Follow the instructions in the [Jekyll Docs](https://jekyllrb.com/docs/installation/) to complete the installation of `Ruby`, `RubyGems`, `Jekyll`, and `Bundler`.
- [**Using the Chirpy Starter**](#option-1-using-the-chirpy-starter) - Easy to upgrade, isolates irrelevant project files so you can focus on writing.
- [**Forking on GitHub**](#option-2-forking-on-github) - Convenient for custom development, but difficult to upgrade. Unless you are familiar with Jekyll and are determined to tweak or contribute to this project, this approach is not recommended.
Create a new repository from the [**Chirpy Starter**][use-starter] and name it `<GH_USERNAME>.github.io`, where `GH_USERNAME` represents your GitHub username.
[Fork **Chirpy**](https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy/fork) on GitHub and rename it to `<GH_USERNAME>.github.io`. Please note that the default branch code is in development. If you want the site to be stable, please switch to the [latest tag][latest-tag] and start writing.
2. If the option `--no-gh` is provided, the directory `.github` will be deleted. Otherwise, set up the GitHub Action workflow by removing the extension `.hook` of `.github/workflows/pages-deploy.yml.hook`, and then remove the other files and directories in the folder `.github`.
If you need to customize the stylesheet, copy the theme's `assets/css/style.scss` to the same path on your Jekyll site, and then add the custom style at the end of the style file.
Starting from [`v4.1.0`][chirpy-4.1.0], if you want to overwrite the SASS variables defined in `_sass/addon/variables.scss`, create a new file `_sass/variables-hook.scss` and assign new values to the target variable in it.
Before the deployment begins, check out the file `_config.yml` and make sure the `url` is configured correctly. Furthermore, if you prefer the [**project site**](https://help.github.com/en/github/working-with-github-pages/about-github-pages#types-of-github-pages-sites) and don't use a custom domain, or you want to visit your website with a base URL on a web server other than **GitHub Pages**, remember to change the `baseurl` to your project name that starts with a slash, e.g, `/project-name`.
For security reasons, GitHub Pages build runs on `safe` mode, which restricts us from using plugins to generate additional page files. Therefore, we can use **GitHub Actions** to build the site, store the built site files on a new branch, and use that branch as the source of the GitHub Pages service.
- Ensure your Jekyll site has the file `.github/workflows/pages-deploy.yml`. Otherwise, create a new one and fill in the contents of the [sample file][workflow], and the value of the `on.push.branches` should be the same as your repo's default branch name.
- Ensure your Jekyll site has file `tools/deploy.sh`. Otherwise, copy it from here to your Jekyll site.
- Furthermore, if you have committed `Gemfile.lock` to the repo, and your runtime system is not Linux, don't forget to update the platform list in the lock file:
1. Push any commit to remote to trigger the GitHub Actions workflow. Once the build is complete and successful, a new remote branch named `gh-pages` will appear to store the built site files.
2. Browse to your repository on GitHub. Select the tab _Settings_, then click _Pages_ in the left navigation bar, and then in the section **Source** of _GitHub Pages_, select the `/(root)` directory of branch `gh-pages` as the [publishing source][pages-src]. Remember to click <kbd>Save</kbd> before leaving.
On self-hosted servers, you cannot enjoy the convenience of **GitHub Actions**. Therefore, you should build the site on your local machine and then upload the site files to the server.
Unless you specified the output path, the generated site files will be placed in folder `_site` of the project's root directory. Now you should upload those files to the target server.
- If you are using the theme gem (there will be `gem "jekyll-theme-chirpy"` in the `Gemfile`), editing the `Gemfile` and update the version number of the theme gem, for example:
As the version upgrades, the critical files (for details, see the [Startup Template][starter]) and configuration options will change. Please refer to the [Upgrade Guide](https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy/wiki/Upgrade-Guide) to keep your repo's files in sync with the latest version of the theme.
- If you forked from the source project (there will be `gemspec` in the `Gemfile` of your site), then merge the [latest upstream tags][latest-tag] into your Jekyll site to complete the upgrade.
The merge is likely to conflict with your local modifications. Please be patient and careful to resolve these conflicts.
For more details and a better reading experience, please check out the [tutorials on the demo site](https://chirpy.cotes.info/categories/tutorial/). In the meanwhile, a copy of the tutorial is also available on the [Wiki](https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy/wiki). Please note that the tutorials on the demo website or Wiki are based on the latest release, and the features of `master` branch are usually ahead of the documentation.
The old saying, "Two heads are better than one." Consequently, welcome to report bugs, improve code quality or submit a new feature. For more information, see [contributing guidelines](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md).
This theme is mainly built with [Jekyll](https://jekyllrb.com/) ecosystem, [Bootstrap](https://getbootstrap.com/), [Font Awesome](https://fontawesome.com/) and some other wonderful tools (their copyright information can be found in the relevant files). The avatar and favicon design come from [Clipart Max](https://www.clipartmax.com/middle/m2i8b1m2K9Z5m2K9_ant-clipart-childrens-ant-cute/).
:tada: Thanks to all the volunteers who contributed to this project, their GitHub IDs are on [this list](https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy/graphs/contributors). Also, I won't forget those guys who submitted the issues or unmerged PR because they reported bugs, shared ideas or inspired me to write more readable documentation.
If you like this theme or find it helpful, please consider sponsoring me, because it will encourage and help me better maintain the project, I will be very grateful!
[](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/coteschung)
