Open Source · Self-hosted

A small blog system with first-class notes, links, quotes, threads.

For people who miss Tumblr's note, link, and quote model, want publishing to feel closer to posting a thread than managing a CMS, and want control over what actually shows up in the default feed.

AlphaJant is still early. Expect rough edges, breaking changes, and docs that keep moving while the product settles.

No followers. No likes. No algorithmic feed.

demo.jant.me
Jant
What's on your mind?
Latest/Featured
Pinned
Published, not broadcast
A post can live on the site, keep its own URL, maybe sit in a collection, and still stay out of the default feed.
Mar 1, 2026 · Publishing model
· · ·

A personal site should be cheap to keep alive.

Mar 10, 2026 · Hosting
"
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
Thoreau
Compose
Note · Link · Quote
Note
Link
Quote
What's on your mind...
Post
Curate
Collections
01Publishing model4 entries
02Reading notes7 entries
03Tiny projects8 entries
04Links worth keeping11 entries
Expand
Threads

Threads work better for small follow-ups than editing a finished post.

You can say one thing, add another, then correct yourself without losing the sequence.

That feels closer to posting than running an admin panel.

Personalize
Themes and fonts
Paper
Ink
Moss
Clay
Preview
A small system should still leave room for tone, typography, and quiet.

Because I couldn't find quite the one I wanted

This is the honest answer, and it explains why Jant makes a few choices that look unusual on purpose.

Read the longer answer

Visibility and syndication are not the same thing. Most blog systems treat published and broadcast as one decision. I wanted a post to be public, have a URL, maybe live in a collection, and still stay out of the default feed. That is why Featured is the main feed instead of Latest, and why Hidden from Latest exists at all.

I wanted publishing to feel modern. Not another dashboard where you fill out a form, click Save, and go back to an admin table. Threads got something right: you write one thing, then a follow-up, then a small correction, and the sequence stays together. Jant leans into that.

I still like Tumblr's model more than most blog software. Note, link, and quote should be first-class formats, not workarounds inside one editor. Those three shapes cover a surprising amount of what I actually want to publish.

I am not arguing every other tool is wrong. This is just the one that fits the way I write. The longer introduction lives in the overview doc.

Note, link, and quote are first-class

These are not three awkward modes bolted onto one editor. They are three different shapes of writing, each worth treating properly.

Note
Anything from a quick note to a longer piece, with titles and attachments when you need them.
Link
Save something from the web, add your own note, and keep the source attached to the thought.
Quote
Capture the lines that mattered, attribute them properly, and add why they stayed with you.

Public does not have to mean broadcast

Featured is the main feed, not Latest. Hidden from Latest exists for things that should live on the site without turning into announcements.

Threads

Write something, add a follow-up, then a small correction. The sequence stays together.

Featured / Latest

Choose the feed people subscribe to without losing the full timeline of everything you published.

Hidden from Latest

A post can stay public, linkable, and part of the site without becoming an announcement.

Collections

More like curated shelves than tags, so recurring themes stay visible.

Rich attachments

Images, video, audio, documents, and pasted code all belong naturally in the same flow.

Full API

Automate publishing, imports, and maintenance without treating the UI as the only way in.

Export to Zola

Leave with your content whenever you want. Portability is a feature, not a migration apology.

Themes and fonts

Change the mood of the site without turning it into a template marketplace.

Cheap to keep alive, but not locked to one stack

Cloudflare Workers is a first-class target because a personal site should be cheap to keep alive. But if you would rather run Jant on your own server, Docker and Node.js work too.

Cloudflare Workers

Cheap global hosting with almost no maintenance. Start with one-click deploy, then open the manual guide when you want to understand every step.

Low maintenance

Docker / Node.js

Run it on your own server with SQLite or Postgres, bring your own proxy and storage, and keep the docs nearby for the details.

Self-hosted
New here? Start with the overview, then getting started guide, and then pick the Cloudflare or Docker path.

Hosted option

If you can self-host, that is still the recommended path. If even one more deployment step is the wrong fit, write to [email protected]. Hosted access opens gradually and is still handled by hand. How hosted access works