diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 70b030f..afa98a2 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ core:
- bun dev - run dev server
- bun build - build the project
- bun preview - build and preview with wrangler
-- bun deploy - build and deploy to cloudflare pages (then run `wrangler pages deploy --branch=main` for production)
+- bun run deploy - build and deploy to cloudflare pages (then run `wrangler pages deploy --branch=main` for production)
utilities:
- bun commit - interactive git commit with AI-generated messages
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8ba8792..898d1c1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,222 +1,78 @@
-# nicholai-work-2026
+nicholai.work
+===
-Personal portfolio and blog site built with Astro.
+personal portfolio and blog built with astro. live at https://nicholai.work
-🌐 [Live Site](https://nicholai.work)
+tech stack
+---
-## I used these:
+- astro - static site framework
+- react - interactive components
+- tailwind css - styling
+- mdx - markdown with jsx
+- cloudflare pages - hosting
+- typescript - type safety
-- **Astro** - Static site framework
-- **React** - Interactive components
-- **Tailwind CSS** - Styling
-- **MDX** - Markdown with JSX support
-- **Cloudflare Pages** - Hosting & deployment
-- **TypeScript** - Type safety
-
-## some commands
+commands
+---
```bash
-pnpm install
-
-pnpm dev
-
-pnpm build
-
-pnpm preview
-
-pnpm run deploy
+bun install # install deps
+bun dev # dev server at localhost:4321
+bun build # production build
+bun preview # preview with wrangler
+bun run deploy # build and deploy to cloudflare
```
-## Image Optimization
+image conversion
+---
```bash
-# Convert all images in src/assets/
-pnpm run convert:avif:all
-
-pnpm run convert:avif:jpeg
-
-pnpm run convert:avif:png
-
-# Custom quality (0-100, default: 65)
-node src/utils/convert-to-avif.js --jpeg --quality 80
-```
-## Blog
-
-Blog posts are created as MDX files in the `src/content/blog/` directory. The file name becomes the URL slug (e.g., `my-post.mdx` → `/blog/my-post/`).
-
-### Step 1: Create the MDX File
-
-Create a new `.mdx` file in `src/content/blog/`:
-
-```bash
-src/content/blog/my-new-post.mdx
+bun run convert:avif:all # convert all images in src/assets/
+bun run convert:avif:jpeg # just jpegs
+bun run convert:avif:png # just pngs
```
-### Step 2: Add Frontmatter
+blog posts
+---
-Every blog post requires frontmatter at the top of the file. Here's the complete schema:
+create mdx files in `src/content/blog/`. filename becomes the url slug.
+
+frontmatter:
```mdx
---
-title: 'Your Post Title'
-description: 'A brief description that appears in listings and meta tags'
+title: 'Post Title'
+description: 'brief description for listings and seo'
pubDate: 'Jan 15 2025'
-heroImage: '../../assets/your-image.jpg'
-featured: true
-category: 'Case Study'
-tags: ['VFX', 'Houdini', 'Nuke']
+heroImage: '../../assets/image.jpg' # optional
+featured: true # optional, shows in hero
+category: 'Case Study' # optional, for filtering
+tags: ['VFX', 'Houdini'] # optional, for related posts
---
```
-#### Required Fields
+images go in `src/assets/` (processed by astro) or `public/media/` (static, use absolute paths like `/media/video.mp4`).
-- **`title`** (string) - The post title
-- **`description`** (string) - Brief description for listings and SEO
-- **`pubDate`** (string) - Publication date in any format (e.g., `'Jan 15 2025'`, `'2025-01-15'`)
-
-#### Optional Fields
-
-- **`heroImage`** (image path) - Hero image for the post. Use relative path from the MDX file:
- - Images in `src/assets/`: `'../../assets/image.jpg'`
- - Images in `public/media/`: Use absolute path in content: `/media/image.jpg`
-- **`featured`** (boolean, default: `false`) - Set to `true` to feature on blog index page
-- **`category`** (string) - Category for filtering (e.g., `'Case Study'`, `'Tutorial'`, `'Thoughts'`)
-- **`tags`** (array of strings) - Tags for categorization and related posts
-- **`updatedDate`** (string) - Optional update date
-
-### Step 3: Write Your Content
-
-Write your content using Markdown or MDX syntax. You can use:
-
-- Standard Markdown (headings, lists, links, etc.)
