Eleventy requires a way torun JavaScript on your computer and we recommend Node.js (version 18 or newer). You can check whether or not you have Node.js installed by runningnode --version in a Terminal. (Well, wait—what is a Terminal?) Ifnode is not found or it reports a version number below 18, you will need toinstall Node.js before moving on.
Now we’ll create anindex.mdMarkdown file. You can do this in the text editor of your choice or by running one of these commands in your terminal:
pnpm is anoptional alternative to npm that needs to be installed separately.
yarn dlx @11ty/eleventy--serve
Yarn is anoptional alternative to npm that needs to be installed separately.
Eleventy compiles any files in the current directory matching validfile extensions (md is one of many) to the_site output folder. It might look like this:
[11ty] Writing _site/index.html from ./index.md (liquid) [11ty] Wrote 1 file in 0.03 seconds (v3.0.0) [11ty] Watching… [11ty] Server at http://localhost:8080/
The--serve option also starts alocal development server. Open uphttp://localhost:8080/ in your favorite web browser to view your web site.
Eleventy isstable. We’ve shipped57 releases going back to the first version in December 2017 and only two of those releases have had Eleventy-specific changes requiring developer changes.
a11yproject.com launched with version 1.0.0 of Eleventy. […] It's been a little under three years and I haven't had to make any adjustments to its dependencies, and it can still install and run from a cold start with no complications. When I update the site to use version 2.0.0 I'll actually be removing dependencies, and not adding more. […] That's rare and special.— Eric Bailey
Eleventy usesindependent template languages. We don’t want to hold your content hostage with a custom format. If you decide to use a different syntax later, having your content decoupled in this way will make migration easier.
Eleventy doesnot require that you use a JavaScript framework—that meanszero client-side JavaScript by default across the board. We’rethinking long-term to opt-out of the framework rat race. The tool chain, modules, and components you use in your front end stack are decoupled from this tool. Work from a solid foundation ofpre-rendered templates that suit your project’sprogressive enhancement baseline requirements.
Eleventyworks with your project’s existing directory structure. The tool doesn’t require anapp directory or apages directory. Use the structure that you want.
Eleventy allowsincremental adoption. We onlylook for the files anddirectories you specify. Further, with even more precision you canopt-out or ignore specific files in your project. You don’t need to start an Eleventy project from scratch. Eleventy is flexible enough to allow conversion of only a few templates at a time. Migrate as fast or as slow as you’d like.
“Eleventy is a killer static site generator. That’s all.”—Sara Soueidan
“Eleventy is absolutely wonderful. It’s by far the nicest static site generator I’ve used in what feels like forever.”—Addy Osmani
“Eleventy is almost fascinatingly simple.”—Chris Coyier
“Don’t tell Zach I said it but Eleventy is seeming fresh as hell so far”—Mat Marquis
“I looked into and actively tried using various static site generators for this project. Eleventy was the only one I could find that gave me the fine-grained control I needed at blazingly fast build times.”—Mathias Bynens
“I use Eleventy on almost every project at this point and I love it.”—Lea Verou
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W3C
Google
Mozilla
JetBrains
Mina Markham saying about Eleventy?
Eric Bailey
Andy Bell
Sara Soueidan
Addy Osmani
Chris Coyier
Mat Marquis
Mathias Bynens
Lea Verou
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