Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

[heythisischris]

Hey HN,

Got tired of how bloated GitHub became- copilot everywhere, janky JS, slow loads. So I built GitClassic, a read-only GitHub interface that's pure server-rendered HTML, kind of like old.reddit.com. No JavaScript.

Try it: https://gitclassic.com

Browse any public repo, files, READMEs. Loads instantly, works on any connection. No account needed for public repos.

Stack: Node on Lambda, server-side rendering, cached against GitHub's API. Pro adds private repo access via GitHub OAuth.

Built this in about 3 hours. Would love feedback on what's missing or broken. Issues are next.

Thanks, Chris

[captn3m0]

I will actually pay for this if this includes the complete issue/PR data, as well as the ability to review/approve/merge PRs. The GitHub UI is so slow that loading each 5 line PR is just too slow and I have to open the diff in a new tab, because going back reloads the whole damn thing instead of the amazing jquery/pjax cached version from a decade ago that worked fast even on 3G networks.

Aside: you will need permission to use the Git trademark.

[heythisischris]

Duly noted- my immediate next step is Issues/PRs! Would love to start seeing / using that too.

[shukantpal]

It doesn't quite work: https://gitclassic.com/pixijs (repos.filter is not a function)

Also it seems to get rate limited, but good work.

[heythisischris]

Responded to someone else below: if you sign in using GitHub, you can get your own allotment of 5,000/req/hour. The public API only allows 60 request per hour, but since we're using Lambda, it actually shifts to different IP addresses depending on the invocation.

[embedding-shape]

Sounds like maybe you should add caching in there, so at least the /explore and facebook/react works. I ended up rate limited before I could see a single repository.

[crtasm]

I like it!

yt-dlp's readme seems to confuse the parser: https://gitclassic.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

[chandlerswift]

https://gitclassic.com/navidrome:

    Error: repos.filter is not a function

https://gitclassic.com/navidrome/navidrome:

    API rate limit exceeded for 18.222.58.123. (But here's the good news: Authenticated requests get a higher rate limit. Check out the documentation for more details.)

[heythisischris]

Hah, should've anticipated hitting the public rate limits... if you sign in using GitHub, you can get your own allotment of 5,000/req/hour.

The public API only allows 60 request per hour, but since we're using Lambda, it actually shifts to different IP addresses depending on the invocation.

[smarx007]

I would say the November 2015 look would be the one to go back to.* [1] This one seems to be from 2015 before the iconic redesign that makes it instantly recognizable as Github.

*with a dark theme.

[1]: https://github.blog/news-insights/a-new-look-for-repositorie...

[heythisischris]

Oh yes, brings back memories from my agency days... SourceTree, JIRA, and the better Slack icon. I'll start targeting this layout.

[heythisischris]

If anyone wants to try out GitClassic Pro, I added a promo code for 50% off, it's "HACKERNEWS"- comes out to $20/year. Gives you access to private repos. Going to dedicate as much time / attention as possible to building a better GitHub frontend! I think a lot of people want this (myself included).

[000ooo000]

>Built this in about 3 hours

Why did you include this? No developer is going to read that and think "I bet this is polished and well thought-out - take my money!". It's either a rushed job, a slop job, or a rushed slop job.

[liviux]

It's 2026 Chris, get over it.