This guide walks you through forking [this markdown framework](https://github.com/waynesutton/markdown-site), setting up your Convex backend, and deploying to Netlify. The entire process takes about 10 minutes.
**How publishing works:** Once deployed, you write posts in markdown, run `npm run sync` for development or `npm run sync:prod` for production, and they appear on your live site immediately. No rebuild or redeploy needed. Convex handles real-time data sync, so all connected browsers update automatically.
The HTTP URL uses `.convex.site` instead of `.convex.cloud`:
```
https://happy-animal-123.convex.site
```
## Step 6: Verify Edge Functions
The blog uses Netlify Edge Functions to dynamically proxy RSS, sitemap, and API requests to your Convex HTTP endpoints. No manual URL configuration is needed.
Edge functions in `netlify/edge-functions/`:
-`rss.ts` - Proxies `/rss.xml` and `/rss-full.xml`
-`sitemap.ts` - Proxies `/sitemap.xml`
-`api.ts` - Proxies `/api/posts` and `/api/post`
-`botMeta.ts` - Serves Open Graph HTML to social media crawlers
These functions automatically read `VITE_CONVEX_URL` from your environment and convert it to the Convex HTTP site URL (`.cloud` becomes `.site`).
## Step 7: Deploy to Netlify
For detailed Convex + Netlify integration, see the official [Convex Netlify Deployment Guide](https://docs.convex.dev/production/hosting/netlify).
### Option A: Netlify CLI
```bash
# Install Netlify CLI
npm install -g netlify-cli
# Login to Netlify
netlify login
# Initialize site
netlify init
# Deploy
npm run deploy
```
### Option B: Netlify Dashboard
1. Go to [app.netlify.com](https://app.netlify.com)
2. Click "Add new site" then "wImport an existing project"
3. Connect your GitHub repository
4. Configure build settings:
- Build command: `npm ci --include=dev && npx convex deploy --cmd 'npm run build'`
-`VITE_CONVEX_URL`: Your production Convex URL (e.g., `https://your-deployment.convex.cloud`)
6. Click "Deploy site"
The `CONVEX_DEPLOY_KEY` deploys functions at build time. The `VITE_CONVEX_URL` is required for edge functions to proxy RSS, sitemap, and API requests at runtime.
### Netlify Build Configuration
The `netlify.toml` file includes the correct build settings:
```toml
[build]
command = "npm ci --include=dev && npx convex deploy --cmd 'npm run build'"
publish = "dist"
[build.environment]
NODE_VERSION = "20"
```
Key points:
-`npm ci --include=dev` forces devDependencies to install even when `NODE_ENV=production`
- The build script uses `npx vite build` to resolve vite from node_modules
-`@types/node` is required for TypeScript to recognize `process.env`
## Step 8: Set Up Production Convex
For production, deploy your Convex functions:
```bash
npx convex deploy
```
This creates a production deployment. Update your Netlify environment variable with the production URL if different.
## Writing Blog Posts
Create new posts in `content/blog/`:
```markdown
---
title: "Your Post Title"
description: "A brief description for SEO and social sharing"
| `rightSidebar` | No | Enable right sidebar with CopyPageDropdown (opt-in, requires explicit `true`) |
| `unlisted` | No | Hide from listings but allow direct access via slug. Set `true` to hide from blog listings, featured sections, tag pages, search results, and related posts. Post remains accessible via direct link. |
| `docsSection` | No | Include in docs sidebar. Set `true` to show in the docs section navigation. |
| `docsSectionGroup` | No | Group name for docs sidebar. Posts with the same group name appear together. |
| `docsSectionOrder` | No | Order within docs group. Lower numbers appear first within the group. |
| `docsSectionGroupOrder` | No | Order of the group in docs sidebar. Lower numbers make the group appear first. Groups without this field sort alphabetically. |
| `docsSectionGroupIcon` | No | Phosphor icon name for docs sidebar group (e.g., "Rocket", "Book", "PuzzlePiece"). Icon appears left of the group title. See [Phosphor Icons](https://phosphoricons.com) for available icons. |
| `docsLanding` | No | Set `true` to use as the docs landing page (shown when navigating to `/docs`). |
Inline images appear in the post content. Alt text is used as the caption below the image.
**Image lightbox:** By default, images in blog posts and pages open in a full-screen lightbox when clicked. This allows readers to view images at full size. The lightbox can be closed by clicking outside the image, pressing Escape, or clicking the close button. To disable this feature, set `imageLightbox.enabled: false` in `src/config/siteConfig.ts`.
