I Made My ZZZ Code Site 100x Faster by Removing Flask

The author rebuilt their ZZZ code aggregator to serve static files instead of using a Flask application. The original Flask setup, while functional, was inefficient because the data updated infrequently. The new architecture directly serves static HTML/JSON files generated hourly by a background daemon. This shift dramatically reduced memory usage and increased request handling capacity. An atomic file write method was implemented to prevent users from seeing incomplete data updates. The implementation also utilizes APScheduler to schedule hourly updates, preventing overlaps. Image optimization was also implemented, converting reward icons to self-hosted WebP files. The changes resulted in a more robust and efficient system. The updated website is crash-proof, simpler to deploy, and integrates with search engine indexing. The key takeaway is to eliminate unnecessary computation by serving static content when feasible. The cost of running the website remains the same. The website is now significantly faster and more efficient at aggregating ZZZ codes.