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Updated readme and release structure
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README.md
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# MD-CMS
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> Markdown-based static site publishing
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Write your content as `.md` files, run one command, and deploy to any static host. All rendering happens in the browser at runtime.
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MD-CMS lets you write and publish a website entirely in markdown. Drop your `.md` files in a folder, run the build tool, upload the output to any static host, and you're done. All rendering happens in the browser.
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With the GitHub Actions workflow, you can automatically rebuild the navigation structure and search index on each commit.
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- - -
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## Installation
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1) Download the latest [release](https://github.com/kbenestad/mdcms/releases) for your
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---
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## How it works
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MD-CMS has two parts:
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**`index.html`** — a single-file browser renderer. It reads your markdown files, config, and navigation at runtime and renders everything client-side. No build pipeline, no framework, no compilation step.
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The web app:
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**`mdcms.py`** — a zero-dependency Python CLI tool. It scans your content, generates `nav.yml` and `search.json`, validates your config, and packages everything into a zip file ready for upload.
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- `index.html` — a single-file browser renderer. It reads your markdown, config,
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and nav at runtime and renders everything client-side. No compilation, no
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framework.
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- `config.yml` — contains site configuration.
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- `nav.yml` — navigation tree.
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- `search.json` — supports site-wide search on static host.
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---
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The local app: `mdcms` — a CLI tool that scans your content, generates `nav.yml`
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and `search.json`, and can wire up automatic builds via GitHub Actions.
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## Features
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## Installation
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- **Write in markdown** — pages and posts with YAML frontmatter
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- **Categories** — serve multiple versions of the same page (e.g. languages, destinations, variants) via `?cat=` URL parameter and a dropdown UI
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- **Sections** — nested navigation defined in `nav.yml`; pages declare their section via frontmatter
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- **Full-text search** — category-aware, generated at build time
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- **Dynamic content tags** — embed post lists with date sorting, pagination, and year grouping using fenced `mdcms` code blocks
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- **RTL support** — per-category text direction
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- **Custom fonts per category** — load a font file from `assets/fonts/` when a category is selected
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- **Light and dark mode** — fully themeable via `config.yml`
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- **No server required** — everything is static; deploy to GitHub Pages, Codeberg Pages, Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, or any file host
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- **Zero dependencies** — `mdcms.py` uses only the Python standard library
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**Standalone binary**
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---
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1. Download from the
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[latest release](https://github.com/kbenestad/mdcms/releases/latest).
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2. Move the binary and make it executable
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- Linux
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- Download the [latest mdcms](latest/linux/mdcms)
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- Move it to `/usr/local/bin/`: `sudo mv mdcms /usr/local/bin/mdcms`
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- Make it executable: `sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mdcms`
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- Mac
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- Download the [latest mdcms](latest/macos/mdcms)
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- Move it to `/usr/local/bin/`: `sudo mv mdcms /usr/local/bin/mdcms`
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- Make it executable: `sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mdcms`
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- Remove the quarantine flag: `xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/mdcms`
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- Windows
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- Download the [latest mdcms](latest/windows/mdcms.exe)
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- Move it to a permanent folder, e.g. `C:\tools\mdcms.exe`
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- Add `C:\tools\` to your PATH: Start → search `"Environment Variables"` → edit the `Path user variable` → add `C:\tools\`
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- Open a new PowerShell window and verify: `mdcms --version`
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## Use
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To get started, run `mdcms register mysite` to register the current working directory as the `mysite` MD-CMS project directory. You can also specify the project path: `mdcms register mysite /path/to/mysiteNote`.
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If there is an existing MD-CMS instance in your specified directory, the app will register this site; if there is no MD-CMS instance present, it will download the latest version from the GitHub repo.
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Add your pages, posts, and assets. Once you're ready to upload your site, run `mdcms build mysite` to update `nav.yml` and `search.json`. You can also run `mdcms build --path` to build the website without registering the site.
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The final project directory can be uploaded to a static host of your choice.
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## File structure
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```
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mdcms.py ← build tool, run this
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quickstart.md ← getting started guide
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website/ ← everything in here gets deployed
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index.html
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config.yml
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nav.yml
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search.json
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pages/
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home.md
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about.md
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about.nb.md ← Norwegian variant of about.md
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posts/
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2025-01-01-my-first-post.md
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assets/
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images/
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fonts/
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[project directory]/
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index.html ← renderer
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config.yml ← site configuration and theme
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nav.yml ← navigation structure
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search.json ← search index
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pages/ ← Put your permanent pages here
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home.md ← Main page
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...
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posts/ ← Put your time-bound posts here
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...
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assets/ ← Holds directories for non-content files
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required/ ← Logo, favicon, and icons go here.
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...
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images/ ← Images
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...
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fonts/ ← Fonts referenced in config.yml
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...
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files/ ← Files for download
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...
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```
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The `website/` folder is your deployable site. `mdcms.py` lives outside it.
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**IMPORTANT:** All links are read from `index.html` in the root. Therefore, you must provide full paths for each file from the root.
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---
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## Getting started
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**Requirements:** Python 3 (standard library only). A modern browser.
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1. Clone or download this repository.
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2. Run `python3 mdcms.py` and choose **option 2** to build your config and folder structure from scratch.
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3. Write your pages in `website/pages/` and posts in `website/posts/`.
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4. Run `mdcms.py` again and choose **option 3** to generate `nav.yml` and `search.json`.
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5. Choose **option 8** to start a local webserver and preview your site.
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6. When ready to publish, choose **option 1** to validate, build, and export `website.zip`.
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7. Upload the contents of `website.zip` to your static host.
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> **Local preview note:** Open `index.html` via the built-in webserver (option 8), not by double-clicking the file. Browsers block local file access due to CORS restrictions.
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---
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## Configuration
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Site behaviour is controlled by two YAML files in `website/`:
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**`config.yml`** — site title, logo, default page, search settings, typography, layout dimensions, light/dark theme colours, and category definitions.
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**`nav.yml`** — navigation structure. Sections are defined here; pages declare their section via `section-id` in frontmatter. Sections can be nested.
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Both files are human-readable and comment-supported. The `mdcms.py` wizard generates them for you and can fill in missing values interactively.
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---
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## Categories
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Categories let you publish multiple versions of the same page — different languages, regions, or product variants — under a single URL with a `?cat=` parameter.
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Each variant is a separate file:
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Example: You want to put a link to `page2.md` in `home.md`. `page2.md` is in the same directory as `home.md`.
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The correct link is therefore:
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```
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about.md ← default
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about.en-gb.md ← British English variant
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about.nb.md ← Norwegian variant
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[Link text](pages/page2.md)
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```
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The category dropdown shows only categories for which a variant exists (or where a "not available" message is configured). All internal links preserve the active category.
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---
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## Tag system
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Embed dynamic post lists in any page using fenced `mdcms` code blocks:
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````markdown
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```mdcms
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posts-date-reversechronological
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limit: 10
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paginate: yes
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This does not link to `page2.md`:
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```
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[Link text](page2.md)
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```
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````
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Available tags cover chronological and reverse-chronological post lists, grouped by year, with date or datetime display, and configurable pagination.
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## Further reading
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---
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For further documentation, refer to:
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- [docs/](docs/README.md): Documentation relevant to this repo
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- [docs.benestad.net](https://docs.benestad.net/): Further help -- including an example of an MD-CMS site.
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## Licence
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Apache 2.0 — see [LICENCE]((https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)).
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© Kristian Benestad
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This software is © 2026 Kristian Benestad. Licensed under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](LICENSE).
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