FAQ

Short, plain answers to the questions people ask most.

I've never built a website. Can I still use this?

Yes. You write Markdown, run two commands, and you have a website. No HTML, CSS, or JavaScript required to get started. Start with the Quick start.

Do I need to install anything?

Just one thing: Node.js 18+. JPROT itself has zero dependencies — no npm install, no node_modules, nothing to configure.

What is a "static site"?

A website made of finished HTML files instead of one that needs a running program to create each page on demand. Static sites load fast, are cheap to host, and are what jprot exports in dist/.

Is there a build step?

No. Save a Markdown file, refresh your browser, and the change is there. Nothing needs to be compiled or rebuilt.

Can I deploy it? Is it free?

Yes. jprot export creates a folder of files you can upload to GitHub Pages, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages — all have generous free tiers. See Publish your site.

How do I change the colors?

Open theme/custom.css and redefine the color variables. For example:

Copy:root { --color-accent: #0ea5e9; }

That one line changes every accent color on the site instantly. See Customization for the full list of variables.

How do I add a blog?

Create content/blog.md (with layout: blog), then drop Markdown files into content/blog/. Each file is a post, sorted newest first by its date. Or type jprot new post "Title" and jprot creates the file for you.

How do I add a page to the navigation menu?

Every top-level .md file in content/ becomes a menu item automatically. To pick a different label or position, set nav: Label and order: 5 in the file's frontmatter.

Does it have dark mode?

Yes. A light/dark button lives in the header, and by default jprot follows your computer's setting. See Customization → Dark mode.

Can I use my own components?

Absolutely. Components are plain JavaScript functions that return an HTML string. Drop a file into theme/components/ and it becomes available everywhere. See Customization.

Can I use a component inside a page?

Yes — write :::ComponentName on its own line, pass settings like title="…", and it renders right there in your Markdown. See Customization → Shortcodes. You can even generate a starter component with jprot g component <Name>.

What is jprot export for?

It turns your whole site into static HTML files in dist/ — pages become folders with index.html, CSS gets content-hashed names for fast loading, drafts are left out, and everything a static host needs (404.html, feeds, sitemap) is included. Upload dist/ and you're live.

Why don't I see my new page on the published site?

Three likely reasons: it's a draft (draft: true is hidden from the published site), you're looking at a cached preview (Ctrl+Shift+R to hard-refresh), or you haven't re-exported since adding it — exports are snapshots, so re-run jprot export after changes.

Still stuck? Walk through Troubleshooting step by step.