid block-level elements (headings, lists) inside footnotes.
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---
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## Wikilinks
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Internal links can be written as wikilinks. The title is slugified to produce
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the URL.
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```markdown
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[[Page Title]] → links to /page-title
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[[Page Title|Link text]] → links to /page-title with custom display text
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```
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Slug rules: lowercase, spaces → hyphens, non-alphanumeric characters removed.
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`[[My Essay (2024)]]` → `/my-essay-2024`.
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Use standard Markdown link syntax `[text](/path)` for any link whose path is
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not derivable from the page title.
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---
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## Transclusion
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Embed the rendered content of another page (or a section of it) inline using
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`{{slug}}` directives. The directive must be on its own line.
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```markdown
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{{my-essay}} → embeds the full body of /my-essay.html
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{{essays/deep-dive}} → embeds /essays/deep-dive.html
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{{my-essay#introduction}} → embeds only the "introduction" section
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```
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At build time, `Filters.Transclusion` rewrites these to `<div class="transclude"
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data-src="..." [data-section="..."]></div>` placeholders. At runtime,
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`transclude.js` fetches the target page and injects the content.
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Transclusions inside code blocks or inline prose are not replaced — only
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block-level directives (sole content of a line) are processed.
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---
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## PDF Embeds
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Embed a hosted PDF in a full PDF.js viewer (page navigation, zoom, text
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selection) using the `{{pdf:...}}` directive on its own line:
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```markdown
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{{pdf:/papers/smith2023.pdf}}
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{{pdf:/papers/smith2023.pdf#5}} ← open at page 5 (bare integer)
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{{pdf:/papers/smith2023.pdf#page=5}} ← explicit form, same result
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```
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The directive produces an iframe pointing at the vendored PDF.js viewer at
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`/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=...`. The PDF must be served from the same
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origin (i.e. it must be a file you host).
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**Storing papers.** Drop PDFs in `static/papers/`; Hakyll's static rule copies
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everything under `static/` to `_site/` unchanged. Reference them as
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`/papers/filename.pdf`.
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**One-time vendor setup.** PDF.js is not included in the repo. Install it once:
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```bash
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npm install pdfjs-dist
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mkdir -p static/pdfjs
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cp -r node_modules/pdfjs-dist/web static/pdfjs/
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cp -r node_modules/pdfjs-dist/build static/pdfjs/
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rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
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```
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Then commit `static/pdfjs/` (it is static and changes only when you want to
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upgrade PDF.js). Hakyll's existing `static/**` rule copies it through without
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any new build rules.
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**Optional: disable the "Open file" button** in the viewer. Edit
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`static/pdfjs/web/viewer.html` and set `AppOptions.set('disableOpenFile', true)`
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in the `webViewerLoad` callback, or add a thin CSS rule to `viewer.css`:
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```css
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#openFile, #secondaryOpenFile { display: none !important; }
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```
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---
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## Math
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Pandoc parses LaTeX math and wraps it in `class="math inline"` / `class="math display"`
|
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spans. KaTeX CSS is loaded conditionally on pages that contain math — this styles the
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pre-rendered output. Client-side KaTeX JS rendering is not yet loaded; complex math
|
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will appear as LaTeX source. Build-time server-side rendering is planned but not yet
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implemented. Simple math currently renders through Pandoc's built-in KaTeX span output.
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`math: true` is auto-set for all essays and blog posts. Standalone pages that use
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math must set it explicitly in frontmatter to load the KaTeX CSS.
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|
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| Syntax | Usage |
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|--------|-------|
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| `$...$` | Inline math |
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| `$$...$$` on its own line | Display math |
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```markdown
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The quadratic formula is $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$.
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$$
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\int_0^\infty e^{-x^2}\,dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
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$$
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```
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---
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## Links
|
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Internal links: standard Markdown or wikilinks. Internal links get a
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`link-internal` class and an internal icon.
|
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|
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External links are classified automatically at build time:
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- Opened in a new tab (`target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"`)
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- Decorated with a domain icon via CSS `mask-image`
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|
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Links to sibling subdomains (e.g. `git.levineuwirth.org`) are classified as
|
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external — only `levineuwirth.org` and `www.levineuwirth.org` are treated as
|
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the content host.
