Ruby-based static website generator

Inception:

 December 1, 2008

Website:

 https://jekyllrb.com

Source code:

 https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll

Docs:

 https://jekyllrb.com/docs/

Has use:

web development, blogging, creating, blog

Operating systems:

cross-platform

Coded in:

Ruby

Developers:

Tom Preston-Werner

License:

MIT License

Jekyll is a static site generator that transforms plain text into static websites and blogs.

Here are the key points to remember:

  1. Static Site Generator: Jekyll takes your content, typically written in Markdown, and converts it into static HTML files. This means that each page of your website is prebuilt and served as-is to visitors, rather than being generated dynamically on each request.

  2. Liquid Templating: Jekyll uses the Liquid templating language to process templates and content. Liquid allows for dynamic content insertion, including variables, logic statements, and loops, making it flexible for building various types of websites.

  3. Markdown Support: Markdown is the preferred format for writing content in Jekyll. Markdown is easy to write and read, and Jekyll automatically converts Markdown files into HTML pages during the site generation process.

  4. Front Matter: Jekyll uses YAML front matter to add metadata to your content files. This metadata includes things like layout, title, date, and other custom variables. Front matter allows for easy customization and organization of content.

  5. Themes and Plugins: Jekyll supports themes, which are collections of layout and style files that determine the look and feel of your site. Additionally, Jekyll has a plugin system that allows for extending its functionality. However, GitHub Pages, a popular platform for hosting Jekyll sites, has some limitations on which plugins can be used.

  6. GitHub Pages Integration: GitHub Pages natively supports Jekyll, making it easy to deploy Jekyll sites directly from your GitHub repositories. This integration simplifies the deployment process and allows for version control of your site’s content and configuration.

  7. Performance and Security: Because Jekyll generates static HTML files, websites built with Jekyll tend to be fast and secure. There are no server-side processes to slow down page load times, and the absence of a database reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities.

My opinion

The tool is already outdated, there are better alternatives in terms of functionality. But even though I sometimes have to struggle with it, I continue to use it. And by the way, this website runs on Jekyll.