Self-Directed Research Curriculum Template

A fork-friendly platform for creating self-directed research curricula. Built with SvelteKit, Sveltia CMS, and a front-end agnostic content architecture.

Deploy Your Own

Note: After deploying, follow the CMS Setup instructions to enable content editing.

What Is This?

This template helps you create depth-first learning experiences—structured paths through foundational texts that help learners go deep on a topic.

The starter content teaches you how to use it. Read the included curriculum to learn the methodology, then replace it with your own domain of expertise.

Features:

• Browser-based content editing (no code required)
• Markdown + Git for version-controlled content
• Automatic deployment on every change
• Machine-readable APIs for programmatic access
• Mobile-responsive, accessible design

Quick Start

Step 1: Fork and Deploy

1. Click "Use this template" or fork this repository
2. Click the "Deploy to Netlify" button
3. Wait for the initial build (~2 minutes)

Your site is now live at a random Netlify URL.

Step 2: Configure Your URL

1. In Netlify: Site settings → Domain management
2. Click "Options" → "Edit site name"
3. Choose a memorable name (e.g., my-philosophy-curriculum)
4. Add environment variable: PUBLIC_SITE_URL = your full URL

Step 3: Set Up CMS Authentication

The CMS needs OAuth to edit your GitHub repository. This requires:

1. Create a GitHub OAuth App

   • GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → OAuth Apps → New
   • Set callback URL to your Cloudflare Worker (created next)

2. Deploy the Auth Worker

   • Go to workers.cloudflare.com
   • Create a worker with the OAuth code (see docs/cms-setup.md)
   • Add your GitHub Client ID and Secret as environment variables

3. Add Environment Variables in Netlify

   • CMS_REPO = your GitHub username/repo (e.g., johndoe/my-curriculum)
   • CMS_AUTH_URL = your Cloudflare Worker URL

See docs/cms-setup.md for detailed instructions.

Step 4: Start Creating

1. Go to your-site.netlify.app/admin/
2. Log in with GitHub
3. Edit clusters, lessons, and pages
4. Changes auto-deploy to your live site

Project Structure

curriculum-template/
├── content/                    # All content (CMS-managed)
│   ├── clusters/              # Thematic groupings
│   ├── lessons/               # Individual lessons
│   ├── pages/                 # Static pages (home, about)
│   └── settings/              # Site configuration
├── prompts/                   # AI prompts for curriculum building
│   ├── 01-domain-definition.md
│   ├── 02-reading-discovery.md
│   └── 03-curriculum-structure.md
├── src/
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── data/              # Content loading logic
│   │   └── types/             # TypeScript definitions
│   └── routes/                # SvelteKit pages & API endpoints
├── static/
│   └── admin/                 # CMS configuration
└── docs/                      # Additional documentation

Content Architecture

Content is stored as Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. The CMS provides a visual editor, but you can also edit files directly.

Content Types

Lesson Structure

Each lesson includes:

• Introduction: Why this reading matters
• Key Concepts: 3-5 ideas to focus on
• Assignment: The primary reading with instructions
• Knowledge Check: Reflection questions
• Additional Resources: Optional further reading

Machine-Readable Endpoints

Building Your Curriculum

The included starter content teaches the full methodology:

1. Getting Started — Understanding the platform and philosophy
2. Building Your Curriculum — Defining domains, finding readings, structuring content
3. Deployment & Customization — Deploying, CMS setup, branding

AI-Assisted Workflow

The prompts/ directory contains ready-to-use prompts for:

• Defining your domain and central question
• Discovering foundational readings
• Structuring content into clusters and lessons

See METHODOLOGY.md for the complete curriculum-building guide.

Local Development

# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_REPO.git
cd YOUR_REPO

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

The site will be available at http://localhost:5173.

Customization

Site Settings

Edit via CMS (Settings → Site Settings) or directly in content/settings/site.json:

{
  "title": "Your Curriculum Title",
  "description": "Your curriculum description",
  "author": "Your Name"
}

Colors and Styling

Edit CSS custom properties in src/app.css:

:root {
  --color-primary: #2563eb;
  --color-background: #ffffff;
  --color-text: #1f2937;
}

Adding Content

Via CMS (recommended):

• Access /admin on your deployed site
• Use the visual editor
• Changes auto-commit to GitHub

Via Obsidian (local editing):

• Clone the repo and open content/ as an Obsidian vault
• Edit with live preview and graph view
• Use the Obsidian Git plugin to sync changes
• See docs/obsidian-setup.md for the complete guide

Via Git (manual):

• Create Markdown files in content/
• Follow the frontmatter schema in existing files
• Commit and push to trigger rebuild

Tech Stack

Documentation

License

• Code: MIT License — Free to use, modify, and distribute
• Starter Content: CC0 — Public domain, use freely

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

Built for depth, not breadth.