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||
|
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| Domain | Icon |
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|--------|------|
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| `wikipedia.org` | Wikipedia |
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||
| `arxiv.org` | arXiv |
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||
| `doi.org` | DOI |
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||
| `worldcat.org` | WorldCat |
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||
| `orcid.org` | ORCID |
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||
| `archive.org` | Internet Archive |
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||
| `github.com` | GitHub |
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||
| `git.levineuwirth.org` | Forgejo |
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||
| `tensorflow.org` | TensorFlow |
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||
| `anthropic.com` | Anthropic |
|
||
| `openai.com` | OpenAI |
|
||
| `twitter.com` / `x.com` | Twitter/X |
|
||
| `reddit.com` | Reddit |
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||
| `youtube.com` / `youtu.be` | YouTube |
|
||
| `tiktok.com` | TikTok |
|
||
| `substack.com` | Substack |
|
||
| `news.ycombinator.com` | Hacker News |
|
||
| `nytimes.com` | New York Times |
|
||
| `nasa.gov` | NASA |
|
||
| `apple.com` | Apple |
|
||
| Everything else | Generic external arrow |
|
||
|
||
### Link preview popups
|
||
|
||
Hovering over a link shows a context-aware popup. All automatic — no
|
||
markup needed.
|
||
|
||
| Target | Popup content |
|
||
|--------|--------------|
|
||
| Internal page | Title, abstract, authors, tags, word count, reading time |
|
||
| Citation marker (`[1]`) | Full bibliography reference (multi-cite groups supported) |
|
||
| Wikipedia | Lead section extract via MediaWiki API |
|
||
| arXiv | Title, authors, abstract via Atom API |
|
||
| DOI / CrossRef | Title, authors, journal, year, abstract |
|
||
| GitHub | Repo name, description, language, stars |
|
||
| Forgejo (`git.levineuwirth.org`) | Repo name, description, language, stars |
|
||
| Open Library | Book title, description |
|
||
| bioRxiv / medRxiv | Title, authors, abstract |
|
||
| YouTube | Video title, channel name (oEmbed) |
|
||
| Internet Archive | Title, creator, description |
|
||
| PubMed | Title, authors, journal, year |
|
||
| PDF link | First-page thumbnail (from build-time `pdftoppm`) |
|
||
| Epistemic jump link (`#epistemic`) | Clone of the full epistemic profile |
|
||
| Epistemic term label (`data-ep-term`) | Term definition from colophon |
|
||
| PGP signature link | ASCII armor of the `.sig` file |
|
||
|
||
**Custom annotations** — author-defined previews for any URL. Add entries
|
||
to `data/annotations.json`:
|
||
|
||
```json
|
||
{
|
||
"https://example.com/article": {
|
||
"title": "Article Title",
|
||
"annotation": "A brief note about why this link is relevant."
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Annotation entries take priority over all other popup providers.
|
||
|
||
Popups are disabled on touch-primary devices and inside nav/TOC/footer
|
||
elements.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Code
|
||
|
||
Fenced code blocks with a language identifier get syntax highlighting (JetBrains
|
||
Mono). The language annotation also enables the selection popup's docs-search
|
||
feature (maps to MDN, Hoogle, docs.python.org, etc.).
|
||
|
||
````markdown
|
||
```haskell
|
||
fib :: Int -> Int
|
||
fib 0 = 0
|
||
fib 1 = 1
|
||
fib n = fib (n-1) + fib (n-2)
|
||
```
|
||
````
|
||
|
||
Inline code: `` `like this` ``
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Images
|
||
|
||
Place images in `static/images/`. All images automatically get `loading="lazy"`.
