Concepts & principles / architecture-style

Static-first publishing

Precompute publishable information when freshness and interaction requirements permit, adding runtime work only where it creates value.

Canonical graph nodestatic-first

Move work to the appropriate time

Generate articles, navigation, feeds, and public graph indexes at build time. Run a small local search in the browser when the index size permits it. Use an authenticated service for genuinely private or transactional operations.

Not a universal answer

Build duration, update frequency, and data volume matter. Measure the actual workload before extending a file-based architecture to millions of records. An AI-generated static interface does not replace the backend requirements of payments, authentication, or shared mutable state.

Part of a connected world

Follow the meaning.

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Outgoing connections

extendsSimplest-capable architecture
applies-toHugo Web Site

Connected from

implementsHugo
supportsNetlify
explainsChoose the simplest capable system

Node data identity, meaning & relationships

The complete semantic record, rendered from root node: front matter.

semantic_node:
  description: Precompute publishable information when freshness and interaction requirements permit, adding runtime work only where it creates value.
  id: static-first
  kind: architecture-style
  name: Static-first publishing
  relationships:
  - predicate: extends
    target: simplest-capable-architecture
  - predicate: applies-to
    target: hugo-web-site
  type: concept

Publishing metadata

description: Precompute publishable information when freshness and interaction requirements permit, adding runtime work only where it creates value.
draft: false
title: Static-first publishing
url: /graph/concepts/static-first/