Jekyll (software)
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| Type | Static site generator |
|---|---|
| Original author | Tom Preston-Werner |
| Initial release | 2008 |
| Written in | Ruby |
| License | MIT |
| Website | jekyllrb.com |
Jekyll is a free, open-source static site generator written in Ruby. It turns plain-text files, such as Markdown, together with layouts and templates into a complete static website that can be served without a database or server-side application. Jekyll is the engine behind GitHub Pages, GitHub's free website hosting service.[1]
History
Jekyll was created by Tom Preston-Werner, a co-founder of GitHub, and announced in his November 2008 blog post "Blogging Like a Hacker". He described it as "a simple, blog aware, static site generator" built to let him write in plain text, keep his site in Git, and avoid the maintenance of a dynamic blogging system.[2] Jekyll later became the default engine for GitHub Pages.[1]
How it works
A Jekyll site is a folder of content files and templates. Settings are kept in a configuration file, and each page can begin with "front matter", a short block of metadata that controls how it is processed. Jekyll uses the Liquid templating language to combine content with layouts, and outputs ordinary HTML, CSS, and other files that can be hosted anywhere.[1][3]
Its simplicity made it popular for blogs, documentation sites, and project pages, and it was an early influence on the Jamstack approach to web development.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "jekyll/jekyll". GitHub. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
- ↑ Tom Preston-Werner (November 17, 2008). "Blogging Like a Hacker". Retrieved October 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Jekyll documentation". Jekyll. Retrieved October 13, 2026.