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
For a captioned figure, add a title string. Pandoc wraps it in `<figure>`/`<figcaption>`:
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Lightbox:** standalone images automatically get `data-lightbox="true"`.
|
||
Clicking opens a fullscreen overlay; close with ×, click outside, or Escape.
|
||
Images inside hyperlinks get lazy loading only — no lightbox.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Section collapsing
|
||
|
||
By default, every `h2` and `h3` heading in an essay gets a collapse toggle.
|
||
State persists in `localStorage`.
|
||
|
||
To disable on a specific page:
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
no-collapse: true
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Exhibits and annotations
|
||
|
||
Pandoc fenced divs (`:::`) create structured callout blocks.
|
||
|
||
### Exhibits
|
||
|
||
Always-visible numbered blocks with overlay zoom on click. Use for equations or
|
||
proofs you want to reference structurally. Listed under their parent heading
|
||
in the TOC.
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: {.exhibit .exhibit--equation}
|
||
$$E = mc^2$$
|
||
:::
|
||
|
||
::: {.exhibit .exhibit--proof}
|
||
*Proof.* Suppose for contradiction that … ∎
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
### Annotation callouts
|
||
|
||
Editorial sidebars — context, caveats, tangential detail.
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: {.annotation .annotation--static}
|
||
Always visible. Use for important caveats or context.
|
||
:::
|
||
|
||
::: {.annotation .annotation--collapsible}
|
||
Collapsed by default. Use for tangential detail.
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Score fragments
|
||
|
||
Inline SVG music notation, integrated with the gallery/exhibit system. Clicking
|
||
a fragment opens the shared overlay alongside any math exhibits on the page.
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: {.score-fragment score-name="Main Theme, mm. 1–8" score-caption="The opening gesture."}
|
||
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Both attributes are optional, but `score-name` is strongly recommended — it
|
||
drives the overlay label and the TOC badge.
|
||
|
||
The image path is resolved **relative to the source file's directory**:
|
||
|
||
| Source file | SVG path | Reference as |
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| `content/essays/my-essay.md` | `content/essays/scores/theme.svg` | `scores/theme.svg` |
|
||
| `content/music/symphony/index.md` | `content/music/symphony/scores/motif.svg` | `scores/motif.svg` |
|
||
| `content/me/index.md` | `content/me/scores/vln.svg` | `scores/vln.svg` |
|
||
|
||
SVGs are inlined at build time. Black `fill`/`stroke` values are replaced with
|
||
`currentColor` so notation renders correctly in dark mode.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Excerpts
|
||
|
||
Pull-quotes from other works, displayed as indented blockquotes with a small
|
||
attribution line and a stretched invisible link covering the whole figure.
|
||
|
||
### Poem excerpt
|
||
|
||
Use when quoting verse that has a dedicated page on the site. The entire figure
|
||
becomes a click target pointing to the poem; the attribution line remains an
|
||
independent link.
|
||
|
||
```html
|
||
<figure class="poem-excerpt">
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
|
||
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
|
||
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
|
||
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<figcaption><a href="/poetry/sonnet-60.html">William Shakespeare — <em>Sonnet 60</em></a></figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
The blockquote renders with the default dashed left border and italic muted text.
|
||
No box or background. The `figcaption` is small-caps and left-aligned.
|
||
|
||
### Prose excerpt
|
||
|
||
For quoting prose or for excerpts that do not have a page on the site:
|
||
|
||
```html
|
||
<figure class="prose-excerpt">
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
|
||
The passage you want to quote goes here.
|
||
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<figcaption><a href="https://example.com">Author — <em>Source Title</em></a></figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
`prose-excerpt` is full-width (`width: auto; max-width: 100%`) rather than
|
||
`fit-content`-wide like `poem-excerpt`. Both reset the image-figure box styles
|
||
(no background, no border, no padding).
|
||
|
||
### Commonplace book
|
||
|
||
The `/commonplace` page is a YAML-driven quotation collection. Add entries to
|
||
`data/commonplace.yaml`; the page rebuilds automatically.
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
- text: |-
|
||
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
|
||
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
|
||
Each changing place with that which goes before,
|
||
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
|
||
attribution: William Shakespeare
|
||
source: Sonnet 60
|
||
source-url: /poetry/sonnet-60.html
|
||
tags: [time, mortality]
|
||
commentary: >
|
||
Optional note. Shown below the quote in muted italic. Omit entirely if
|
||
not needed — most entries will not have one.
|
||
date-added: 2026-03-17
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
| Field | Required | Notes |
|
||
|-------|----------|-------|
|
||
| `text` | yes | Use `|-` block scalar; newlines become `<br>` |
|
||
| `attribution` | yes | Author name, plain text |
|
||
| `source` | no | Title of the source work |
|
||
| `source-url` | no | Makes `source` a link |
|
||
| `tags` | no | Separate from content tags; used for "by theme" grouping |
|
||
| `commentary` | no | Your own remark on the passage |
|
||
| `date-added` | no | ISO date; used for chronological sort |
|
||
|
||
The page has a **by theme / chronological** toggle (state persists in
|
||
`localStorage`). Untagged entries appear under "miscellany" in the themed view.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Music
|
||
|
||
### Catalog index (`/music/`)
|
||
|
||
`content/music/index.md` is the catalog homepage. Write prose about your
|
||
compositional work in the body; provide an `abstract` for the intro line.
|
||
The composition listing is auto-generated from all `content/music/*/index.md`
|
||
files — no manual list needed.
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
---
|
||
title: Music
|
||
abstract: Compositions spanning orchestral, chamber, and solo writing.
|
||
tags: [music]
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
[Your prose here — influences, preoccupations, approach to the craft.]
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
### Composition pages
|
||
|
||
Each composition lives in its own subdirectory:
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
content/music/symphony-no-1/
|
||
├── index.md ← frontmatter + program notes prose
|
||
├── scores/
|
||
│ ├── page-01.svg ← one file per score page
|
||
│ └── symphony.pdf ← optional PDF download
|
||
└── audio/
|
||
├── full.mp3 ← optional full-piece recording
|
||
└── movement-1.mp3 ← optional per-movement recordings
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Two URLs are generated automatically from one source:
|
||
- `/music/symphony-no-1/` — prose landing page with metadata, audio players, movements
|
||
- `/music/symphony-no-1/score/` — minimal page-turn score reader
|
||
|
||
The score reader is only generated when `score-pages` is non-empty.
|
||
|
||
**Catalog indicators** — the `/music/` catalog auto-derives:
|
||
- ◼ (score available): `score-pages` list is non-empty
|
||
- ♫ (recording available): `recording` key is present, or any movement has `audio`
|
||
|
||
**Catalog grouping** — `category` controls which section the work appears in.
|
||
Valid values: `orchestral`, `chamber`, `solo`, `vocal`, `choral`, `electronic`.
|
||
Anything else appears under "Other". Omitting `category` defaults to "other".
|
||
|
||
**Featured works** — set `featured: true` to also appear in the Featured section
|
||
at the top of the catalog.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Page scripts
|
||
|
||
For pages that need custom JavaScript (interactive widgets, visualisations, etc.),
|
||
place the JS file alongside the content and reference it via the `js:` frontmatter
|
||
key. The file is copied to `_site/` and injected as a deferred `<script>` at the
|
||
bottom of `<body>`.
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
js: scripts/memento-mori.js # single file
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
or a list:
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
js:
|
||
- scripts/widget-a.js
|
||
- scripts/widget-b.js
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Paths are relative to the content file. A composition at
|
||
`content/music/symphony/index.md` with `js: scripts/widget.js` serves the
|
||
script at `/music/symphony/scripts/widget.js`.
|
||
|
||
No changes to the build system are needed — the `content/**/*.js` glob rule
|
||
copies all JS files from `content/` to `_site/` automatically.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Epistemic profile
|
||
|
||
The epistemic footer section appears when `status` is set. All other fields
|
||
are optional and are shown or hidden independently.
