Quick Start Guide

Get your blog up and running in 5 minutes!

Prerequisites

Git installed
Ruby 2.7+ installed
Text editor (VS Code, Sublime, etc.)

Setup

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/navalerakesh/rakeshnavale.github.io.git
cd rakeshnavale.github.io

# 2. Install dependencies
gem install bundler
bundle install

# 3. Start local server
./scripts/jekyll-local serve

# 4. Open browser
# Navigate to http://localhost:4000

Write Your First Post

Step 1: Create a new file

# Use today's date
touch _posts/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-my-first-post.md

Step 2: Add front matter

Copy this template to your new file:

---
layout: post
title: "My First Technical Post"
date: 2026-02-02 10:00:00 -0000
categories: [general]
tags: [introduction, getting-started]
author: Rakesh Navale
excerpt: "An introduction to my technical blog journey"
linkedin_article_url: "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-linkedin-article-url"
---

Step 3: Write content

# My First Technical Post

Hello world! This is my first post.

## What I'll Write About

- Distributed systems
- AI platforms
- Software engineering

## Code Example

```python
def hello_blog():
    print("Hello from my technical blog!")

Conclusion

Excited to share more technical insights!

### Step 4: Preview locally

Your local server should auto-reload. Check http://localhost:4000

### Step 5: Publish

```bash
git add _posts/2026-02-02-my-first-post.md
git commit -m "Add post: My First Technical Post"
git push

Wait 1-3 minutes for GitHub Pages to build and deploy!

Common Commands

# Start server
./scripts/jekyll-local serve

# Start with drafts visible
./scripts/jekyll-local serve --drafts

# Start with live reload
./scripts/jekyll-local serve --livereload

# Build site
./scripts/jekyll-local build

# Check for issues
./scripts/jekyll-local doctor

If you publish a LinkedIn version of a post, add linkedin_article_url in the front matter. The site will automatically show that link on the post page, the blog listing, and the home page latest-post cards.

Directory Quick Reference

_posts/ - Published posts (YYYY-MM-DD-title.md)
_drafts/ - Work in progress posts (no date needed)
assets/images/ - Images for posts
_config.yml - Site configuration
blog.md - Blog listing page

Next Steps

✅ Read the full README.md
✅ Review CONTRIBUTING.md for best practices
✅ Check out example posts in _posts/
✅ Customize _config.yml with your info
✅ Write your first real post!

Need Help?

Check Jekyll Documentation
Review example posts
Open an issue on GitHub

You’re all set! Happy blogging! 🚀