Years ago I set up a small users documentation using Jekyll. Till today that little setup runs flawlessly when I need to add, delete or update content. I only need VS Code and Transmit to get the job done.

I currently run Jekyll version 4.2.0 with macOS native Ruby. I don’t like updating local packages if not absolutely necessary because when updating things almost always break. I tried to switch to the Brew Ruby version but somewhere I’m doing something wrong and it keeps using the OS native one. As long as it’s running fine I’ll leave it be.

My Jekyll setup is minimalist. I use Just the Docs theme and two plugins; jekyll-feed and jekyll-spaceship. Jekyll Spaceship has a lot of features, I use it mostly for embedding video files and YouTube videos.

When done updating I just upload the updated files and assets through FTP with Transmit and done.

I used to use a small script, DPLOY, to upload the updated files. But it would break easily and I would have to reset all the versioning to get it synced and working again. Plus the script is not being maintained anymore, it became easier to just manually upload things. For a small site, it’s no pain or time loss.

Jekyll might not be as popular as in the early days, but it’s still my favourite. Might have to do with the fact that I’m familiar with Ruby and like it more than Javascript. If I have a new small project in the future I might try out 11ty and see if I like the workflow better than Jekyll.