Mataroa

Mataroa is a minimalist blogging platform designed for writers who want a distraction-free space. It is a Django-based web app that uses Markdown for post content, supports per-user subdomains, and provides export and subscription features aimed at text-first publishing.

Key Features

• Markdown-native editor and rendering with Python-Markdown and support for code highlighting, tables, and footnotes
• Per-user subdomain model for blogs and optional custom domain support (premium)
• Export capabilities to static site formats (Hugo, Zola) and EPUB book export
• RSS feeds and email newsletter/subscription delivery; backend analytics (no third-party trackers)
• Image hosting and basic image CRUD for posts
• API endpoints with API key based authentication for integrations and imports/exports
• Docker Compose development setup and PostgreSQL-backed persistence; Caddy provided for webserver configuration
• Focus on privacy: no ads, no client-side tracking, and minimal front-end JavaScript

Use Cases

• Personal or micro-blogs for writers who prefer a minimal, text-focused publishing environment
• Small publications or journals that need simple subscriptions, exports, and basic analytics without tracking
• Migrating content to a portable platform with easy export to static site generators or EPUB for backups

Limitations and Considerations

• Intentionally minimal feature set: no themes, no custom CSS, and limited extensibility by design
• No federation support (ActivityPub) or rich JS editors; some integrations (e.g., ActivityPub, rich math rendering) are unimplemented or intentionally avoided
• Certain features (custom domain, post-by-email) are paid/premium on the hosted offering

Mataroa is suited for users who want a privacy-focused, low-complexity blogging platform that emphasizes writing and data portability. It prioritizes minimalism over customization and tradeoffs simplicity for ease of writing and exportability.