Understand how Bengal organizes content, processes files, and generates sites.
The Build Model
flowchart LR
subgraph Input
A[Content .md]
B[Templates .html]
C[Assets CSS/JS]
end
subgraph Process
D[Discovery]
E[Rendering]
F[Post-process]
end
subgraph Output
G[public/]
end
A --> D
B --> E
C --> F
D --> E --> F --> G
Key Concepts
Mental Model
Your file structure becomes your URL structure:
content/blog/hello.md → /blog/hello/
content/docs/_index.md → /docs/
Templates wrap content in HTML. Bengal provides 80+ template helpers:
page.content + single.html → final HTML
Static files are copied, optimized, and fingerprinted for cache-busting:
assets/css/main.css → public/assets/css/main.a1b2c3.css
Tip
Start simple: Most sites only need pages and a theme. Add sections when you need grouping, leaf bundles when you need co-located assets.
Deep Dives
These concepts are covered in detail in their respective sections:
| Concept | Learn More |
|---|---|
| Content Organization | Content Structure — frontmatter, sections, bundles |
| Templates | Kida Templating — syntax, caching, performance |
| Assets | Asset Pipeline — CSS, JS, images, optimization |
| Build Process | Configuration — profiles, environment settings |
| Output Formats | Output Formats — JSON, LLM text, search index |