makesite: Build a Static Site Generator in Python

Overview

makesite is a lightweight static site generator built on Python, designed for coders who want to generate a website or blog without a larger framework's hidden conventions. Its central idea is that the generator's plain Python code is both the configuration and the documentation, so you can inspect and modify how the site is built.

The repository includes an example site with static pages, two blogs, and RSS feeds. Run the script to produce static files in _site, then publish those files with a web server or hosting service. The project aims to be a starter kit to customize, rather than a feature-rich generator with a broad configuration system.

Key Features

• Generates static pages and blog posts from content files.
• Builds blog listing pages with posts in reverse chronological order.
• Produces RSS feeds from blog posts.
• Uses simple {{ key }} placeholders and HTML-comment headers for template parameters.
• Supports HTML content and Markdown rendering through the optional commonmark package.
• Copies static assets into the generated _site directory.
• Keeps the generator compact and directly editable in Python.

Use Cases

• A Python coder who wants a small personal blog generator they can understand and adapt.
• A developer making a basic static website who prefers editing Python and HTML over learning a larger generator's configuration system.
• Someone learning how static site generators work, using the compact source as a starting point for a custom tool.
• A site owner who wants generated files to host independently of the generator at deployment time.

Getting Started

Run make serve for the example site, or run python3 makesite.py and serve the generated _site directory. Install commonmark if you want the example Markdown posts rendered. See the README for setup and customization details.

Alternatives

• pelican: Pelican is a fuller Python generator with themes, plugins, and support for Markdown and reStructuredText content.
• hugo: Hugo is a Go-based generator with a template-driven workflow and fast builds for blogs, documentation, and multilingual sites.
• lektor: Lektor adds a built-in admin interface and desktop app for managing content in a Python static-site workflow.
• nikola: Nikola is a Python generator with broader content-format, theme, and plugin support for websites and blogs.

Considerations

The repository has had no commits in over three years and no releases in the past year, and it is marked inactive. That means adopters should expect to handle compatibility fixes or feature changes themselves; the README also says the project does not plan to add features such as Jinja templates or YAML front matter. Markdown rendering depends on the optional commonmark package, while the core generator is plain Python. The MIT license permits modification and redistribution, subject to retaining its license text and original copyright notice.