carsten-j.github.io

Personal blog built with Jekyll and hosted on GitHub Pages.

Visit: carsten-j.github.io

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Docker installed on your system
• Git

Running Locally with Docker

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/carsten-j/carsten-j.github.io.git
   cd carsten-j.github.io

2. Make the Jekyll script executable (first time only):

   chmod +x jekyll.sh

3. Run the development server:

   ./jekyll.sh

4. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:4000

The site will automatically rebuild when you make changes to files. The script includes --drafts flag so draft posts in _drafts/ will be visible locally.

Alternative: Local Ruby/Bundler Setup

If you prefer not to use Docker:

1. Install Ruby 3.1 or higher and Bundler:

   gem install bundler

2. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

3. Serve the site:

   bundle exec jekyll serve --drafts

Deployment

The site automatically deploys to GitHub Pages when changes are pushed to the master branch.

Deployment Process

1. Make your changes locally and test them

2. Commit and push to the master branch:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Your commit message"
   git push origin master

3. GitHub Actions will automatically:

   • Build the site using the github-pages gem
   • Deploy to GitHub Pages
   • Your changes will be live at https://carsten-j.github.io/

Monitoring Deployment

• Check the Actions tab in the GitHub repository to see the deployment status
• Build logs are available if there are any errors

Project Structure

• _posts/ - Blog posts in Markdown format
• _drafts/ - Draft posts (not published)
• _layouts/ - HTML templates for pages and posts
• _includes/ - Reusable HTML components
• _sass/ - SASS stylesheets
• css/ - Compiled CSS
• images/ - Static images

Writing Posts

Create a new file in _posts/ with the format: YYYY-MM-DD-title.markdown

Example frontmatter:

---
layout: post
title: "Your Post Title"
date: 2026-01-17 10:00:00 +0100
categories: [category1, category2]
---

Posts support:

• Markdown formatting
• Code syntax highlighting
• MathJax for mathematical equations (use $...$ for inline, $$...$$ for blocks)

Technologies

• Jekyll 3.9.x - Static site generator (via github-pages gem)
• Kramdown - Markdown processor
• Rouge - Syntax highlighting
• MathJax 3 - Mathematical notation
• Font Awesome 6 - Icons
• GitHub Actions - CI/CD pipeline