The birth of a blog (or: Why didn't I use WordPress?)

If you're reading this, congratulations! It means the tangle of Python scripts I call a "build system" actually worked and didn't blow up my computer.

Many people would ask: "Renaldo, why on earth didn't you use WordPress or Medium?". The answer is simple: because I like to suffer (and to have total control over every pixel and every line of code).

Here's the recipe for what makes this blog run while I drink my coffee:

The Holy Trinity of my Setup:

  1. Flask + Flask-FlatPages: Flask is like that Swiss Army knife I use for everything. FlatPages is the magic that takes dull Markdown files and turns them into elegant HTML pages. No database, no complication, no drama.

  2. Markdown: I write in plain text, Python does the heavy lifting, and the result is clean HTML. It's the closest thing to "programming" text I know.

  3. Frozen-Flask: This one is the genie in the lamp. It takes all the dynamism of Flask and "freezes" it into static files. The result? A site that flies, is secure by nature, and lives for free on GitHub Pages.

The "Master Chef" behind it all

The real hero here is GitHub Actions. Every time I git push a new post, a robot somewhere in the world wakes up, runs my Python scripts, cleans up the mess, and publishes the site. I only need to worry about writing (and not letting the coffee get cold).

Code example (because a dev blog must have code):

Just to make sure the syntax highlighting is working and looking great:

def morning_routine(coffee_available: bool):
    if coffee_available:
        print("☕ Starting blog deploy...")
        return "World conquered!"
    else:
        raise Exception("Critical Error: Caffeine not found.")

# Spoiler: coffee is always available.

I hope you enjoy the next posts. Soon I will talk about Linux, Homelab, Open Source, and other geeky stuff.

See you next time!