closeread.dev

What It Is

Closeread is a custom format extension for Quarto designed to enable scrollytelling in HTML documents. Users can install the extension with quarto add qmd-lab/closeread and start authoring Closeread documents by setting format: closeread-html in the YAML of a qmd file.

Core Capabilities

Based on the captured content, Closeread’s core abstractions include Closeread sections, sticky elements, and triggers. Trigger text moves as the page scrolls, while marked sticky elements remain on screen, creating a narrative rhythm. The examples also mention effects such as highlighting, zooming, and panning to draw readers’ attention, making it suitable for data journalism, interactive reports, instructional content, and story-driven web pages.

Ecosystem and Publishing

Its biggest strength is its integration with Quarto: authors can continue using the qmd, YAML format, and quarto render workflow. For publishing, Closeread documents follow Quarto’s standard publishing rules; if you are familiar with static web deployment, you can also place the rendered files in any web-accessible location. This makes it naturally well suited to static sites and self-hosted setups. The documentation entry points include Guide, Gallery, and Reference, and the Gallery provides examples and source code, which is helpful for learning the syntax and reusing patterns.

Pricing and Support

The main content does not disclose pricing, license, company entity, or commercial support options, so its business model cannot be determined. In terms of support channels, the site mentions a discussion board and issues, suggesting a more community-driven support model. There is also a development version, qmd-lab/closeread@dev, but the page clearly warns that it is updated frequently and may break, so it should be used cautiously in production.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

The advantages are a clear installation and onboarding path, a workflow that fits Quarto users’ habits, static HTML output, and flexible deployment. The downsides are that its scope is centered on Quarto HTML documents, while the main content does not specify browser compatibility, performance, licensing, or long-term maintenance plans. It is best suited for researchers, data journalists, educational content creators, and developers who already use Quarto and want to create scrollytelling content.

Access from China

The captured content does not provide information about network availability, mirrors, payment, or localization, so actual accessibility from mainland China should be verified through testing. If access to GitHub or related resources is unstable, users may need to prepare a proxy or look for alternative static storytelling solutions within the Quarto ecosystem.