Commands Reference

Complete reference for all Jackdaw CLI commands.

jackdaw new

Create a new site project with starter templates.

jackdaw new NAME

Examples:

jackdaw new my-blog
jackdaw new company-site.site  # .site not duplicated

Creates:

• Directory structure
• Starter templates (layout, page, blog)
• Example content
• .gitignore

jackdaw build

Build the static site.

jackdaw build [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --clean - Remove old files before building
• --verbose - Show detailed build information

Examples:

jackdaw build              # Incremental build
jackdaw build --clean      # Full rebuild
jackdaw build --verbose    # Detailed output

What it does:

1. Scans content, templates, and assets
2. Renders Markdown → HTML
3. Applies ERB templates
4. Copies static assets
5. Generates RSS/Atom feeds (if blog posts exist)
6. Generates sitemap.xml

Output: public/ directory

jackdaw serve

Start development server with live reload.

jackdaw serve [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --port PORT - Server port (default: 4000)
• --no-livereload - Disable automatic browser refresh

Examples:

jackdaw serve                    # Start on port 4000
jackdaw serve --port 3000        # Custom port
jackdaw serve --no-livereload    # No auto-refresh

Features:

• Builds site on start
• Watches for file changes
• Auto-rebuilds on change
• Live reload in browser
• Serves from public/

Access at http://localhost:4000

jackdaw create

Create new content from templates.

jackdaw create TEMPLATE NAME [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --dated - Add date prefix (for pages)
• --no-date - Skip date prefix (for blog posts)

Examples:

# Blog post (auto-dated)
jackdaw create blog "My First Post"
# → 2026-01-06-my-first-post.blog.md

# Page (no date)
jackdaw create page "About"
# → about.page.md

# Nested paths
jackdaw create page "docs/installation"
# → docs/installation.page.md

# Force date on page
jackdaw create page "Timeline" --dated
# → 2026-01-06-timeline.page.md

# Remove date from blog
jackdaw create blog "Timeless" --no-date
# → timeless.blog.md

Template types:

• blog - Blog posts (dated by default)
• page - Static pages (no date)
• post - Alternative to blog
• article - Alternative to blog
• Custom types you create

jackdaw template

Manage content templates.

jackdaw template SUBCOMMAND

template list

List all available templates in site/templates/.

jackdaw template list

Shows templates you can use with jackdaw create.

jackdaw version

Display Jackdaw version.

jackdaw version

jackdaw help

Show help for commands.

jackdaw help              # All commands
jackdaw help build        # Specific command

Command Workflow

Typical development workflow:

# Initial setup
jackdaw new my-site
cd my-site.site

# Development
jackdaw serve             # Start dev server
# Edit files, see changes instantly

# Create content as needed
jackdaw create blog "New Post"
jackdaw create page "Contact"

# Production build
jackdaw build --clean

# Deploy (copy public/ to server)

Exit Codes

• 0 - Success
• 1 - Error (with message)