dlstack

A hand-built, file-driven personal link index. Drop it on any shared host via SFTP — no build step, no framework, no database. To update the page, edit data/links.json and re-upload.

Live at https://www.joelbrock.org.

Setup

The repo ships with data/links.example.json (Ada Lovelace placeholder data). The app reads data/links.json first, and falls back to the example if there's no real file — so a fresh clone renders immediately.

To customize:

cp data/links.example.json data/links.json
# edit data/links.json — your real content

data/links.json is gitignored, so your personal content stays out of the public repo. Upload data/links.json to your host alongside the other files when you deploy.

File layout

dlstack/
├── index.html                  shell + font preloads + no-flash boot script
├── favicon.svg                 the dL mark, ink/paper adaptive
├── data/
│   ├── links.example.json      committed example — used as fallback
│   └── links.json              your real content (gitignored)
└── assets/
    ├── css/
    │   ├── styles.css          editorial template (default)
    │   └── swiss.css           swiss template (overrides, scoped)
    └── js/
        └── app.js              loader + renderers

Total payload: ~40 KB across all assets (uncompressed). Gzipped: ~12 KB.

Deploying

Upload the whole directory via SFTP/FTP to the web root of any shared host. That's it — no PHP, no Node, no DB.

To update content: edit data/links.json locally, upload, done.

If you're behind Cloudflare during active development, enable Caching → Configuration → Development Mode in the CF dashboard to bypass the edge cache for 3 hours. Otherwise purge edge cache after each asset change.

data/links.json schema

{
  "profile":  { … },             // who you are
  "theme":    { … },             // colors + which template
  "sections": [ … ],             // groups of items
  "social":   [ … ],             // pill buttons under the hero
  "footer":   { … }              // bottom strip
}

profile

field	type	description
name	string	Hero name. Last word is set in italic accent.
handle	string	Optional. Shown in the top marker (e.g. @you).
tagline	string	Italic subtitle. Words separated by · get the accent color.
bio	string	One-paragraph intro under the tagline.
location	string	Currently unused after the live clock was removed; safe to leave or omit.

theme

field	type	values	description
accent	string	hex color, e.g. "#E8482C"	Single sharp accent color used throughout.
template	string	"editorial" (default), "swiss", or "cosmos"	Visual treatment. See Templates.
mode	string	unused; kept for future use	Theme toggle (auto/light/dark) is controlled by the corner pill, not this field.

sections

An ordered array of groups. Each section renders with a numbered masthead (№ 01 / Sites) and a grid of items.

{
  "id": "sites",                 // required, unique slug
  "label": "Sites",              // required, the section title
  "kicker": "Where I live online", // optional italic tagline
  "layout": "clients",           // optional — see Layouts below
  "items": [ … ]                 // required, array of items
}

Layouts

layout	When to use	Grid behavior
omitted	Default bento mix	12-column asymmetric grid (link cards span 4/12, projects/youtube span 6/12, featured spans 8/12, portfolio spans 12/12)
"clients"	Logo wall of clients/partners	Auto-flowing square tiles, minmax(108–124px, 1fr)
"testimonials"	Quotes from clients / collaborators	Crossfade carousel — one quote at a time, auto-advancing every 7s, with prev/next nav, dot indicators, swipe + ←/→ keys, pause on hover/focus. Reduced-motion users see all quotes stacked.

layout: "clients" is also auto-detected if the first item in the section has type: "client". Same goes for layout: "testimonials" when the first item is type: "testimonial".

Items

Every item lives in a section's items array and has a type field. The six available types are link, card, youtube, client, portfolio, and testimonial — documented below.

Optional date (any item type)

Every item type supports an optional date string. Use it to surface "published", "shipped", "released", or "worked on" timestamps without changing the item's type.

Accepted formats (all ISO-style, all interpreted as plain strings — no time zones, no parsing surprises):

Input	Rendered as	Use for
"2026"	2026	Year-only — "this is from 2026"
"2026-05"	May 2026	Year + month — soft / recurring
"2026-05-14"	May 14, 2026	Full date — talks, launches, posts

Where it appears per type:

• link — small monospaced caption under the host (separated by a ·).
• card (project) — at the end of the tag row.
• portfolio — under the caption description.
• youtube — inline after the title overlay.
• client — rendered as a small caption under the client title.

The raw value is also written to the <time datetime="…"> attribute so the original ISO string is preserved for machines and screen readers, even though humans see the friendly form.

{ "type": "card", "title": "CoVote launched", "date": "2025-11-04" }

type: "link" — standard link card

{
  "type": "link",
  "title": "Columinate",
  "url": "https://columinate.com",
  "description": "Cooperative Technology Solutions",
  "image": "https://example.com/logo.png",   // optional — overrides auto-favicon
  "featured": false                          // optional
}

field	required?	notes
title	yes	Card headline.
url	yes	Where the card links to. Opens in new tab.
description	no	Smaller line under the title.
image	no	Custom logo URL. Fills the favicon slot edge-to-edge (object-fit: cover). If omitted, a favicon is auto-fetched via Google's S2 service (google.com/s2/favicons?sz=128).
icon	no	Alias for image.
featured	no	Reserved; not currently styled differently for link cards.

type: "card" — project card

Bigger, prose-friendly card with tags.

