Getting started

FilePress is published on npm as getfilepress. The CLI bins are filepress and getfilepress (same script). You need Node.js 20+ and pnpm.

Scaffold a site

From a clone of the filepress engine:

pnpm install
pnpm create-site my-blog --external ../my-blog \
  --title "My Blog" \
  --url https://my.blog

cd ../my-blog
pnpm install
pnpm dev      # local preview
pnpm build    # → build/

The site folder stays content-only:

• filepress.config.ts — title, URL, nav, topics, optional homePage
• posts/ — dated Markdown posts (/posts/<slug>)
• pages/ — evergreen Markdown pages (about.md → /about)
• static/ — favicon, images, logo
• theme.css — optional Essay overrides
• package.json — depends on "getfilepress": "link:../filepress" locally

Config

import { defineFilepressConfig } from 'getfilepress';

export default defineFilepressConfig({
  title: 'My Blog',
  description: 'Notes and essays.',
  url: 'https://my.blog',
  author: 'Me',
  tagline: 'Ends before means.',
  topics: [{ label: 'Essays', tag: 'essays' }]
});

title and url are required. Missing values fail the build with a clear error.

For a product-style home (static page at /, posts at /writing), set homePage: 'home' and add pages/home.md — this site does exactly that.

Commands

Command	What it does
filepress dev	Dev server + Genie FAB
filepress build	Static build/
filepress preview	Serve the build (no Genie)
filepress check	Type-check against the site

In the engine monorepo, pass --site <name> (for example --site getfilepress). Sibling sites use cwd mode — no --site flag.

Next

• Import an existing site: Import
• Tune look and feel in dev: Genie
• Walkthrough posts: Writing