diff --git a/build.js b/build.js
index aaf85f6..467acd7 100644
--- a/build.js
+++ b/build.js
@@ -1,20 +1,139 @@
-import fs from 'fs';
-import path from 'path';
-import { marked } from 'marked';
+// build.js — tiny static-site generator without the generator
+// Scans /posts/*.md, extracts front-matter & first paragraph,
+// writes posts/posts.json, rss.xml, and sitemap.xml
 
-const postsDir = './posts';
-const outputFile = './posts.js';
+const fs = require("fs");
+const path = require("path");
 
-const files = fs.readdirSync(postsDir).filter(f => f.endsWith('.md'));
+const POSTS_DIR = path.join(__dirname, "posts");
+const SITE_URL  = "https://thefoldwithin.earth"; // change if needed
+
+function slugify(s) {
+  return s
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .normalize("NFKD").replace(/[^\w\s-]/g, "")
+    .trim().replace(/\s+/g, "-")
+    .replace(/-+/g, "-");
+}
+
+function parseFrontMatter(src) {
+  // very small YAML-ish parser
+  const fm = { title: "", date: "", excerpt: "", tags: [] };
+  const m = src.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---\n?/);
+  if (!m) return { fm, body: src };
+
+  const block = m[1];
+  for (const line of block.split("\n")) {
+    const idx = line.indexOf(":");
+    if (idx === -1) continue;
+    const key = line.slice(0, idx).trim();
+    let val = line.slice(idx + 1).trim();
+
+    if (key === "tags") {
+      // tags: [a, b, c] OR tags: a, b, c
+      if (/^\[.*\]$/.test(val)) {
+        val = val.replace(/^\[|\]$/g, "");
+      }
+      fm.tags = val.split(",").map(t => t.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+    } else if (key in fm) {
+      fm[key] = val;
+    }
+  }
+  const body = src.slice(m[0].length);
+  return { fm, body };
+}
+
+function firstParagraph(text) {
+  const body = text.replace(/\r/g, "").trim();
+  const noFM  = body.replace(/^---[\s\S]*?---/, "").trim();
+  const para  = noFM.split(/\n{2,}/).find(p => p.replace(/\s/g, "").length > 0) || "";
+  return para.replace(/\n/g, " ").trim();
+}
+
+function toISODate(s, fallback) {
+  // try to parse; if fail, fallback (usually file mtime)
+  const d = s ? new Date(s) : null;
+  if (d && !isNaN(d.getTime())) return d.toISOString();
+  return fallback.toISOString();
+}
+
+function escapeXML(s) {
+  return s
+    .replace(/&/g, "&")
+    .replace(/</g, "&lt;")
+    .replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
+    .replace(/"/g, "&quot;")
+    .replace(/'/g, "&apos;");
+}
+
+const files = fs.readdirSync(POSTS_DIR).filter(f => f.endsWith(".md"));
 
 const posts = files.map(file => {
-  const filepath = path.join(postsDir, file);
-  const raw = fs.readFileSync(filepath, 'utf-8');
-  const html = marked.parse(raw);
-  return { file, content: html };
+  const full  = path.join(POSTS_DIR, file);
+  const raw   = fs.readFileSync(full, "utf8");
+  const stat  = fs.statSync(full);
+  const { fm, body } = parseFrontMatter(raw);
+
+  const fallbackTitle = file.replace(/\.md$/i, "").replace(/-/g, " ").replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim();
+  const title   = fm.title || fallbackTitle;
+  const excerpt = fm.excerpt || (firstParagraph(raw).slice(0, 200) + (firstParagraph(raw).length > 200 ? "…" : ""));
+  const slug    = slugify(fm.title || fallbackTitle);
+  const dateISO = toISODate(fm.date, stat.mtime);
+
+  return {
+    title,
+    date: dateISO,         // ISO for reliable sort
+    excerpt,
+    tags: fm.tags || [],
+    slug,
+    file                      // actual filename
+  };
 });
 
-const output = `document.getElementById("content").innerHTML = \`${posts.map(p => `<article>${p.content}</article>`).join("")}\`;`;
+// newest first
+posts.sort((a, b) => (a.date < b.date ? 1 : -1));
 
-fs.writeFileSync(outputFile, output);
-console.log("✅ Blog built to posts.js");
+// write JSON index
+fs.writeFileSync(
+  path.join(POSTS_DIR, "posts.json"),
+  JSON.stringify(posts, null, 2),
+  "utf8"
+);
+console.log(`✅ posts.json written (${posts.length} posts)`);
+
+// write RSS
+const rssItems = posts.map(p => {
+  const url = `${SITE_URL}/#/post/${p.slug}`;
+  return `
+  <item>
+    <title>${escapeXML(p.title)}</title>
+    <link>${url}</link>
+    <guid>${url}</guid>
+    <pubDate>${new Date(p.date).toUTCString()}</pubDate>
+    <description>${escapeXML(p.excerpt)}</description>
+  </item>`;
+}).join("");
+
+const rss = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<rss version="2.0">
+<channel>
+  <title>The Fold Within</title>
+  <link>${SITE_URL}</link>
+  <description>Uncovering the recursive real.</description>
+  <lastBuildDate>${new Date().toUTCString()}</lastBuildDate>
+  ${rssItems}
+</channel>
+</rss>`;
+
+fs.writeFileSync(path.join(__dirname, "rss.xml"), rss, "utf8");
+console.log("✅ rss.xml written");
+
+// write sitemap
+const sitemapUrls = posts.map(p => `  <url><loc>${SITE_URL}/#/post/${p.slug}</loc></url>`).join("\n");
+const sitemap = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
+  <url><loc>${SITE_URL}</loc></url>
+${sitemapUrls}
+</urlset>`;
+fs.writeFileSync(path.join(__dirname, "sitemap.xml"), sitemap, "utf8");
+console.log("✅ sitemap.xml written");
\ No newline at end of file