Why we write the blog in MDX

Every blog needs an answer to "where do posts live?" The two common answers are "in a database, edited through a CMS" and "in flat files, edited in your editor of choice." We picked the second one, in MDX.

The case for MDX

A few reasons we keep coming back to it:

1. Posts version with the code. If we change the design of the post layout, we can preview the change against every existing post in a single PR.
2. No second system to log into. Writing a post is git checkout -b, vim content/blog/my-post.mdx, push, done.
3. Embed components when you need them. Most posts don't need anything beyond text. The ones that do — interactive demos, custom callouts — get them with a single import.

What we gave up

Mostly, the ability to hand the keys to a non-technical editor. That's the honest tradeoff. If we ever need that, we'll layer a CMS on top — but for now, the smallest workflow that works is the right workflow.