-- JSX components and HTML
-- Custom styling with Tailwind classes
-
-#### Example: Adding Videos
-
-```mdx
-
-
-
/// VIDEO CAPTION
-
-```
-
-#### Example: Image Grids
-
-```mdx
-
-
-
-
/// CAPTION 1
-
-
-
-
/// CAPTION 2
-
-
-```
-
-### Step 4: Adding Images
-
-#### Option 1: Images in `src/assets/`
-
-For images processed by Astro (optimization, etc.):
-
-1. Place image in `src/assets/`
-2. Reference in frontmatter: `heroImage: '../../assets/my-image.jpg'`
-3. Use in content with Astro's Image component (import required)
-
-#### Option 2: Images in `public/media/`
-
-For static assets (videos, large images):
-
-1. Place file in `public/media/`
-2. Reference with absolute path: `/media/my-video.mp4`
-3. No import needed, works directly in HTML/MDX
-
-### Step 5: File Naming
-
-- Use kebab-case: `my-awesome-post.mdx`
-- The filename (without extension) becomes the URL slug
-- Example: `gstar-raw-olympics.mdx` → `/blog/gstar-raw-olympics/`
-
-### Complete Example
-
-Here's a complete example blog post:
-
-```mdx
----
-title: 'My Awesome Project'
-description: 'A deep dive into the technical pipeline behind this amazing project.'
-pubDate: 'Jan 15 2025'
-heroImage: '../../assets/project-hero.jpg'
-featured: true
-category: 'Case Study'
-tags: ['VFX', 'Houdini', 'Pipeline']
+project structure
---
-## Introduction
-
-This is the introduction to my project.
-
-## The Challenge
-
-Here's what we were trying to solve.
-
-
-
-
/// PROJECT VIDEO
-
-
-## Technical Approach
-
-### Key Features
-
-- Feature one
-- Feature two
-- Feature three
-
-## Results
-
-The project was a success!
```
-
-### Blog Features
-
-- **Automatic sorting** - Posts are sorted by `pubDate` (newest first)
-- **Featured posts** - First post with `featured: true` appears in hero section
-- **Related posts** - Automatically finds related posts by category or shared tags
-- **Category filtering** - Users can filter posts by category on the blog index
-- **Previous/Next navigation** - Automatic navigation between posts
-- **RSS feed** - Available at `/rss.xml`
-
-## Project Structure
-
-```text
src/
-├── assets/ # Images processed by Astro
-├── components/ # Reusable components
+├── assets/ # images processed by astro
+├── components/ # reusable components
├── content/
-│ ├── blog/ # Blog posts (MDX files)
-│ ├── pages/ # Page content
-│ └── sections/ # Homepage sections
-├── layouts/ # Page layouts
-├── pages/ # Routes
-├── styles/ # Global styles
-└── utils/ # Utility scripts (AVIF converter, etc.)
+│ ├── blog/ # blog posts (mdx)
+│ ├── pages/ # page content
+│ └── sections/ # homepage sections
+├── layouts/ # page layouts
+├── pages/ # routes
+├── styles/ # global styles
+└── utils/ # utility scripts
```
-## Deployment
+deployment
+---
-The site is deployed to Cloudflare Pages. The `pnpm run deploy` command builds the site and deploys it using Wrangler.
-
-Deployment happens automatically on push to the main branch (if configured in Cloudflare Pages dashboard).
+deployed to cloudflare pages. `bun run deploy` builds and deploys via wrangler.
+for production: `wrangler pages deploy --branch=main`