|
||
|
||
| Field | Compact rows | Expanded `<dl>` |
|
||
|-------|-------------|------------------|
|
||
| *(trust score)* | bordered chip + small-caps "trust" label on the primary row | — |
|
||
| `status` | small-caps chip on the primary row, alongside the trust chip | — |
|
||
| `confidence` | `· 72% confidence` | — |
|
||
| `importance` | `· ●●●○○ importance` | — |
|
||
| `evidence` | `· ●●○○○ evidence quality` | — |
|
||
| `scope` | `· average scope` (if set) | — |
|
||
| `novelty` | `· moderate novelty` (if set) | — |
|
||
| `practicality` | `· moderate practicality` (if set) | — |
|
||
| `stability` | — | auto-computed from git history |
|
||
| `last-reviewed` | — | most recent commit date |
|
||
| `confidence-trend` | — | ↑/↓/→ from last two `confidence-history` entries |
|
||
|
||
The **trust score** is auto-computed as `confidence × 0.6 + ((evidence − 1) / 4) × 0.4`,
|
||
clamped 0–100. It is deliberately narrow: it answers "how much should you trust the
|
||
central claim?" and nothing else. Importance, scope, novelty, and practicality are
|
||
*not* folded in — they are orientation signals shown alongside the chip so a high
|
||
trust score on a personal essay cannot be misread as broad significance.
|
||
|
||
**Stability** is auto-computed from `git log --follow` at every build. The
|
||
heuristic: ≤1 commits or age <14 days → *volatile*; ≤5 commits and age <90
|
||
days → *revising*; ≤15 commits or age <365 days → *fairly stable*; ≤30
|
||
commits or age <730 days → *stable*; otherwise → *established*.
|
||
|
||
To pin a manual stability label for one build, add the file path to `IGNORE.txt`
|
||
(one path per line). The file is cleared automatically by `make build`.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Version history
|
||
|
||
The version history footer section uses a three-tier fallback:
|
||
|
||
1. **`history:` frontmatter** — your authored notes, shown exactly as written.
|
||
2. **Git log** — if no `history:` key, dates are extracted from `git log --follow`.
|
||
Entries have no message (date only).
|
||
3. **`date:` frontmatter** — if git has no commits for the file, falls back to
|
||
the `date` field as a single "Created" entry.
|
||
|
||
`make build` auto-commits `content/` before running the Hakyll build, so the
|
||
git log stays current without manual commits.
|
||
|
||
Write authored notes when the git log would be too noisy or insufficiently
|
||
descriptive:
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
history:
|
||
- date: "2026-03-01"
|
||
note: Initial draft
|
||
- date: "2026-03-14"
|
||
note: Expanded section 3; incorporated feedback from peer review
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Typography features
|
||
|
||
Applied automatically at build time; no markup needed.
|
||
|
||
| Feature | What it does |
|
||
|---------|-------------|
|
||
| Smart quotes | `"foo"` / `'bar'` → curly quotes |
|
||
| Em dashes | `---` → — |
|
||
| En dashes | `--` → – |
|
||
| Smallcaps | `[TEXT]{.smallcaps}` → `font-variant-caps: small-caps` |
|
||
| Drop cap | First letter of the first `<p>` gets a decorative large initial |
|
||
| Explicit drop cap | `::: dropcap` fenced div applies drop cap to any paragraph |
|
||
| Ligatures | Spectral `liga`, `dlig` OT features active for body text |
|
||
| Old-style figures | Spectral `onum` active; use `.lining-nums` class to override |
|
||
|
||
To mark a phrase as small caps explicitly:
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
The [CPU]{.smallcaps} handles this.
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
### Explicit drop cap
|
||
|
||
Wrap any paragraph in a `::: dropcap` fenced div to get a drop cap regardless
|
||
of its position in the document. The first line is automatically rendered in
|
||
small caps via `::first-line { font-variant-caps: small-caps }`.
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: dropcap
|
||
A personal website is not a publication. It is a position — something you
|
||
inhabit, argue from, and occasionally revise in public.
