Jekyll + Netlify Development

Bash
# Start development server in Codespaces
bundle exec jekyll serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4000

Navigate to the forwarded port 4000 to preview your site.

Development Process:

• Make changes to content or code
• Test locally with bundle serve
• Commit and push to trigger Netlify build
• Verify deployment on Netlify dashboard

Initial Setup:

1. Create netlify.toml in root:

TOML
[build]
  command = "bundle exec jekyll build"
  publish = "_site"

[build.environment]
  JEKYLL_ENV = "production"
  RUBY_VERSION = "3.1"

2. Configure Codespaces port forwarding for port 4000
3. Connect repository to Netlify for automatic deployments

Example 1 - Local Development: Input: Changes to _posts/2024-01-01-new-post.md Output:

Bash
bundle exec jekyll serve --host 0.0.0.0 --livereload
# Site accessible at forwarded port, auto-refreshes on changes

Example 2 - Deploy Trigger: Input: git push origin main Output: Netlify automatically builds and deploys within 1-2 minutes

• Use --host 0.0.0.0 for Codespaces compatibility
• Pin Ruby version in netlify.toml to match Gemfile
• Test builds locally before pushing with JEKYLL_ENV=production bundle exec jekyll build
• Use branch deploys for testing: push feature branches for preview URLs
• Set up Netlify Forms for contact forms (no backend needed)

• Port not accessible: Ensure Codespaces port 4000 is set to "Public"
• Build failures: Check Ruby version mismatch between local and Netlify
• Missing gems: Run bundle install after pulling changes
• Path issues: Use {{ site.baseurl }} for assets in production
• Cache problems: Clear Netlify cache if builds seem stale