Status of Project: Development of Gita Static JSON files API hosted on GitHub Pages and Modifying Gita Frontend App to Use it
Project Overview
This project consist of two parts:
- Development of Gita Static JSON files API hosted on GitHub Pages
- Associated gita-data GitHub project: https://github.com/ravisiyer/gita-data gita-data
- Its README is the key documentation page for the hosted JSON APIs
- It follows the design provided in section of my blog post: Summary of best option for generous free-tier Gita API implementation.
- Modifying Gita Next.js frontend app (production live app in main branch) to use above gita-data JSON API
- Associated gita GitHub project: https://github.com/ravisiyer/gita. As of now, this project has three parallelly maintained branches:
- datajson branch has a test version that uses above JSON API. It is functional but has limited functionality of only one translator and commentator's text being shown. Here's its README and here's the deployed live app.
- main branch is not working as its GraphQL backend service is not available.
- datarest branch is a temporary limited functionality solution which uses an alternate, simpler and free backend service https://vedicscriptures.github.io. Currently datarest branch app is temporarily deployed as the production live app (instead of main branch app).
The first chunk of work, sponsored by the first donor/sponsor, was done from 06-Jan-2026 to 14-Jan-2026 with total work time of 23 hours 35 minutes.
As of 15 Jan. 2026, the project work is paused awaiting sponsporship from interested persons.
Project status
Initial version of Gita Static JSON files API hosted on GitHub Pages is done but has to be tested more thoroughly. Associated GitHub repo: https://github.com/ravisiyer/gita-data . Its README is the key documentation page for this gita-data JSON API project covering:
- JSON files API Endpoints
- JavaScript Helper Functions for the JSON API
- Frontend Used for Testing API
- Live Gita frontend app version with only Swami Sivananda translation and commentary that uses gita-data JSON API is live at: https://gita-test.vercel.app/.
- Required (Must-Have) TODOs
- Optional (Nice-to-Have) TODOs
datajson branch of frontend Nextjs Gita project is the branch that uses above JSON API. Here's its README.
The following publicly shared Google Drive ProjectReports folder has the following key files:
- Project Status Review.docx having short (1 pager) project status
- Gita-API-Chunk1.xlsx having timesheet data including work done each day.
Readers are welcome to view these files to get an idea of how this sponsored project work is being done.
Many thanks to the first sponsor for sponsoring this first chunk of work.
Main Project Work To Be Done
- Gita frontend (Next.js) app
- Limited frontend app in datajson branch of frontend Nextjs Gita project which uses gita-data Gita JSON files API must be enhanced to:
- Remove earlier graphQL API data structure and formats in both the data access functions and the UI components that use these functions.
- Have data access functions with optimizations of chapters.json, verse.json and translation.json being directly imported as constant JSON objects.
- Enhance the app to have full functionality of previous regular app when graphQL API was available. The main part of this enhancement will be allowing user to choose which translators and commentators data is shown.
- gita-data Gita JSON files API
- https://ravisiyer.github.io/gita-data/v1/translation.json of 2.18 MB size has to be split into smaller files with max. size of around 1 to 1.25 MB to enable Next.js caching.
- Data corrections
- Wrong data like Swami Sivananda commentaries having ? instead of probably comma.
- Some data issues seen on frontend app could be app data rendering issues with special characters like some Sanskrit characters. If these are data issues and not app rendering issues, these need to be fixed in the gita-data JSON files. If they are app rendering issues, they need to be fixed in the frontend app.
- Limited frontend app in datajson branch of frontend Nextjs Gita project which uses gita-data Gita JSON files API must be enhanced to:
- Remove earlier graphQL API data structure and formats in both the data access functions and the UI components that use these functions.
- Have data access functions with optimizations of chapters.json, verse.json and translation.json being directly imported as constant JSON objects.
- Enhance the app to have full functionality of previous regular app when graphQL API was available. The main part of this enhancement will be allowing user to choose which translators and commentators data is shown.
- https://ravisiyer.github.io/gita-data/v1/translation.json of 2.18 MB size has to be split into smaller files with max. size of around 1 to 1.25 MB to enable Next.js caching.
- Data corrections
- Wrong data like Swami Sivananda commentaries having ? instead of probably comma.
- Some data issues seen on frontend app could be app data rendering issues with special characters like some Sanskrit characters. If these are data issues and not app rendering issues, these need to be fixed in the gita-data JSON files. If they are app rendering issues, they need to be fixed in the frontend app.
Project Paused Now
As of now, I do not have a sponsor for the second chunk of work (around 20 man-hours). So I have paused doing this project work. Of course, as it is open source, other interested developers who want to work on the project are welcome to do so. One of the reasons I invested lot of time in documentation of current status, on 13 and 14 Jan 2026 even after crossing the 20 hour chunk period, is to make it easier for any other interested developers to take the work forward.
If there are persons who are interesed in sponsoring the second chunk of work for this project (done by me at deeply discounted rates), they may please mail me at riyer02@gmail.com. But dear reader, please don't feel obliged in any way to sponsor such work. Sponsor(s) should contact me in this regard, only if they are really interested in patronizing such service to society type work. I am doing this project in a spiritually detached way (nishkama bhava). So if no sponsor(s) are interested for second chunk of work - no problem at all. The important thing for me is to make the offer. Then I feel I have done my bit.
For more, please see my post: Inviting Sponsors for Software Development of Free Gita JSON files API and Modifying Gita Frontend App to Use it, Dec. 2025.
Comments
Post a Comment