Esoteric bitmap-based static site generation in Piet. "Easel" — Where the source code is a masterpiece. A generator where the execution path is painted, not typed.
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Esoteric Language Researchers exploring non-textual programming paradigms.
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Visual Thinkers who want to refactor their SSG logic using a paintbrush or image editor.
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Security Engineers interested in visually-obfuscated build toolchains and steganographic logic.
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Architects needing to prove that any Turing-complete medium can support the poly-ssg standard.
Your generator logic is defined by the transition of hue and lightness between adjacent colour blocks (codels). In easel-ssg, site transformations are not lines of code, but gradients of intent.
The source code is a .png bitmap. Unlike text-based scripts that can suffer from character-encoding rot, easel-ssg remains static and visually auditable. If the pixel hasn’t changed, the logic hasn’t changed.
By leveraging the Piet paradigm, frontmatter and site schemas can be embedded directly into the visual noise of the generator’s "background", blending site logic with site aesthetics.
# Load the Piet VM environment via asdf
just setup
# Process the source bitmap to synthesise the site
# This executes the .png as a functional SSG core
just build-from-art ./core/logic.png
# Preview the visual source code
just gallery-
Bitmap-Logic Core - Execution path determined by colour-cycle transitions.
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Non-Textual Debugging - Use standard image manipulation tools to refactor site logic.
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Podman-First - Standard containerised toolchain for visual logic execution.
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Accessibility - Native metadata support for BSL, GSL, ASL, and Makaton.
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Edge-Ready - Highly portable VM core suitable for Minix, Android, and ASICs.
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Piet Interpreter (npiet or equivalent)
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Just (Orchestrator)
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ImageMagick (For automated bitmap-to-logic verification)
easel-ssg is the visual, esoteric member of the poly-ssg family, unified through MCP integration.
