Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#1

Post by heythisischris » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 8:37 PM UTC

Hey HN,

Got tired of how bloated GitHub became- copilot everywhere, janky JS, slow loads. So I built GitClassic, a read-only GitHub interface that's pure server-rendered HTML, kind of like old.reddit.com. No JavaScript.

Try it: https://gitclassic.com

Browse any public repo, files, READMEs. Loads instantly, works on any connection. No account needed for public repos.

Stack: Node on Lambda, server-side rendering, cached against GitHub's API. Pro adds private repo access via GitHub OAuth.

Built this in about 3 hours. Would love feedback on what's missing or broken. Issues are next.

Thanks, Chris

Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI
gitclassic.com

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#2

Post by captn3m0 » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 9:52 PM UTC

I will actually pay for this if this includes the complete issue/PR data, as well as the ability to review/approve/merge PRs. The GitHub UI is so slow that loading each 5 line PR is just too slow and I have to open the diff in a new tab, because going back reloads the whole damn thing instead of the amazing jquery/pjax cached version from a decade ago that worked fast even on 3G networks.

Aside: you will need permission to use the Git trademark.

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#3

Post by shukantpal » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 9:59 PM UTC

It doesn't quite work: https://gitclassic.com/pixijs (repos.filter is not a function)

Also it seems to get rate limited, but good work.

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#4

Post by chandlerswift » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:00 PM UTC

https://gitclassic.com/navidrome:

    Error: repos.filter is not a function

https://gitclassic.com/navidrome/navidrome:

    API rate limit exceeded for 18.222.58.123. (But here's the good news: Authenticated requests get a higher rate limit. Check out the documentation for more details.)

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#5

Post by smarx007 » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:00 PM UTC

I would say the November 2015 look would be the one to go back to.* [1] This one seems to be from 2015 before the iconic redesign that makes it instantly recognizable as Github.

*with a dark theme.

[1]: https://github.blog/news-insights/a-new-look-for-repositorie...

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#6

Post by heythisischris » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:11 PM UTC

chandlerswift wrote: post #4

https://gitclassic.com/navidrome : Error: repos.filter is not a function https://gitclassic.com/navidrome/navidrome : API rate limit exceeded for 18.222.58.123. (But here's the good news: Authenticated requests get a higher rate limit. Check out the documentation for more details.)

Hah, should've anticipated hitting the public rate limits... if you sign in using GitHub, you can get your own allotment of 5,000/req/hour.

The public API only allows 60 request per hour, but since we're using Lambda, it actually shifts to different IP addresses depending on the invocation.

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#7

Post by heythisischris » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:15 PM UTC

captn3m0 wrote: post #2

I will actually pay for this if this includes the complete issue/PR data, as well as the ability to review/approve/merge PRs. The GitHub UI is so slow that loading each 5 line PR is just too slow and I have to open the diff in a new tab, because going back reloads the whole damn thing instead of the amazing jquery/pjax cached version from a decade ago that worked fast even on 3G networks. Aside: you will need permiss…

Duly noted- my immediate next step is Issues/PRs! Would love to start seeing / using that too.

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#8

Post by heythisischris » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:15 PM UTC

shukantpal wrote: post #3

It doesn't quite work: https://gitclassic.com/pixijs (repos.filter is not a function) Also it seems to get rate limited, but good work.

Responded to someone else below: if you sign in using GitHub, you can get your own allotment of 5,000/req/hour. The public API only allows 60 request per hour, but since we're using Lambda, it actually shifts to different IP addresses depending on the invocation.

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#9

Post by heythisischris » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:17 PM UTC

If anyone wants to try out GitClassic Pro, I added a promo code for 50% off, it's "HACKERNEWS"- comes out to $20/year. Gives you access to private repos. Going to dedicate as much time / attention as possible to building a better GitHub frontend! I think a lot of people want this (myself included).

Re: Show HN: GitClassic.com, GitHub circa 2015 without JS & AI

#10

Post by embedding-shape » Mon, Jan 19, 2026, 10:43 PM UTC

heythisischris wrote: post #8

shukantpal wrote: post #3

It doesn't quite work: https://gitclassic.com/pixijs (repos.filter is not a function) Also it seems to get rate limited, but good work.

Responded to someone else below: if you sign in using GitHub, you can get your own allotment of 5,000/req/hour. The public API only allows 60 request per hour, but since we're using Lambda, it actually shifts to different IP addresses depending on the invocation.

Sounds like maybe you should add caching in there, so at least the /explore and facebook/react works. I ended up rate limited before I could see a single repository.