{
  "type": "card",
  "title": "CoVote",
  "url": "https://covote.org",
  "description": "Anonymous election platform for co-ops.",
  "tags": ["democracy", "co-ops"],
  "featured": true                           // optional — makes it the hero card
}

field	required?	notes
title	yes	Serif headline (Fraunces in editorial; Archivo 900 caps in Swiss).
url	no	If present, the card becomes a link.
description	no	Paragraph under the title.
tags	no	Array of strings — small monospaced chips.
featured	no	When true, card spans 8/12 columns AND fills with the accent color (paper text on vermilion). Use sparingly — one per section.

type: "youtube" — embedded video

Renders a lazy facade (thumbnail + play button). The real YouTube iframe only loads when clicked, so the page stays fast even with many videos.

{
  "type": "youtube",
  "id": "42EXoE7pNAc",
  "title": "The 7 Cooperative Principles Song"
}

field	required?	notes
id	yes	YouTube video ID (the v= parameter from the URL).
title	yes	Shown over the thumbnail and as the iframe's accessible title.

type: "client" — logo tile

Used in client/partner walls. Square logo tile with a small caption below. Best in a section with layout: "clients".

{
  "type": "client",
  "title": "Columinate",
  "url": "https://columinate.coop",
  "image": "https://columinate.coop/i/logo-square.png"  // optional
}

field	required?	notes
title	yes	Caption below the tile. Long names wrap inside the column width.
url	no	If present, the tile becomes a link.
image	no	Custom logo. If omitted, an auto-favicon is used (rendered at 60% of the tile, contained).
icon	no	Alias for image.

type: "testimonial" — quote + attribution

Best paired with layout: "testimonials" (see above) to render as a crossfade carousel. A section with a single testimonial just renders the card statically.

{
  "type": "testimonial",
  "quote": "Working with Joel transformed how our co-op thinks about technology.",
  "name": "Jane Doe",
  "role": "Executive Director",
  "org": "Example Cooperative",
  "url": "https://example.coop",
  "image": "https://example.coop/avatars/jane.jpg",
  "date": "2025-09"
}

field	required?	notes
quote	yes	The quote body. Renders inside a <blockquote> with a large opening curly-quote mark above.
name	recommended	Person attributed. Bold below the quote.
role	no	Job title (e.g. "CEO"). Combined with org as "Role, Org".
org	no	Company / organization. Combined with role if both present.
url	no	If present, the whole card becomes a link (opens in new tab).
image	no	Avatar image URL. Square-cropped to a 44px circle. If omitted but url is present, an auto-favicon is fetched as a tiny round mark instead.
icon	no	Alias for image.
date	no	Optional date. Format per the date field.

type: "portfolio" — wide design/showcase

Always spans the full row. Use for featured design pieces, case-study images, or any visual you want to feature large.

{
  "type": "portfolio",
  "title": "Brand identity — Acme Co-op",
  "url": "https://example.com/case-study",
  "image": "https://example.com/portfolio/acme-hero.jpg",
  "description": "Logo system, packaging, signage",
  "ratio": "5:2"                             // optional, default "5:2"
}

field	required?	notes
image	yes	The image to display. Fills the card with object-fit: cover.
title	no	Caption headline below the image.
description	no	Caption subline.
url	no	If present, the card becomes a link.
ratio	no	Override aspect ratio. Format "W:H" (e.g. "16:9", "3:1", "4:3"). Default "5:2" (wide, not tall).

social

Pill buttons that appear under the hero bio.

[
  { "label": "GitHub",   "url": "https://github.com/you",   "icon": "github" },
  { "label": "LinkedIn", "url": "https://linkedin.com/in/you", "icon": "linkedin" },
  { "label": "Email",    "url": "mailto:you@example.com",   "icon": "mail" },
  { "label": "RSS",      "url": "/feed.xml",                "icon": "rss" }
]

field	required?	notes
label	yes	Text shown next to the icon.
url	yes	Link target.
icon	no	One of the built-in icon names (see below). Unknown values fall back to a generic chain-link icon.

Built-in icons: github, linkedin, mail, rss, link.

