A server that removes a byte with every request
I was inspired by a comment[1] here on HN to write a static web server that slowly degrades the content it serves byte by byte as it is requested. Every time someone requests a path from the server, a byte is removed from the next request to that path (barring 404s etc.) It resets every hour. The nature of the Ritual is that I can't put this behind a cache, so it's possible that the cheap AWS server I used will get hugged to death if it becomes at all popular here. Sorry. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33568061
In plain words
This is a static web server that removes one byte from content with each request to a given path, gradually degrading what visitors see. Every hour, the content resets to its original state. It's designed as an experimental art project inspired by a Hacker News discussion, intended for anyone curious about creative server behavior. The novelty lies in its deliberate degradation mechanism, which cannot be cached.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
More growth this month
the category →
AstraPixels▲267A pixel-art solar system at its real current positions.
Growth · 29d ago · astrapixels.com
Launched alongside, November 2022
the whole month →
- TC
I made a thing! In 2014, I was holding a stack of iPhones and thought to myself: "Hey, if I had each phone display a playing card, I could click a button and they'd shuffle themselves" I pared that idea all the way down to this: trading cards made of e-ink displays. Right now, each card costs me about $20 each, but with only a bit more scale, I think I can get that down to $10. In doing this project, I learned how to design electronics and circuit boards. I learned Rust and wrote my first driver, I upped my CAD skills, 3D printed, and did my first resin casting. I generated the images on the…
Dev tools · 2022 · wyldcard.io
