vishalv.com

Personal site for Vishal V. Built on top of Timothy Lin’s Tailwind Next.js Starter Blog and customized for long-form notes, hacks, health logs, and a bookshelf.

Stack

• Next.js 15.2.6 (App Router) + React 19.0.1
• Contentlayer 2 + MDX for typed Markdown content
• Tailwind CSS 4 with a custom palette
• Pliny utilities (layouts, newsletter, kbar search, RSS)
• TypeScript + ESLint + Prettier + Husky

Structure

Path	Purpose
app/	Routes, layouts, API handlers.
components/	Shared UI pieces.
layouts/	Page/article layouts via Pliny.
data/frontiers/	Personal knowledge frontiers: publishable notes/theses, research notes, templates.
data/showcase/	Public-facing content collections, metadata, and support data.
css/	Tailwind + Prism styles.
scripts/	Post-build tasks (RSS, search index).
public/	Static assets and generated search.json.

Philosophy

• Keep writing portable (Markdown in git).
• Prioritize calm, legible layouts.
• Automate chores (RSS, search, tag counts) during yarn build.
• Add enhancements (theme switch, kbar, newsletter) without blocking core reading.

Commands

yarn install
yarn dev      # http://localhost:3000
yarn build    # runs Contentlayer + postbuild (RSS/search)
yarn start
yarn lint

Environment variables (.env.local + hosting platform):

• BUTTONDOWN_API_KEY and BUTTONDOWN_SECURITY_TOKEN for newsletter signup via Buttondown. Set siteMetadata.newsletter.provider = null to hide it.

Vercel Web Analytics is wired in app/layout.tsx via @vercel/analytics. Enable Analytics for the project in Vercel to start collecting data on deployed traffic.

Content

• Notes: data/frontiers/publish/notes/*.md → /notes/[slug]
• Theses: data/frontiers/publish/theses/*.md → /theses/[slug]
• Research notes: data/frontiers/research-notes/*.md stays raw, then yarn publish:research-notes generates publishable copies directly in data/frontiers/publish/notes/*.md. Hashtags become frontmatter tags, raw modified becomes date, and referenced images are copied to public/static/research-notes/**.
• Obsidian templates: data/frontiers/obsidian-templates/** stays private/frontiers-only and is excluded from Contentlayer.
• Hacks: data/showcase/hacks/*.md → /hacks
• Bookshelf: data/showcase/bookshelf/*.md → /bookshelf + /bookshelf/[slug]
• Health logs/routines: data/showcase/health/**
• Author profile: data/showcase/authors/default.md

Run yarn dev or yarn build after editing content so research notes and Contentlayer regenerate.

Credits

Thanks to Timothy Lin for the original MIT-licensed starter. This repo keeps his license notice and adds Vishal’s customizations.