The icons are not from a library — they're hand-coded inline SVGs in the SOCIAL_ICONS object inside assets/js/app.js. Inline because:

• No extra HTTP requests
• Tint cleanly with currentColor so they inherit the link's text color (works in both editorial + Swiss templates, light + dark modes)
• Total weight for all 5 is ~2 KB

Where to find more icons

Source	Best for	URL
Simple Icons	Brand logos — GitHub, Mastodon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, X/Twitter, Substack, Discord, Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, etc. (3000+ brands)	https://simpleicons.org
Lucide	Generic UI icons — mail, rss, link, phone, calendar, etc. (1500+, MIT-licensed)	https://lucide.dev/icons
Phosphor	9000+ icons with multiple weights (regular / bold / thin / duotone)	https://phosphoricons.com
Heroicons	Tailwind's set, clean and minimal	https://heroicons.com

For social/brand logos → Simple Icons. For generic UI marks (mail, rss, link, etc.) → Lucide or Phosphor.

How to add a new icon

1. Find the icon on one of the sites above.

2. Click it and choose "Copy SVG" (or download the SVG).

3. Open assets/js/app.js and find the SOCIAL_ICONS object.

4. Paste the SVG as a new entry, keyed by a short name. Strip any hardcoded fill="..." or stroke="..." colors and replace them with currentColor so it inherits the link color.

   const SOCIAL_ICONS = {
     github:   '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor">…</svg>',
     linkedin: '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor">…</svg>',
     mail:     '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8">…</svg>',
     rss:      '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor">…</svg>',
     link:     '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor">…</svg>',
   
     // Newly added — Bluesky from Simple Icons:
     bluesky:  '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor"><path d="…"/></svg>'
   };
   

5. Reference the new icon by its key in data/links.json:

   { "label": "Bluesky", "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/you", "icon": "bluesky" }
   

6. Upload app.js and links.json (and purge Cloudflare cache or use Development Mode).

The fallback for any unknown icon value is a generic chain-link icon, so it'll still render even if you forget step 4.

footer

{
  "copy": "Hand-built. No trackers.",
  "year": "auto"
}

field	required?	notes
copy	no	Left side of the footer.
year	no	Currently unused — the right side auto-displays the current year and your name.

Templates

theme.template selects the visual treatment. Both stylesheets are always loaded, but the Swiss rules are scoped to :root[data-template="swiss"] so only one is "active" at a time.

"editorial" (default)

Magazine/poster aesthetic.

• Type: Fraunces (variable serif, italic for accents) + Geist (sans body) + Geist Mono (UI/eyebrows)
• Mood: warm paper background, vermilion accent, subtle grain texture, asymmetric bento grid, magazine-style section numbers, italic last-name in the hero, floating typographic asterism
• Cards: rounded corners (14px), thin rules, lift + corner-arrow on hover

"swiss"

Müller-Brockmann tribute. Akzidenz/Univers spirit with Archivo as the free variable substitute.

• Type: Archivo only, weights 400/500/600/700/900, all-caps headlines
• Mood: near-pure white paper, near-pure black ink, true Swiss red (#DC2127 by default, overridable via theme.accent)
• Geometry: zero border-radius everywhere, 2–4px black rules, solid red disc replaces the typographic asterism
• Cards: invert on hover (white → solid black with paper text). Featured cards are solid red, invert to black on hover.
• Animations: no spin, no italic — only sharp pop-in for the geometric mark

"cosmos"

Interstellar / sci-fi treatment. Lit by a real WebGL fragment shader running in a fixed full-viewport canvas behind the page.

• Type: Orbitron (variable sans display) + Geist for body
• Mood: deep indigo paper, cyan + magenta + violet accents, dark-only (the light/auto theme toggle is overridden — cosmos is always night)
• Background: animated fractal-noise nebula with a procedural two-layer starfield, subtle "gravity well" perturbation toward the cursor, ~150 LOC GLSL fragment shader
• Cards: glassmorphic with backdrop-filter, conic-gradient holographic borders that rotate on hover (@property --cosmos-hue)
• Hero: glowing chromatic-split last name on hover, drifting light-orb in place of the asterism, gradient-clip wordmarks
• Fallbacks: when WebGL is unavailable or prefers-reduced-motion: reduce is set, a static CSS-only radial nebula renders instead — and all heavy animations are disabled

To switch:

"theme": { "accent": "#E8482C", "template": "swiss" }

"theme": { "template": "cosmos" }

Choice is also cached in localStorage (dlstack-template) so reloads don't flash the wrong template before JSON parses.

Theme (light / dark / auto)

A small pill in the top-right cycles Auto → Light → Dark → Auto on click. "Auto" follows prefers-color-scheme. Choice persists in localStorage (dlstack-theme). An inline boot script in <head> applies the saved choice before CSS paint, so there's no flash on reload.

The accent color (theme.accent in JSON) is applied as a CSS custom property at runtime and respects both light and dark modes.

Reserved sub-paths

• data/links.json — content
• assets/css/styles.css — editorial template + base
• assets/css/swiss.css — swiss template overrides
• assets/js/app.js — renderer
• favicon.svg — the dL mark

Don't rename these without updating the references in index.html.

Local preview

From the project root:

python3 -m http.server 8765
# then open http://127.0.0.1:8765

Any static file server works; CORS isn't an issue since everything is same-origin.