notes, experiments, and progress from the making of the soft computer — a textile-based computing object that imagines a gentler way of being with technology.
this repo is the source for thesoft.computer: the process log, documentation, and interactive pieces that accompany the physical object. it is not the firmware for the object itself — this is the website.
live site: thesoft.computer about the project: thesoft.computer/about
a Next.js app (app router) with a few distinct areas:
| route | what it is |
|---|---|
/ |
the soft computer's generative text engine, running in-browser — the same corpus + markov chain logic as the physical object |
/about |
full project write-up: concept, materials, electronics, corpus design, user testing |
/process |
process notes |
/make |
a build guide for anyone who wants to make their own soft computer |
/resources |
reading list, pulled live from a zotero collection |
/log |
dated process log / notebook |
/punch |
a punch-card-style calendar view of log entries |
/timeline |
project timeline |
/admin |
password-gated log editor (not for public use) |
- Next.js 16 / React 19
- Upstash Redis — log entries, concept images, punch-card data
- Vercel Blob — image uploads
- Zotero API — resources list
- deployed on Vercel
git clone https://github.com/yafira/soft-computer.git
cd soft-computer
npm install
npm run devopen http://localhost:3000.
most of the site (the home page corpus engine, /about, /make) runs with no configuration. the following are only needed for the pieces that talk to external services:
# upstash redis — log, punch card, concept images
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=
# vercel blob — image uploads
BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN=
# admin — gates /admin and the log-editing api routes
ADMIN_LOG_PASSWORD=
ADMIN_LOG_TOKEN=
ADMIN_UPLOAD_TOKEN=
# zotero — powers /resources
ZOTERO_USER_ID=
ZOTERO_COLLECTION_KEY=
ZOTERO_API_KEY=copy these into a .env.local file. none of this is required just to browse the site locally or read through /about and /make.
the easiest path is Vercel, which the live site runs on. connect the repo, add the environment variables above, and deploy.
the write-ups, patterns, corpus text, and build documentation for the physical object are open — see /make if you want to build your own soft computer. this repo (the website code itself) is shared for reference; if you're reusing substantial chunks of it, a credit back to thesoft.computer is appreciated.
the soft computer started as a thesis at NYU ITP and is continuing to grow beyond it. full documentation lives at thesoft.computer/about.
made by yafira martinez.