How I used Jekyll and Github to make this simple blog

I had heard a lot of buzz on internet about Jekyll and how simple it was, but for some reason didn’t have enough time or reason to explore it. On last weekend I finally decided to give it a try and I must say I am very very impressed with the simplicity of Jekyll and awesomeness of github pages.

It might seem hectic in setting up, but trust me when you set it up succesfully you will realize how simple all this really is, so go ahead:

For Pros

Here’s what I did to put together this blog:

• Install necessary tools (I was using ubuntu so here’s what I needed):

sudo apt-get install git
sudo apt-get install ruby ruby-dev

• Follow instructions for setting up repository on github pages
• Follow Using jekyll with GitHub pages guide.
• Use awesome Lanyon theme for jekyll.

For Dummies

If all these intructions are jumble to you here’s an easier set:

• Install git on your system. (Google is your friend if you want to know how to)
• Follow instructions at github pages (You can do it)
• Clone your git repo in your local system by either running git clone https://github.com/username/username.github.io.git where username is your username or using windows github client.
• Download my repository in zip format from this link.
• Extract all contents of my repository to your repository’s folder.
• cd to your repository’s folder and run these:

rm *.*
git add -A
git commit . -m "Adding templates and first Jekyll post"
git push origin master

• It might ask you password/email and username so do provide it if asked.
• Once push is succesfull, you will be able to see my blog on yourusername.github.io
• Edit files in _layout, _includes and about.md to add your own details
• Make/Remove files in _posts folder with year-month-date-post-name.md format to add posts
• Details of .md format can be found at Kramdown