Hacker News - Newest: "digital gardens"https://news.ycombinator.com/newestHacker News RSShttps://hnrss.org/hnrss v2.1.1Sun, 05 Apr 2026 16:59:59 +0000<![CDATA[Show HN: Simpesys – A headless document build tool for digital gardens]]>I built a file-based headless document build tool called Simpesys. I've been running my own digital garden for a long time. I'm into topics like digital gardens, knowledge bases, second brains, Zettelkasten, so I've tried many different tools over the years, but eventually decided that Markdown files on the local filesystem are the most sustainable way to do it.

These days there are plenty of file-based digital garden tools. But many of them treat the document system and the UI as one bundle, which always bothered me. I mostly write in NeoVim, so I wanted the document system itself, the editing environment, and the application (usually a static site) to be separate things. I didn't need an all-in-one. I needed a system where I could fine-tune the rules programmatically, and since sharing my digital garden with others matters too, the application UI had to be customizable as well. So I created Simpesys.

Simpesys focuses only on the document system, things like hierarchy and cross-references between documents, and keeps the user interface as a completely separate layer. The document system is the trickiest part of building a digital garden, and Simpesys provides that as a headless tool. The UI is handled through a plugin system, so users can customize it however they want. The users could even use another tool's UI on top of Simpesys if they wanted. (Respecting the original authors and their licenses, of course.)

It's not perfect yet, but I hope it inspires anyone with similar needs. As the first user of Simpesys, I keep improving it.

Simpesys's homepage is itself built with Simpesys: https://pedia.simpesys.deno.net/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47412917

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

]]>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:09:50 +0000https://github.com/parksb/simpesysparksbhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47412917https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47412917<![CDATA[Quartz 4: static site generator for digital gardens]]>Article URL: https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44087644

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

]]>Sun, 25 May 2025 13:25:40 +0000https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/debonehttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44087644https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44087644<![CDATA[Curated List of Digital Gardens]]>Article URL: https://github.com/KasperZutterman/Second-Brain

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40419226

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

]]>Mon, 20 May 2024 19:29:30 +0000https://github.com/KasperZutterman/Second-Brainzerojameshttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40419226https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40419226<![CDATA[Blogscroll – an open-source directory of personal blogs and digital gardens]]>Article URL: https://blogscroll.com/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37516665

Points: 78

# Comments: 14

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:32:01 +0000https://blogscroll.com/Curiositryhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37516665https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37516665<![CDATA[Quartz 4: static site generator for digital gardens]]>Article URL: https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37203884

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

]]>Sun, 20 Aug 2023 23:20:36 +0000https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/jackyzhaohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37203884https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37203884<![CDATA[Digital gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet (2020)]]>Article URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33571703

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

]]>Sat, 12 Nov 2022 10:00:06 +0000https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/doenerhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33571703https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33571703<![CDATA[On Digital Gardens]]>Article URL: https://www.cameronbrown.co.uk/~www/posts/digitalgarden.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29811688

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

]]>Wed, 05 Jan 2022 17:09:56 +0000https://www.cameronbrown.co.uk/~www/posts/digitalgarden.htmlcameronbrownhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29811688https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29811688<![CDATA[What Are Digital Gardens?]]>Article URL: https://cagrimmett.com/notes/2020/11/08/what-are-digital-gardens/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25085337

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

]]>Fri, 13 Nov 2020 18:04:24 +0000https://cagrimmett.com/notes/2020/11/08/what-are-digital-gardens/edavishttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25085337https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25085337<![CDATA[Digital gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet]]>Article URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24996780

Points: 87

# Comments: 38

]]>Thu, 05 Nov 2020 09:24:33 +0000https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/polm23https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24996780https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24996780<![CDATA[Digital gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet]]>Article URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24376818

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

]]>Fri, 04 Sep 2020 17:12:26 +0000https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/makeworldhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24376818https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24376818<![CDATA[Curated List of Public Zettelkastens ️ / Second Brains 🧠 / Digital Gardens]]>Article URL: https://github.com/KasperZutterman/Second-Brain

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23383333

Points: 10

# Comments: 0

]]>Mon, 01 Jun 2020 20:25:02 +0000https://github.com/KasperZutterman/Second-BrainKasperZuttermanhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23383333https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23383333<![CDATA[A Twitter thread collecting “Digital Gardens”]]>Article URL: https://twitter.com/Mappletons/status/1250532315459194880

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22963519

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

]]>Fri, 24 Apr 2020 01:02:39 +0000https://twitter.com/Mappletons/status/1250532315459194880robenkleenehttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22963519https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22963519