Launching the H.O.T EARTH docs
2026-07-23
H.O.T EARTH has always shipped its homework. Every world already comes with a physics note and a data-sources note in the repository, stating what is computed, from which measured inputs, and how accurate each claim is. What it did not have was a front door for all of it. This is that front door.
Why a dedicated docs site
Section titled “Why a dedicated docs site”The app is now 25 worlds, from a live NASA-imagery globe to 18,000 real galaxies mapped in 3D. The methodology behind them had grown into dozens of markdown files that were easy to write and hard to browse. A documentation site turns that material into something you can search, navigate, and link to.
It is built with Astro Starlight: static, fast, dark-first, with search, keyboard navigation, and “edit this page” out of the box. It carries the same mission-control look as the app, down to the solar-amber accent and the terminator-and-orbit mark.
How it is organised
Section titled “How it is organised”The docs follow the Diátaxis framework:
- Tutorials to learn by doing, starting with building your first world.
- How-To Guides for specific jobs like deploying.
- Reference for the registry, data sources, physics methods, and the one HTTP route.
- Explanation for the honesty mandate and the architecture.
The same rule, documented
Section titled “The same rule, documented”The point of writing this down is not polish for its own sake. It is that a twin you can trust has to show its work. These docs are where the work lives.
Start at the Introduction, or run the whole thing locally in about 30 seconds with the Quickstart.