How we built the byte5 blog

We wanted a blog that feels like the rest of byte5.ai: fast, lean, no database, no vendor lock-in. No headless CMS, no external API. Content lives as files in the repository and goes through the same review process as code.

Content as files#

Every post is one MDX file per language plus a typed entry in the registry. The registry holds all language-independent fields (date, tags, author, cover):

export const posts: BlogPostMeta[] = [
  {
    slug: "wie-wir-den-byte5-blog-gebaut-haben",
    publishedAt: "2026-05-20",
    tags: ["MDX", "Next.js", "Engineering", "byte5"],
    authorId: "christian-wendler",
    sourceLanguage: "de",
  },
];

So filtering and sorting on the overview run purely on typed data. The prose stays where it belongs: in the MDX file.

Content belongs in the repository, not in a database. That way every blog post gets the same care as any code change: branch, review, diff.

From markdown to a server component#

The MDX files are compiled at build/render time and rendered as a React Server Component. Shiki handles syntax highlighting, entirely on the server, without shipping a single kilobyte of JavaScript to the browser:

Why no client library?#

Highlighting, heading anchors and GitHub-flavored markdown all happen at render time. The browser receives finished HTML. That keeps pages light and Core Web Vitals green.

Prepare, don't rush#

Posts with a publish date in the future do not appear in the overview. The detail page is already reachable by link, though. So posts can be prepared calmly and go live automatically once their date arrives.

export const revalidate = 600;
 
export default async function BlogIndex() {
  const now = Date.now(); // always evaluate at render time
  const published = getPublishedPosts(now);
  // ...
}

Multilingual support works the same way: a post is written in German or English and translated into the remaining languages. If a translation is missing, the page falls back cleanly to the source language and shows a subtle language badge.

The result is a blog that is technically boring, in the best sense. That is exactly what we wanted.