The `npm run sync` command only syncs markdown text content. Images are deployed when Netlify builds your site. Use `npm run sync:discovery` to update discovery files (AGENTS.md, llms.txt) when site configuration changes.
Get your production URL from the [Convex Dashboard](https://dashboard.convex.dev) by selecting your project and switching to the Production deployment.
**Featured items** can now be controlled via markdown frontmatter. Add `featured: true` and `featuredOrder: 1` to any post or page, then run `npm run sync`.
Follow the step-by-step guide in `FORK_CONFIG.md` to update each file manually. The guide includes code snippets for each file and an AI agent prompt for assisted configuration.
**Inner page logo:** Shows on blog page, individual posts, and static pages. Configure in `src/config/siteConfig.ts`:
```typescript
innerPageLogo: {
enabled: true, // Set to false to hide logo on inner pages
size: 28, // Logo height in pixels (keeps aspect ratio)
},
```
The inner page logo appears in the top left corner on desktop and top right on mobile. It uses the same logo file as the homepage logo. Set `enabled: false` to hide it on inner pages while keeping the homepage logo.
The default OG image is used when a post does not have an `image` field in its frontmatter. Replace `public/images/og-default.svg` with your own image.
Recommended dimensions: 1200x630 pixels. Supported formats: PNG, JPG, or SVG.
| `featured` | Set `true` to show in featured section |
| `featuredOrder` | Order in featured section (lower = first) |
| `excerpt` | Short text shown on card view |
| `image` | Thumbnail for card view (displays as square) |
**Thumbnail images:** In card view, the `image` field displays as a square thumbnail above the title. Non-square images are automatically cropped to center. Square thumbnails: 400x400px minimum (800x800px for retina).
**Posts without images:** Cards display without the image area. The card shows just the title and excerpt with adjusted padding.
**Order featured items:**
Use `featuredOrder` to control display order. Lower numbers appear first. Posts and pages are sorted together. Items without `featuredOrder` appear after numbered items, sorted by creation time.
**Toggle view mode:**
Users can toggle between list and card views using the icon button next to "Get started:". To change the default view, set `featuredViewMode: "cards"` in siteConfig.
| `showYearNavigation` | Show prev/next year buttons |
| `linkToProfile` | Click graph to visit GitHub profile |
| `title` | Text above graph (set to `undefined` to hide) |
The graph displays with theme-aware colors that match each site theme (dark, light, tan, cloud). Uses the public `github-contributions-api.jogruber.de` API (no GitHub token required).
Display real-time visitor locations on a world map on the stats page. Uses Netlify's built-in geo detection (no third-party API needed). Privacy friendly: only stores city, country, and coordinates. No IP addresses stored.
Configure in `siteConfig`:
```typescript
visitorMap: {
enabled: true, // Set to false to hide the visitor map
title: "Live Visitors", // Optional title above the map
| `title` | Text above map (set to `undefined` to hide) |
The map displays with theme-aware colors. Visitor dots pulse to indicate live sessions. Location data comes from Netlify's automatic geo headers at the edge.
The site supports a dedicated blog page at `/blog` with two view modes: list view (year-grouped posts) and card view (thumbnail grid). Configure in `src/config/siteConfig.ts`:
- **List view:** Year-grouped posts with titles, read time, and dates
- **Card view:** Grid of cards showing thumbnails, titles, excerpts, and metadata
**Card view details:**
Cards display post thumbnails (from `image` frontmatter field), titles, excerpts (or descriptions), read time, and dates. Posts without images show cards without thumbnail areas. Grid is responsive: 3 columns on desktop, 2 on tablet, 1 on mobile.
**Navigation order:** The Blog link merges with page links and sorts by order. Pages use the `order` field in frontmatter. Set `blogPage.order: 5` to position Blog after pages with order 0-4.
Posts can be marked as featured on the blog page using the `blogFeatured` frontmatter field:
```yaml
---
title: "My Featured Post"
blogFeatured: true
---
```
The first `blogFeatured` post displays as a hero card with landscape image, tags, date, title, excerpt, author info, and read more link. Remaining `blogFeatured` posts display in a 2-column featured row with excerpts. Regular (non-featured) posts display in a 3-column grid without excerpts.
