post: beginning again + adopt YAML frontmatter for posts#52
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Pull request overview
Adds a new writing entry (“Beginning again”) to validate the new writing layout and ensure the /writing index renders correctly with real MDX prose content.
Changes:
- Introduces a new MDX post under
/writing/beginning-again/withmetadataconsumed by the/writingindex. - Uses
ArticleLayoutwith title/meta/subtitle/back link to exercise the new typography and TOC behavior.
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viniciusdc
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May 19, 2026
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A meta post kicking off the new notebook era. Honest about prior attempts stalling, frames writing as a thinking tool rather than an audience-facing thing, sets out what the notebook will and won't try to be. Tagged "meta" — content-about-the-notebook rather than any of the existing topical tags.
Posts no longer need to wrap themselves in <ArticleLayout ...>. The layout is referenced from yaml frontmatter and the body is pure markdown. Cleaner, less boilerplate, less JSX in things that should read like prose. Example post header — what authors write now: --- layout: '@/layouts/ArticleLayout.astro' title: Beginning again date: 2026-05-18 tag: meta description: ... --- I've started a blog several times. ... Changes: - ArticleLayout reads from `Astro.props.frontmatter` when used as a layout reference, falls back to direct props when used inline from an .astro file (backward-compat for project pages). Auto-composes `meta` as "date · tag" so authors don't have to compute it. - YAML dates are auto-parsed into Date objects, which broke string sorts and rendered as ISO timestamps. Coerced to YYYY-MM-DD via a duck-typed asDateString helper in the layout, the writing index, and the homepage. - Listing pages (homepage, /writing/) now accept both `frontmatter` (yaml-front-matter pattern) and `metadata` (export const pattern). - Templates (note.mdx, architecture.mdx, project.mdx) updated to the yaml-frontmatter shape. project.mdx uses `frontmatter.X` to read fields inside the body for the ProjectMeta block. - Beginning-again post rewritten in the new format — header is yaml, body is markdown, no JSX wrapping. - cspell: add "frontmatter". Project pages in `src/pages/projects/<slug>/index.astro` keep their existing pattern (export const metadata + ArticleLayout wrapper) — ArticleLayout still supports it via direct props.
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The \`layout: '@/layouts/ArticleLayout.astro'\` line was boilerplate on every post. Made it optional via a small remark plugin in astro.config.mjs that injects the layout into the frontmatter for any mdx file under /pages/writing/ or /pages/projects/ that doesn't already have one. Authors can still override per-post by setting \`layout:\` explicitly. While here: - Layout's \`meta\` composition now falls back to \`fm.label\` so project pages auto-render their label above the title without needing an explicit \`meta:\` line. - Drop the \`layout:\` line from note / architecture / project templates and the beginning-again post. - Drop the \`meta: system\` redundancy from the project template.
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Summary
Two changes, coupled because the post can't ship without the API change.
YAML frontmatter for posts
Posts no longer wrap themselves in `<ArticleLayout ...>`. The layout is referenced from frontmatter and the body is pure markdown:
Cleaner, less JSX in things that should read like prose. MDX is still allowed — imports work normally for future use (custom components, math, etc.).
The post itself
A meta opener in your voice — frames writing as a thinking tool, sets out the broader scope (software / AI/math/design/games), declares an honest commitment to publishing imperfect things.
Test plan
2026-05-18 · meta
` — date coercion works.