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Write in normal mixed case. The CSS applies `font-variant-caps: small-caps` to
|
||
the entire first rendered line, converting lowercase letters to small-cap glyphs.
|
||
Use `[WORD]{.smallcaps}` spans to force specific words into small-caps anywhere
|
||
in the paragraph.
|
||
|
||
A paragraph that immediately follows a `::: dropcap` block will be indented
|
||
correctly (`text-indent: 1.5em`), matching the paragraph-after-paragraph rule.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Text selection popup
|
||
|
||
Selecting any text (≥ 2 characters) shows a context-aware toolbar after 450 ms.
|
||
|
||
| Context | Buttons |
|
||
|---------|---------|
|
||
| Prose (multi-word) | BibTeX · Copy · DuckDuckGo · Here · Wikipedia |
|
||
| Prose (single word) | BibTeX · Copy · Define · DuckDuckGo · Here · Wikipedia |
|
||
| Math | Copy · nLab · OEIS · Wolfram |
|
||
| Code (known language) | Copy · \<MDN / Hoogle / Docs…\> |
|
||
| Code (unknown) | Copy |
|
||
|
||
**BibTeX** generates a `@online{...}` BibLaTeX entry with the selected text in
|
||
`note={\enquote{...}}` and copies it to the clipboard. **Define** opens English
|
||
Wiktionary. **Here** opens the Pagefind search page pre-filled with the selection.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Visualizations
|
||
|
||
Two types of figure are supported, authored as fenced divs. The Python script
|
||
runs at build time via the Pandoc filter; no client-side computation is needed
|
||
for static figures.
|
||
|
||
### Static figures (matplotlib)
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: {.figure script="figures/my-plot.py" caption="Caption text."}
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
The script path is resolved relative to the source file's directory. It should
|
||
import `viz_theme` from `tools/` and write SVG to stdout:
|
||
|
||
```python
|
||
import sys
|
||
sys.path.insert(0, 'tools')
|
||
from viz_theme import apply_monochrome, save_svg
|
||
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
|
||
|
||
apply_monochrome()
|
||
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
|
||
ax.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 4, 9])
|
||
save_svg(fig)
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
`apply_monochrome()` sets transparent backgrounds and pure black elements so
|
||
the figure inherits the page's dark/light mode via CSS `currentColor`.
|
||
Multi-series charts should use `LINESTYLE_CYCLE` instead of color:
|
||
|
||
```python
|
||
from viz_theme import apply_monochrome, save_svg, LINESTYLE_CYCLE
|
||
apply_monochrome()
|
||
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
|
||
for i, style in enumerate(LINESTYLE_CYCLE[:3]):
|
||
ax.plot(x, data[i], **style, label=f"Series {i+1}")
|
||
save_svg(fig)
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
### Interactive figures (Altair / Vega-Lite)
|
||
|
||
```markdown
|
||
::: {.visualization script="figures/my-chart.py" caption="Caption text."}
|
||
:::
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
The script outputs Vega-Lite JSON to stdout:
|
||
|
||
```python
|
||
import sys, json
|
||
import altair as alt
|
||
import pandas as pd
|
||
|
||
df = pd.read_csv('figures/data.csv')
|
||
chart = alt.Chart(df).mark_line().encode(x='year:O', y='value:Q')
|
||
print(json.dumps(chart.to_dict()))
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
The site's monochrome Vega config is applied automatically, overriding the
|
||
spec's own `config`. Dark mode re-renders automatically.
|
||
|
||
Add `viz: true` to the frontmatter of any page using `.visualization` divs —
|
||
this loads the Vega CDN scripts:
|
||
|
||
```yaml
|
||
|
||
viz: true
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Pages with only static `.figure` divs do not need `viz: true`.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Page footer sections
|
||
|
||
Essays get a structured footer. Sections with no data are hidden.