### Homepage Post Limit
Limit the number of posts shown on the homepage:
```typescript
postsDisplay: {
showOnHome: true,
homePostsLimit: 5, // Limit to 5 most recent posts (undefined = show all)
homePostsReadMore: {
enabled: true,
text: "Read more blog posts",
link: "/blog",
},
},
```
When posts are limited, an optional "read more" link appears below the list. Only shows when there are more posts than the limit.
Add React route pages (like `/stats`, `/write`) to the navigation menu via `siteConfig.ts`. These pages are React components, not markdown files.
Configure in `src/config/siteConfig.ts`:
```typescript
hardcodedNavItems: [
{
slug: "stats",
title: "Stats",
order: 10,
showInNav: true, // Set to false to hide from nav
},
{
slug: "write",
title: "Write",
order: 20,
showInNav: true,
},
],
```
Navigation combines three sources in this order:
1. Blog link (if `blogPage.enabled` and `blogPage.showInNav` are true)
2. Hardcoded nav items (from `hardcodedNavItems` array)
3. Markdown pages (from `content/pages/` with `showInNav: true`)
All items sort by `order` field (lower numbers first), then alphabetically by title.
**Hide from navigation:** Set `showInNav: false` to keep a route accessible but hidden from the nav menu. The route still works at its URL, just won't appear in navigation links.
**Hide pages from navigation:** Set `showInNav: false` in page frontmatter to keep a page published and accessible via direct URL, but hidden from the navigation menu. Useful for pages like `/projects` that you want to link directly but not show in the main nav. Pages with `showInNav: false` remain searchable and available via API endpoints.
**Home intro content:** Create `content/pages/home.md` (slug: `home-intro`) to sync homepage intro text from markdown. Headings (h1-h6) use blog post styling (`blog-h1` through `blog-h6`) with clickable anchor links. Lists, blockquotes, horizontal rules, and links also use blog styling for consistent typography. Set `textAlign: "left"`, `"center"`, or `"right"` to control alignment. Run `npm run sync` to update homepage text instantly without redeploying. Falls back to `siteConfig.bio` if `home-intro` page not found.
**Footer content via markdown:** Create `content/pages/footer.md` (slug: `footer`) to manage footer content via markdown sync instead of hardcoding in siteConfig.ts. Run `npm run sync` to update footer text instantly without touching code. Supports full markdown including links, paragraphs, and line breaks. Falls back to `siteConfig.footer.defaultContent` if page not found.
**Sidebar layout:** Add `layout: "sidebar"` to any post or page frontmatter to enable a docs-style layout with a table of contents sidebar. The sidebar extracts headings (H1, H2, H3) automatically and provides smooth scroll navigation. Only appears if headings exist in the content.
**Right sidebar:** When enabled in `siteConfig.rightSidebar.enabled`, posts and pages can display a right sidebar containing the CopyPageDropdown at 1135px+ viewport width. Add `rightSidebar: true` to frontmatter to enable. Without this field, pages render normally with CopyPageDropdown in the nav bar. When enabled, CopyPageDropdown moves from the navigation bar to the right sidebar on wide screens. The right sidebar is hidden below 1135px, and CopyPageDropdown returns to the nav bar automatically.
**Show image at top:** Add `showImageAtTop: true` to display the `image` field at the top of the post/page above the header. Default behavior: if `showImageAtTop` is not set or `false`, image only used for Open Graph previews and featured card thumbnails.
**Image lightbox:** Images in blog posts and pages automatically open in a full-screen lightbox when clicked (if enabled in `siteConfig.imageLightbox.enabled`). This allows readers to view images at full size. The lightbox can be closed by clicking outside the image, pressing Escape, or clicking the close button. To disable this feature, set `imageLightbox.enabled: false` in `src/config/siteConfig.ts`.
**Footer:** Footer content can be managed three ways: (1) Create `content/pages/footer.md` to sync footer content via markdown (recommended), (2) set in frontmatter `footer` field for per-page overrides, or (3) use `siteConfig.footer.defaultContent` for static content. The markdown page takes priority over siteConfig when present. Control visibility globally via `siteConfig.footer.enabled` and per-page via `showFooter: true/false` frontmatter.
**Social footer:** Display social icons and copyright below the main footer. Configure via `siteConfig.socialFooter`. Control visibility per-page via `showSocialFooter: true/false` frontmatter.
**Contact form:** Enable contact forms on any page or post via `contactForm: true` frontmatter. Requires `AGENTMAIL_API_KEY` and `AGENTMAIL_INBOX` environment variables in Convex. See the [Contact Form section](#contact-form-configuration) below.
