Markdown-Powered Workflows

Markdown is more than a formatting syntax — it's a workflow tool. When your content lives in .md files with structured frontmatter, you unlock powerful automation and collaboration patterns.

Frontmatter as Metadata

Every markdown file in this project carries YAML frontmatter:

---
title: My Post
Short-URI: my-post
Type: post
Category: Tutorials
Labels:
  - htmx
  - beginner
Parent: blog
Order: 1
Author: Jane Developer
Date: 2026-02-01
Description: A short summary for SEO and previews
Keywords:
  - htmx
  - tutorial
---

This frontmatter drives the entire site:

  • Navigation is auto-generated from Parent and Order fields
  • Category indexes group posts by Category
  • Label clouds aggregate all Labels across posts
  • Breadcrumbs follow the Parent hierarchy
  • SEO uses Description and Keywords

Workflow Patterns

1. Draft → Review → Publish

Use a simple naming convention or frontmatter flag:

---
title: Work in Progress
Status: draft       # Not built until changed to "published"
---

Your build script can filter by status, keeping drafts out of production.

2. Content Calendar

Since every post has a Date field, you can generate a content calendar from your markdown files:

2026-02-01  Getting Started with HTMX        (Tutorials)
2026-01-28  Tailwind Component Patterns       (Tutorials)
2026-01-20  Static Sites Are Back             (Deep Dives)
2026-01-15  Markdown-Powered Workflows        (Tips & Tricks)

3. Multi-Author Attribution

The Author field supports attribution without a database:

  • Each post credits its author
  • You could generate author pages by grouping posts by Author
  • Author bios live in their own markdown files

4. Cross-Referencing with Short-URIs

The Short-URI field gives each page a stable, human-readable identifier. Use it for internal linking that survives file renames:

Check out the [HTMX tutorial](/getting-started-htmx) for a hands-on introduction.

Labels vs Categories

This project distinguishes between categories and labels:

Aspect Category Labels
Cardinality One per page Many per page
Purpose Primary classification Tags, topics, themes
Hierarchy Top-level grouping Flat cross-cutting concerns
Example "Tutorials" "htmx", "beginner", "css"

Categories answer "What kind of content is this?"
Labels answer "What topics does it touch?"

Automating with the Build

Because all metadata is machine-readable YAML, the build system can:

  1. Generate index pages — One page per category, listing all matching posts
  2. Build label clouds — Show all labels with post counts
  3. Create RSS feeds — Pull title, date, description, and content from each post
  4. Validate structure — Ensure every post has required fields
  5. Sort and paginate — Order by date, group by category, paginate long lists

Takeaway

Markdown + frontmatter gives you a lightweight CMS that lives in your git repo. No database, no admin panel, no vendor lock-in — just files you can read, diff, and version control.

Keep it simple. If a spreadsheet can describe your content model, markdown can power it.