|
||
|
||
| Section | Shown when |
|
||
|---------|-----------|
|
||
| Version history | Always (falls back through three-tier system) |
|
||
| Epistemic | `status` frontmatter key is present |
|
||
| Bibliography | At least one inline citation |
|
||
| Further Reading | `further-reading` key is present |
|
||
| Backlinks | Other pages link to this page |
|
||
| Related | Similar pages exist (embedding-based; computed at build time) |
|
||
|
||
Backlinks are auto-generated at build time. No markup needed — any internal
|
||
link from another page creates an entry here, showing the source title and the
|
||
surrounding paragraph as context.
|
||
|
||
Related pages are computed by `tools/embed.py` using semantic embeddings
|
||
(`nomic-embed-text-v1.5` + FAISS). Runs automatically during `make build`
|
||
when the Python environment is set up (`uv sync`). No markup needed.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Auto-generated pages
|
||
|
||
These pages are built automatically and require no content files or markup:
|
||
|
||
| Page | URL | Description |
|
||
|------|-----|-------------|
|
||
| Essay index | `/essays/` | All essays, newest first |
|
||
| Blog index | `/blog/` | Paginated blog posts |
|
||
| New | `/new.html` | All content types sorted by date, newest first |
|
||
| Library | `/library.html` | All content grouped by portal (AI, Fiction, Music, etc.) |
|
||
| Build telemetry | `/build/` | Corpus stats, word-length distribution, tag frequencies, link analysis, epistemic coverage, output metrics, repository overview, build timing, and a 52-week writing activity heatmap |
|
||
| Tag indexes | `/<tag>/` | Paginated pages per tag, auto-generated |
|
||
| Author indexes | `/authors/<slug>/` | All content attributed to an author |
|
||
| Random manifest | `/random-pages.json` | JSON array of page URLs for the random-page button |
|
||
| Atom feeds | `/feed.xml`, `/music/feed.xml` | All content feed + music-only feed |
|
||
| Search | `/search.html` | Pagefind full-text search + client-side semantic search (`nomic-embed-text-v1.5` ONNX model) |
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Build
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
make build # auto-commit content/, convert images, PDF thumbs, compile,
|
||
# run pagefind + embeddings, clear IGNORE.txt
|
||
make sign # GPG detach-sign every _site/**/*.html → .html.sig
|
||
make deploy # clean + build + sign + rsync to VPS + git push
|
||
make watch # Hakyll live-reload dev server (SITE_ENV=dev — includes drafts)
|
||
make dev # clean build + Python HTTP server (SITE_ENV=dev — includes drafts)
|
||
make clean # wipe _site/ and _cache/
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
`make watch` and `make dev` set `SITE_ENV=dev`, which includes drafts under
|
||
`content/drafts/essays/` in the build. All other targets exclude drafts.
|
||
|
||
`make watch` hot-reloads changes to Markdown, CSS, JS, and templates.
|
||
**After any change to a `.hs` file, always run `make clean && make build`** —
|
||
Hakyll's cache is keyed to source file mtimes and will serve stale output after
|
||
Haskell-side changes.
|
||
|
||
`make deploy` requires `VPS_USER`, `VPS_HOST`, and `VPS_PATH` to be set in
|
||
`.env` (see `.env.example`). It runs `clean → build → sign`, sends a desktop
|
||
notification, rsyncs `_site/` to the VPS, and pushes to `origin main`.
|
||
|
||
**GPG signing:** `make sign` and `make deploy` require the signing subkey
|
||
passphrase to be cached. Run once per boot (or per 24h expiry):
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
./tools/preset-signing-passphrase.sh
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Image conversion:** `make build` automatically runs `tools/convert-images.sh`
|
||
to generate WebP companions for JPEG/PNG images (requires `cwebp`). It also
|
||
generates first-page PDF thumbnails via `pdftoppm` (requires `poppler`).
|
||
Both are skipped silently when the tools are not installed.
|
||
|
||
**Python environment:** the embedding pipeline requires `uv sync` to be run
|
||
once. After that, `make build` invokes `uv run python tools/embed.py`
|
||
automatically. If `.venv` is absent, the step is skipped with a warning and
|
||
the build continues normally.
|