**AI Agent chat:** The site includes an AI writing assistant (Agent) powered by Anthropic Claude API. Enable Agent on the Write page via `siteConfig.aiChat.enabledOnWritePage` or in the right sidebar on posts/pages using `aiChat: true` frontmatter (requires `rightSidebar: true`). Requires `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable in Convex. See the [AI Agent chat section](#ai-agent-chat) below for setup instructions.
Tag pages are available at `/tags/[tag]` for each tag used in your posts. They display all posts with that tag in a list or card view.
**Related posts:** Individual blog posts show up to 3 related posts in the footer based on shared tags. Posts are sorted by relevance (number of shared tags) then by date. Only appears on blog posts (not static pages).
**Tag links:** Tags in post footers link to their respective tag archive pages.
Your blog includes full text search with Command+K keyboard shortcut.
### Using Search
Press `Command+K` (Mac) or `Ctrl+K` (Windows/Linux) to open the search modal. You can also click the search icon in the top navigation.
**Features:**
- Real-time results as you type
- Keyboard navigation with arrow keys
- Press Enter to select, Escape to close
- Result snippets with context around matches
- Distinguishes between posts and pages with type badges
- Works with all four themes
### How It Works
Search uses Convex full text search indexes on the posts and pages tables. The search queries both title and content fields, deduplicates results, and sorts with title matches first.
Search is automatically available once you deploy. No additional configuration needed.
## Real-time Stats
Your blog includes a real-time analytics page at `/stats`:
- **Active visitors**: See who is currently on your site and which pages they are viewing
- **Total page views**: All-time view count across the site
- **Unique visitors**: Count based on anonymous session IDs
- **Views by page**: Every page and post ranked by view count
Stats update automatically without refreshing. Powered by Convex subscriptions.
How it works:
- Page views are recorded as event records (not counters) to prevent write conflicts
- Active sessions use a heartbeat system (30 second interval)
- Sessions expire after 2 minutes of inactivity
- A cron job cleans up stale sessions every 5 minutes
- No personal data is stored (only anonymous UUIDs)
| `AGENTMAIL_INBOX` | Your AgentMail inbox address |
| `AGENTMAIL_CONTACT_EMAIL` | Optional recipient for contact forms |
**Important:** If environment variables are not configured, users will see an error message when attempting to use newsletter or contact form features: "AgentMail Environment Variables are not configured in production. Please set AGENTMAIL_API_KEY and AGENTMAIL_INBOX."
**Sending newsletters:**
Two modes are available:
1.**Send Post**: Select a blog post to send to all active subscribers
2.**Write Email**: Compose custom content with markdown support
The admin UI shows send results and provides CLI commands as alternatives.
On mobile and tablet screens (under 768px), a hamburger menu provides navigation. The menu slides out from the left with keyboard navigation (Escape to close) and a focus trap for accessibility. It auto-closes when you navigate to a new route.
## Copy Page Dropdown
Each post and page includes a share dropdown with options for AI tools:
**Git push required for AI links:** The "Open in ChatGPT," "Open in Claude," and "Open in Perplexity" options use GitHub raw URLs to fetch content. For these to work, your content must be pushed to GitHub with `git push`. The `npm run sync` command syncs content to Convex for your live site, but AI services fetch directly from GitHub.
A markdown writing page is available at `/write` (not linked in navigation). Use it to draft content before saving to your markdown files.
**Features:**
- Three-column Cursor docs-style layout
- Content type selector (Blog Post or Page) with dynamic frontmatter templates
- Frontmatter field reference with individual copy buttons
- Font switcher (Serif/Sans-serif)
- Theme toggle matching site themes
- Word, line, and character counts
- localStorage persistence for content, type, and font preference
- Works with Grammarly and browser spellcheck
**Workflow:**
1. Go to `yourdomain.com/write`
2. Select content type (Blog Post or Page)
3. Write your content using the frontmatter reference
4. Click "Copy All" to copy the markdown
5. Save to `content/blog/` or `content/pages/`
6. Run `npm run sync` or `npm run sync:prod`
Content is stored in localStorage only and not synced to the database. Refreshing the page preserves your content, but clearing browser data will lose it.
**AI Agent mode:** When `siteConfig.aiChat.enabledOnWritePage` is enabled, a toggle button appears in the Actions section. Clicking it replaces the textarea with the AI Agent chat interface. The page title changes to "Agent" when in chat mode. Requires `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable in Convex. See the [AI Agent chat section](#ai-agent-chat) below for setup instructions.
