Metalsmith

Metalsmith

Metalsmith is a simple, pluggable static site generator based on Node.js. It allows developers to build static sites and blogs by plugging in their own plugins to transform source content into HTML. It's lightweight, customizable, and easy to extend.
Metalsmith image
nodejs static site-generator blog html

Metalsmith: Simple Static Site Generator

A Node.js based static site generator for building static sites and blogs with plugins

What is Metalsmith?

Metalsmith is an open-source, pluggable static site generator built on Node.js. It allows developers to easily create static websites and blogs by writing content in Markdown, HTML, YAML etc. and transforming source files into static HTML output using Metalsmith plugins.

Some key features of Metalsmith include:

  • Lightweight and simple codebase that's easy to customize
  • Bring-your-own-plugins architecture allowing endless extensibility
  • Plugin ecosystem with over 240 plugins for tasks like markdown parsing, permalinks, metadata handling etc.
  • Easy to get started but scales to complex sites and workflows
  • Handles content in Markdown, HTML, YAML etc. out of the box
  • Powerful JavaScript API to tap into full power of Node.js
  • Integrates well with front-end build tools like Webpack

Metalsmith is used by developers and companies to build blogs, documentation sites, portfolios and full-blown websites. Its flexibility makes it a great choice for JavaScript developers who want control over their static site generation.

Metalsmith Features

Features

  1. Static site generator for Node.js
  2. Plugin architecture to transform content
  3. Supports Markdown and HTML content
  4. Built-in templates and layouts
  5. Asset pipeline for CSS, JS and images
  6. Flexible metadata and frontmatter
  7. Pagination support
  8. Permalinks and URL patterns

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Lightweight and fast

Highly customizable and extensible

Simple and easy to use

Active community with many plugins

Integrates well with other Node.js tools

Cons

Less features out of the box than some generators

Requires knowledge of Node.js and JavaScript

Not ideal for large/complex sites without customization


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