The latest articles on DEV Community by thatch (@gnarzilla). https://dev.to/gnarzilla https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3376688%2F1430e8bb-14af-4d2b-9828-c96d4bb97b7b.png https://dev.to/gnarzilla en thatch Mon, 21 Jul 2025 22:46:42 +0000 https://dev.to/gnarzilla/how-i-built-a-150kb-blog-framework-on-cloudflares-free-tier-16a5 https://dev.to/gnarzilla/how-i-built-a-150kb-blog-framework-on-cloudflares-free-tier-16a5 <p>I've always liked the idea of owning my content — but whispers of wordpress under my bed keeps me up at night, conversely the limitations of static sites are what they are. So I built <strong>Deadlight</strong>, a minimalist blog/site framework that runs entirely on <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cloudflare Workers</a> + <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/d1/" rel="noopener noreferrer">D1</a> (SQLite) — <strong>all on the free tier</strong>, with built-in auth, Markdown, and themes.</p> <h2> Why I Built It </h2> <p>I wanted something that lived in the sweet spot between:</p> <ul> <li>Static site generators (like Hugo or Eleventy)</li> <li>Full CMS platforms (like WordPress or Ghost)</li> </ul> <p>Most "simple" blog solutions I tried still relied on multiple services (hosting + DB + backend). I wanted something <strong>all-in-one</strong>, deployable in minutes, and ideally <strong>free</strong> to run — even at scale.</p> <h2> What It Is </h2> <p>Deadlight is a fully functional site/blog framework that includes:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Markdown content support</strong></li> <li> <strong>Built-in authentication</strong> (no 3rd-party auth required)</li> <li><strong>Dark/light themes</strong></li> <li><strong>SQLite-backed database via Cloudflare D1</strong></li> <li> <strong>No build step</strong> — dynamic but lightweight</li> <li> <strong>&lt;150KB total size</strong> (HTML, CSS, routing, auth, and database logic)</li> <li><p><strong>Deployed to the edge</strong>, with no server/VPS to manage</p></li> <li><p><a href="https://deadlight.boo" rel="noopener noreferrer">Live demo</a> </p></li> <li><p><a href="https://github.com/gnarzilla/deadlight-bootstrap" rel="noopener noreferrer">GitHub source code</a></p></li> </ul> <h2> Architecture Overview </h2> <p>Everything runs on Cloudflare’s edge network:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Cloudflare Workers</strong> handle routing, rendering, auth, and API logic</li> <li> <strong>D1</strong> stores your posts, user credentials, and metadata</li> <li>No JS frameworks or client-side routing</li> <li>Pure CSS (with dark/light toggle), basic Markdown rendering</li> </ul> <p>This is <strong>not</strong> a static site generator. The content is dynamic — created, stored, and served live — but lightweight enough to load instantly.</p> <h2> Setup </h2> <p>If you have a Cloudflare account and Wrangler installed:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>git clone https://github.com/gnarzilla/deadlight-bootstrap <span class="nb">cd </span>deadlight-bootstrap wrangler d1 create deadlight wrangler publish </code></pre> </div> <p>That's it. Your blog is now live.</p> <h2> Design Philosophy </h2> <p>Intentionally kept this small and opinionated:</p> <ul> <li>No JavaScript framework</li> <li>No bloated admin interface (yet)</li> <li>No dependencies outside what Cloudflare offers (workers)</li> </ul> <p>But it's built to be built upon. Add an /admin dashboard, plug in image hosting, or integrate with KV/Queues - the world is your oyster. </p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fleq14sbzn7pgwoev86sl.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fleq14sbzn7pgwoev86sl.png" alt=" " width="800" height="723"></a></p> <h2> Feedback </h2> <p>I'd love to hear your thoughts, or a good roast if that's more your speed. </p> selfhosted webdev programming javascript