How I Built a Zero-Dependency Technical Research Blog with Just HTML, CSS, and Markdown

Ever find yourself drowning in bookmarks, scattered notes, and half-finished documentation about technologies you’re researching? I did too—until I built something simpler.

The Problem

• Technical notes scattered across Notion, Google Docs, and random markdown files
• No central place to organize research on new technologies and platforms
• Setting up a blog feels like overkill—why do I need a database for markdown?
• Want to share knowledge but don’t want to maintain complex infrastructure
• Diagrams and code examples should just work without plugins

The Solution: Tech Research

A static blog that turns a folder of markdown files into a searchable knowledge base—deployed free on GitHub Pages with zero dependencies.

# Add an article, run the script, push. Done.
echo "# My Research" > researching/new-topic.md
./update-manifest.sh
git push

Your research is live in seconds, not hours.

How It Works

1. Write in Markdown – Create .md files in the researching/ directory with GitHub-flavored syntax
2. Run the Manifest Script – ./update-manifest.sh scans your articles and builds the index
3. Push to GitHub – GitHub Actions automatically deploys to GitHub Pages
4. Browse and Search – The SPA loads your manifest and renders articles on demand

No build step. No Node.js. No framework churn.

Get Started in 30 Seconds

git clone https://github.com/quochuydev/tech-research.git
cd tech-research
python -m http.server 8000  # or: npx serve .

This gives you:

• index.html – The single-page application that renders everything
• researching/ – Drop your markdown articles here
• update-manifest.sh – Regenerates the article index
• manifest.json – Searchable registry of all your content

Topics You Can Research

Why This Works

1. Zero Dependencies – Pure HTML/CSS/JS means nothing breaks when packages update
2. Mermaid Diagrams Built-in – Architecture diagrams render without extra tooling
3. GitHub Pages = Free Hosting – Push and forget, GitHub handles SSL and CDN
4. Markdown First – Write naturally, let the SPA handle rendering
5. Version Controlled Knowledge – Your research history lives in git commits

Try It

Fork the repo and start documenting your own tech research:

git clone https://github.com/quochuydev/tech-research.git
cd tech-research
# Create your first article
echo "---
title: My First Research
category: Learning
---

# Topic Overview

Your research goes here..." > researching/my-topic-overview.md
./update-manifest.sh

Open index.html in your browser—your article is already there.

Website: https://quochuydev.github.io/tech-research/

What’s the most disorganized part of your technical learning process? I’d love to hear what topics you’d document first.