Eleventy requires Node.js
18. You can check whether or not you have Node installed by running node --version in a Terminal. (Well, wait—what is a Terminal?) If node is not found or it reports a version number below
18, you will need to install Node.js before moving on.
Now we’ll create an index.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 an optional alternative to npm that needs to be installed separately.
yarn dlx @11ty/eleventy --serve
Yarn is an optional alternative to npm that needs to be installed separately.
Eleventy compiles any files in the current directory matching valid file 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 a local development server. Open up http://localhost:8080/ in your favorite web browser to view your web site.
Eleventy is stable. We’ve shipped 57 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 uses independent 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 does not require that you use a JavaScript framework—that means zero client-side JavaScript by default across the board. We’re thinking 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 of pre-rendered templates that suit your project’s progressive enhancement baseline requirements.
Eleventy works with your project’s existing directory structure. The tool doesn’t require an app directory or a pages directory. Use the structure that you want.
Eleventy allows incremental adoption. We only look for the files and directories you specify. Further, with even more precision you can opt-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.
“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
“Eleventy + Netlify have become my new workflow for static sites. I think I'm in love.” —Mina Markham
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