Every chain. Explained.
L1 Library is an open source blockchain knowledge wiki built on MIT curriculum. Chain profiles, concept explainers, and technical foundations — no price charts, no sponsored rankings, just clarity.
Live at l1library.com
- Chain Profiles — Structured 11-section breakdowns of Layer 1 blockchains: overview, architecture, consensus, ecosystem, governance, economics, history, comparisons, and more.
- Concept Pages — Deep explainers on blockchain fundamentals (Proof of Work, Merkle Trees, Byzantine Fault Tolerance, etc.) with beginner/intermediate/builder depth levels.
- A-Z Directory — Browse all chains alphabetically. Built to scale to 300+.
- Learning Paths — Curated sequences from fundamentals to advanced topics.
The knowledge base is grounded in MIT's blockchain curriculum (15.s12 / 15.395), including lecture materials, casebooks, and research papers by Catalini, Gans, and others. Content beyond the MIT source material is flagged inline and independently verified.
| Layer | Tool |
|---|---|
| Framework | Astro (static, zero JS by default) |
| Content | MDX (Markdown + JSX) via Astro Content Collections |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS + custom design tokens (pure B&W) |
| Typography | IBM Plex Mono (headings) + Inter (body) |
| Search | Pagefind (static search index) |
| Deploy | Vercel (auto-deploys from main) |
cd site
npm install
npm run devOpens at http://localhost:4321.
L1Library/
├── site/ # Astro project
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── content/
│ │ │ ├── chains/ # Chain profile MDX files
│ │ │ └── concepts/ # Concept page MDX files
│ │ ├── components/ # Astro components (Header, Footer)
│ │ ├── layouts/ # Base layout
│ │ ├── pages/ # Route pages
│ │ └── styles/ # Design system CSS
│ ├── public/ # Static assets
│ ├── astro.config.mjs
│ └── package.json
├── docs/ # Architecture docs, decision log
├── vault/ # Concept notes (Obsidian format)
├── LICENSE # MIT (code)
└── LICENSE-CONTENT # CC-BY-SA 4.0 (educational content)
We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on:
- Adding new chain profiles
- Adding or improving concept pages
- Fixing errors or outdated information
- Improving the site design or functionality
- Translating content
Every contribution goes through editorial review to maintain accuracy and consistency.
| Type | Count | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Chain profiles | 1 (Bitcoin) | Published |
| Concept pages | 19 | Draft (in review) |
| Glossary | — | Planned |
| Learning paths | — | Planned |
L1 Library is free, open source, and community-supported. If you find it useful:
- GitHub Sponsors — Sponsor @HashHashShawn
- Bitcoin —
(wallet address coming soon) - Ethereum —
0xc3f8Ca91C3e14C41b7e7d97F423B702acb109a0A - Star this repo — It helps others find L1 Library
All donations go toward hosting, content development, and keeping the project independent.
Code (Astro, JS, CSS, config) is MIT. Educational content (MDX files) is CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Built by pudgyaf with help from the open source community.