Enable Agent mode on the Write page via `siteConfig.aiChat.enabledOnWritePage`. When enabled, a toggle button appears in the Actions section. Clicking it replaces the textarea with the Agent chat interface. The page title changes to "Agent" when in chat mode.
**Configuration:**
```typescript
// src/config/siteConfig.ts
aiChat: {
enabledOnWritePage: true, // Enable Agent toggle on /write page
enabledOnContent: true, // Allow Agent on posts/pages via frontmatter
},
```
**2. Right sidebar on posts/pages**
Enable Agent in the right sidebar on individual posts or pages using the `aiChat` frontmatter field. Requires both `rightSidebar: true` and `siteConfig.aiChat.enabledOnContent: true`.
If an API key is not configured for a provider, Agent displays a user-friendly setup message with instructions when you try to use that model. Only configure the API keys for providers you want to use.
The Dashboard at `/dashboard` provides a centralized UI for managing content, configuring the site, and performing sync operations. It's designed for developers who fork the repository to set up and manage their markdown blog.
**Access:** Navigate to `/dashboard` in your browser. The dashboard is not linked in the navigation by default.
**Authentication:** WorkOS authentication is optional. Configure it in `siteConfig.ts`:
```typescript
dashboard: {
enabled: true,
requireAuth: false, // Set to true to require WorkOS authentication
},
```
When `requireAuth` is `false`, the dashboard is open access. When `requireAuth` is `true` and WorkOS is configured, users must log in to access the dashboard. See [How to setup WorkOS](https://www.markdown.fast/how-to-setup-workos) for authentication setup.
**Key Features:**
- **Content Management:** Posts and Pages list views with filtering, search, pagination, and items per page selector
- **Post/Page Editor:** Markdown editor with live preview, draggable/resizable frontmatter sidebar, download markdown
- **Write Post/Page:** Full-screen writing interface with markdown editor and frontmatter reference
- **AI Agent:** Dedicated AI chat section separate from Write page
- **Newsletter Management:** All Newsletter Admin features integrated (subscribers, send newsletter, write email, recent sends, email stats)
- **Content Import:** Firecrawl import UI for importing external URLs as markdown drafts
- **Site Configuration:** Config Generator UI for all `siteConfig.ts` settings
- **Index HTML Editor:** View and edit `index.html` content
- **Analytics:** Real-time stats dashboard (always accessible in dashboard)
- **Sync Commands:** UI with buttons for all sync operations (sync, sync:discovery, sync:all for dev and prod)
- **Sync Server:** Execute sync commands directly from dashboard with real-time output
- **Header Sync Buttons:** Quick sync buttons in dashboard header for `npm run sync:all` (dev and prod)
**Sync Commands Available:**
-`npm run sync` - Sync markdown content (development)
-`npm run sync:prod` - Sync markdown content (production)
-`npm run sync:discovery` - Update discovery files (development)
-`npm run sync:discovery:prod` - Update discovery files (production)
-`npm run sync:all` - Sync content + discovery files (development)
-`npm run sync:all:prod` - Sync content + discovery files (production)
-`npm run sync-server` - Start local HTTP server for executing commands from dashboard
**Sync Server:**
The dashboard can execute sync commands directly without opening a terminal. Start the sync server:
```bash
npm run sync-server
```
This starts a local HTTP server on `localhost:3001` that:
- Executes sync commands when requested from the dashboard
- Streams output in real-time to the dashboard terminal view
- Shows server status (online/offline) in the dashboard
- Supports optional token authentication via `SYNC_TOKEN` environment variable
- Only executes whitelisted commands for security
When the sync server is running, the dashboard shows "Execute" buttons that run commands directly. When offline, buttons show commands in a modal for copying to your terminal.
The dashboard provides a UI for these commands, but you can also run them directly from the terminal. See the [Dashboard documentation](/docs#dashboard) for complete details.
Your blog is now live with real-time updates, SEO optimization, and AI-friendly APIs. Every time you sync new posts, they appear immediately without redeploying.
## MCP Server
Your site includes an HTTP-based Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI tool integration.
**Endpoint:** `https://your-site.netlify.app/mcp`
The MCP server runs 24/7 on Netlify Edge Functions and allows AI assistants like Cursor and Claude Desktop to access your blog content programmatically. No local machine required.
**Features:**
- Public access with rate limiting (50 req/min per IP)
- Optional API key for higher limits (1000 req/min)
