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This is great. Curious: this requires users to have a host app installed on their machine that can read .capsule file right? Won't that be a point of friction f

This is great. Curious: this requires users to have a host app installed on their machine that can read .capsule file right? Won't that be a point of friction for distribution? Isn't html/css a better distribution mechanism as most computers already have the tech to run them?

bashtian 19d ago
The problem is that you can't save the user data in way that you can click a single file, similar to a Word or Excel file. I you think a about it, a Excel spreadsheet is also just UI + data in a single file.
- paweladamczuk 19d ago
  This is a frustration of mine as well, but I vaguely remember someone showing something on HN where the file could essentially save itself, I think they were using some file APIs for that... sadly I can't find the details anymore. But I keep running into the "HTML file opened locally can't update itself" issue repeatedly now that I build tools for myself with LLM agents.
  - yoz 19d ago
    The File System Access API can do this, and it works in local ("file:///") HTML files, but it's only currently supported in desktop Chromium browsers: https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api However, every browser will let you download a new version of the HTML file and save it over the old one - yes, even from a local HTML file: const blob = new Blob(['<!DOCTYPE html>\n' + document.documentElement.outerHTML], { type: 'text/html' }); const a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob); a.download = 'mypage.html'; a.click(); ... but you need the user to do this for every update. So we're back to manual "Save" buttons.
    - Jonovono 19d ago
      This is the approach Bento took I believe (similar idea, but just for decks): https://github.com/nyblnet/bento https://github.com/nyblnet/bento. Saw it on HN a few weeks back
  - fallinditch 19d ago
    Are you thinking of Nash? a standalone editable note as HTML that was featured on HN some time ago. https://keepworking.github.io/nash/ https://keepworking.github.io/nash/
- alexis2b 19d ago
  Technically that was more MS Access :-)
Dwedit 19d ago
You'd think so, but web browsers are downright lobotomizing the ability for local HTML files to run any meaningful javascript code. Want to run a JS file from the same directory? CORS ERROR!!!! Hence 200MB applications that are complete copies of the Chromium browser to run under 1MB of actual web code.
- slipperybeluga 19d ago
  [dead]
- throw101010 19d ago
  Isn't that the price of a relatively well sandboxed experience by browsers? I've experienced the same limits building small tools for myself and friends that I wanted to contain in a single HTML file without external dependencies... but I understand why the same project without these restrictions could easily become malware, and ones that could be easily propagated.
  - Dwedit 19d ago
    I wish the browser would either allow local-only or internet-only, then only make up its mind after the first attempted request. Fetch an image from the internet? No script access for local files. Fetch a JS from elsewhere on the hard drive? No internet access. That could provide the sandbox while still being flexible.
- derpyzza 19d ago
  couldn't you just embed the js directly into the html file though? that would sidestep the CORS error. and since most of the people using a program like this are likely to be using AI to generate their ( likely throwaway ) applets anyway, readability and maintainability for the source doesn't matter as much as it would with human authors so having a separate js file doesn't bring that many advantages anyway.
  - fallinditch 19d ago
    Sharing HTML files with embedded Javascript is problematic: iOS users can't open the files directly, and have to save the file and then 'open with ... '.
lukasbm 19d ago
I imagined the capsule website would be able to either convert or directly run/open them
ProfDreamer 19d ago
That reminds me of TiddlyWiki[1], a wiki application in the form of a single self-contained HTML file. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiddlyWiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiddlyWiki

bashtian 19d ago

The problem is that you can't save the user data in way that you can click a single file, similar to a Word or Excel file. I you think a about it, a Excel spreadsheet is also just UI + data in a single file.

paweladamczuk 19d ago
This is a frustration of mine as well, but I vaguely remember someone showing something on HN where the file could essentially save itself, I think they were using some file APIs for that... sadly I can't find the details anymore. But I keep running into the "HTML file opened locally can't update itself" issue repeatedly now that I build tools for myself with LLM agents.
- yoz 19d ago
  The File System Access API can do this, and it works in local ("file:///") HTML files, but it's only currently supported in desktop Chromium browsers: https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api However, every browser will let you download a new version of the HTML file and save it over the old one - yes, even from a local HTML file: const blob = new Blob(['<!DOCTYPE html>\n' + document.documentElement.outerHTML], { type: 'text/html' }); const a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob); a.download = 'mypage.html'; a.click(); ... but you need the user to do this for every update. So we're back to manual "Save" buttons.
  - Jonovono 19d ago
    This is the approach Bento took I believe (similar idea, but just for decks): https://github.com/nyblnet/bento https://github.com/nyblnet/bento. Saw it on HN a few weeks back
- fallinditch 19d ago
  Are you thinking of Nash? a standalone editable note as HTML that was featured on HN some time ago. https://keepworking.github.io/nash/ https://keepworking.github.io/nash/
alexis2b 19d ago
Technically that was more MS Access :-)

Dwedit 19d ago

You'd think so, but web browsers are downright lobotomizing the ability for local HTML files to run any meaningful javascript code. Want to run a JS file from the same directory? CORS ERROR!!!! Hence 200MB applications that are complete copies of the Chromium browser to run under 1MB of actual web code.

slipperybeluga 19d ago
[dead]
throw101010 19d ago
Isn't that the price of a relatively well sandboxed experience by browsers? I've experienced the same limits building small tools for myself and friends that I wanted to contain in a single HTML file without external dependencies... but I understand why the same project without these restrictions could easily become malware, and ones that could be easily propagated.
- Dwedit 19d ago
  I wish the browser would either allow local-only or internet-only, then only make up its mind after the first attempted request. Fetch an image from the internet? No script access for local files. Fetch a JS from elsewhere on the hard drive? No internet access. That could provide the sandbox while still being flexible.
derpyzza 19d ago
couldn't you just embed the js directly into the html file though? that would sidestep the CORS error. and since most of the people using a program like this are likely to be using AI to generate their ( likely throwaway ) applets anyway, readability and maintainability for the source doesn't matter as much as it would with human authors so having a separate js file doesn't bring that many advantages anyway.
- fallinditch 19d ago
  Sharing HTML files with embedded Javascript is problematic: iOS users can't open the files directly, and have to save the file and then 'open with ... '.

lukasbm 19d ago

I imagined the capsule website would be able to either convert or directly run/open them

ProfDreamer 19d ago

That reminds me of TiddlyWiki[1], a wiki application in the form of a single self-contained HTML file. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiddlyWiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiddlyWiki