Integrate parts of awesome-metalsmith in metalsmith.io/ resources

[wernerglinka]

I suggest adding GitHub Pages to this repo. This would allow us to use filtering on plugins, even re-publish valuable blog posts here as a central point to go to.
This may duplicate some information that is already on metalsmith.io. @webketje, what do you think about having this as a unified resource we can direct people to?

[webketje]

Hi, thank you for your work to make this repo more user-friendly. Regarding making parts of this repo available on the web, I actually created a place under https://metalsmith.io/docs for the tutorial/ blog post links in 2022 already: https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith.io/blob/master/src/docs/resources.md. This file has been in draft mode ever since and I never got to updating it, but it would be the place to integrate https://github.com/metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith/blob/master/docs/RESOURCES.md to.

This would allow us to [...] re-publish valuable blog posts

I don't see this as a concern for Metalsmith core. Providing links yes, republishing no.

This would allow us to use filtering on plugins

Not sure what you mean by this, you can already do that at the official registry: https://metalsmith.io/plugins. The automated plugin scoring you added here is a nice addition (though I would opt to parse and alter https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith.io/blob/master/lib/data/plugins.json rather than regex-parsing a .md file)

Regarding starters/ snippets/ examples, see https://github.com/metalsmith/resources. I created one "bare" starter there (for MS 2.7.0 CLI init command). The goal is to use @metalsmith/requests to query that repo and actually download parts of it into metalsmith.io at build-time (also for code examples and snippets). You're really good at creating starters, so down the line you could add some here (but for now I want to think about which ones; it shouldn't become super-cluttered and unmaintainable)

Why not Github Pages

Github Pages org sites can be like metalsmith.github.io, and other repo's under the org can then become for example metalsmith.github.io/awesome-stuff. However metalsmith.io is hosted on Netlify, ie this is not possible. Unfortunately Github Pages also does not allow configuring HTTPS traffic for subdomains (eg awesome.metalsmith.io), so your only remaining option is to publish to a completely separate domain. GH Pages is just too basic for the main metalsmith site (eg can't configure DNS or redirects), I already explored this 4y ago.

[wernerglinka]

@webketje, Thank you for your thorough reply—I didn't expect one so soon. I understand the demands of work, house renovation, and life in general, so I appreciate you taking the time. This requires a more detailed response. I believe that fragmenting Metalsmith's public-facing resources is detrimental to adoption. New users lack a clear path to available resources, leading them to look elsewhere. I updated Amazing Metalsmith because it had become outdated to the point where it could discourage newcomers from exploring Metalsmith further. Amazing Metalsmith should be retired, with its essential content integrated into metalsmith.io. Let me give you some context about my perspective. After 20 years of building websites, I'm now retired but continue creating sites pro bono for nonprofits I believe in. I'm currently writing a blog series about building sites with Metalsmith in 2025, published on my blog glinka.co, LinkedIn, and Substack. As a foundation for these posts, I've built two starters based on the core starter and my adaptations over the years: https://github.com/wernerglinka/metalsmith2025-simple-starter https://github.com/wernerglinka/metalsmith2025-structured-content-starter Both include Netlify demos and GitHub Pages publishing workflows, making it easier for beginners to start experimenting. While GH Pages are limited, they may be a good first step. Over the past couple of years, I've been working with Claude AI, which has opened up new technical areas for me. One result is an MCP Server that provides Metalsmith-specific information to Claude or any AI using agents to evaluate or build plugins: https://github.com/wernerglinka/metalsmith-plugin-mcp-server. I've used this to align my plugins with common workflows and enhance existing functionality. I'm now starting a project to build another AI agent that would enable Claude to help construct websites using my starters. Claude would interpret requests like "I want to build a blog" and add the appropriate plugins. This sounds similar to your goals with the "bare" starter. If any of this interests you, I'd be happy to discuss and rebuild sections of metalsmith.io in feature branches for your review and potential merging. While it would be nice to have a more active Metalsmith community, I understand the realities of open-source participation.

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On Aug 12, 2025, at 03:56, Kevin Van Lierde ***@***.***> wrote: webketje left a comment (metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith#48) <#48 (comment)> Hi, thank you for your work to make this repo more user-friendly. Regarding making parts of this repo available on the web, I actually created a place under https://metalsmith.io/docs for the tutorial/ blog post links in 2022 already: https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith.io/blob/master/src/docs/resources.md. This file has been in draft mode ever since and I never got to updating it, but it would be the place to integrate https://github.com/metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith/blob/master/docs/RESOURCES.md to. This would allow us to [...] re-publish valuable blog posts I don't see this as a concern for Metalsmith core. Providing links yes, republishing no. This would allow us to use filtering on plugins Not sure what you mean by this, you can already do that at the official registry: https://metalsmith.io/plugins. The automated plugin scoring you added here is a nice addition (though I would opt to parse and alter https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith.io/blob/master/lib/data/plugins.json rather than regex-parsing a .md file) Regarding starters/ snippets/ examples, see https://github.com/metalsmith/resources. I created one "bare" starter there (for MS 2.7.0 CLI init command). The goal is to use @metalsmith/requests to query that repo and actually download parts of it into metalsmith.io at build-time (also for code examples and snippets). You're really good at creating starters, so down the line you could add some here (but for now I want to think about which ones; it shouldn't become super-cluttered and unmaintainable) Why not Github Pages Github Pages org sites can be like metalsmith.github.io, and other repo's under the org can then become for example metalsmith.github.io/awesome-stuff. However metalsmith.io is hosted on Netlify, ie this is not possible. Unfortunately Github Pages also does not allow configuring HTTPS traffic for subdomains (eg awesome.metalsmith.io), so your only remaining option is to publish to a completely separate domain. GH Pages is just too basic for the main metalsmith site (eg can't configure DNS or redirects), I already explored this 4y ago. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#48 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACUQAGGHTBN7AMGMTIHTET3NGT5JAVCNFSM6AAAAACDRULOIGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTCNZYGM4DCNRRHE>. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.

[webketje]

I renamed the issue to better reflect the direction it is going in. Working with feature branches/ PRs suits me best for this matter.

For one, it would be great, with your permission, to add your starter https://github.com/wernerglinka/metalsmith2025-simple-starter to https://github.com/metalsmith/resources/starters with very minor tweaks (like favoring built-in nunjucks filters and core plugins) under starters/simple-blog or so (in 2.7.0 you will be able to run metalsmith init starters/simple-blog) . Having a simple GH pages/ Netlify accompany it is a good idea.
The structured content one I need to play with first. I checked it out at a glance, there's a lot of good stuff there, but it's also quite overwhemling (and it shows that it was written with AI). Prefer to keep it simple where possible (ie: less content, text, only 5 icons/ an iconfont instead of tons, pages with a small description not a full blog, and what's with the component manifest.json's?)

No doubt a lot of very interesting stuff can be done with AI, but the topic of its usage with metalsmith is out of scope for official starters/ docs. It can have a spot as a link in the docs' Resources section, along with the rest of https://github.com/metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith/blob/master/docs/RESOURCES.md.

But this file needs a rework before publishing on the main docs. I know your plugins are most recent & qualitative, but it reads too much as a plug for glinka.co blog posts 🤔 . The MCP-AI stuff is definitely not what needs to be at the top (it's interesting, but its a more advanced/niche topic). The content The "Websites [using metalsmith]" section must be merged with metalsmith.io's data/showcase.yml & screenshots added.
So definitely some actionable items here.

We should have a chat on Gitter

[wernerglinka]

No problem with using the starter. Whatever it takes to promote Metalsmith I am in. You're right about the resources page reading like glinka.co advertising. But, the reality is, after extensive searching, there aren't any current, maintained Metalsmith resources beyond the core plugin updates you provide. That gap was exactly what motivated me to write the Metalsmith2025 series and publish it across multiple platforms - hoping to attract some new users to the ecosystem. For the structured starter, I'd prefer to wait a bit longer. I'm still refining it as I complete the blog series and build out a reference site that demonstrates the page sections with practical examples. The component manifest.json system comes from years of building corporate and marketing sites - it makes each component completely self-contained. I've written a plugin that extracts and bundles the component's JavaScript and CSS while providing build-time validation. For instance, it catches when someone defines a boolean prop but passes "true" as a string, or warns when valid options are "section", "article", "aside", but someone uses "div". The console feedback helps to catch these issues early while keeping the build running. I'm actually enjoying working on this stuff now that I'm retired and have the time to explore these ideas properly. Let's chat on Gitter. I check it every few weeks, though it does seem pretty quiet except for you, me, and the occasional visitor.

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On Aug 19, 2025, at 15:28, Kevin Van Lierde ***@***.***> wrote: webketje left a comment (metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith#48) <#48 (comment)> I renamed the issue to better reflect the direction it is going in. Working with feature branches/ PRs suits me best for this matter. For one, it would be great, with your permission, to add your starter https://github.com/wernerglinka/metalsmith2025-simple-starter to https://github.com/metalsmith/resources/starters with very minor tweaks (like favoring built-in nunjucks filters and core plugins) under starters/simple-blog or so (in 2.7.0 you will be able to run metalsmith init starters/simple-blog) . Having a simple GH pages/ Netlify accompany it is a good idea. The structured content one I need to play with first. I checked it out at a glance, there's a lot of good stuff there, but it's also quite overwhemling (and it shows that it was written with AI). Prefer to keep it simple where possible (ie: less content, text, only 5 icons/ an iconfont instead of tons, pages with a small description not a full blog, and what's with the component manifest.json's?) No doubt a lot of very interesting stuff can be done with AI, but the topic of its usage with metalsmith is out of scope for official starters/ docs. It can have a spot as a link in the docs' Resources section, along with the rest of https://github.com/metalsmith/awesome-metalsmith/blob/master/docs/RESOURCES.md. But this file needs a rework before publishing on the main docs. I know your plugins are most recent & qualitative, but it reads too much as a plug for glinka.co blog posts 🤔 . The MCP-AI stuff is definitely not what needs to be at the top (it's interesting, but its a more advanced/niche topic). The content The "Websites [using metalsmith]" section must be merged with metalsmith.io's data/showcase.yml & screenshots added. So definitely some actionable items here. We should have a chat on Gitter — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#48 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACUQAFECGF5R2R4N3A3AUL3OOCFTAVCNFSM6AAAAACDRULOIGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTEMBSGEZDENJRGE>. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.