Minimal Mistakes now requires [Jekyll](http://jekyllrb.com/) 3.0. Make sure to run `bundle update` if you aren't on the latest version to update all gem dependencies.
3. [Install Bundler](http://bundler.io) `gem install bundler` and Run `bundle install` to install all dependencies (Jekyll, [Jekyll-Sitemap](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-sitemap), [Octopress](https://github.com/octopress/octopress), etc)
3. Run `bundle install` to install all dependencies (Jekyll, [Jekyll-Sitemap](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-sitemap), [Octopress](https://github.com/octopress/octopress), etc)
4. Remove demo posts/pages and replace with your own posts, pages, and any other content you want to move over.
5. Update posts' and pages' YAML to match variables used by Minimal Mistakes. Full details below.
**Pro-tip:** Delete the `gh-pages` branch after cloning and start fresh by branching off `master`. There is a bunch of garbage in `gh-pages` used for the theme's demo site that I'm guessing you won't want.
The preferred method for running Jekyll is with `bundle exec`, but if you're willing to deal gem conflicts feel free to go cowboy with a `jekyll serve` or `jekyll build`.
> In some cases, running executables without bundle exec may work, if the executable happens to be installed in your system and does not pull in any gems that conflict with your bundle.
>
>However, this is unreliable and is the source of considerable pain. Even if it looks like it works, it may not work in the future or on another machine.
How Minimal Mistakes is organized and what the various files are. All posts, layouts, includes, stylesheets, assets, and whatever else is grouped nicely under the root folder. The compiled Jekyll site outputs to `_site/`.
Used to generate absolute urls in `sitemap.xml`, `feed.xml`, and for generating canonical URLs in `<head>`. When developing locally either comment this out or use something like `http://localhost:4000` so all assets load properly. *Don't include a trailing `/`*.
Google Analytics UA and Webmaster Tool verification tags can be entered under `owner` in `_config.yml`. For more information on obtaining these meta tags check [Google Webmaster Tools](http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35179) and [Bing Webmaster Tools](https://ssl.bing.com/webmaster/configure/verify/ownership) support.
### Navigation Links
To set what links appear in the top navigation edit `_data/navigation.yml`. Use the following format to set the URL and title for as many links as you'd like. *External links will open in a new window.*
While completely optional, I've included Octopress and some starter templates to automate the creation of new posts and pages. To take advantage of it start by installing the [Octopress](https://github.com/octopress/octopress) gem if it isn't already.
Default works great if you want all your posts in one directory, but if you're like me and want to group them into subfolders like `/posts`, `/portfolio`, etc. Then this is the command for you. By specifying the DIR it will create a new post in that folder and populate the `categories:` YAML with the same value.
Explanations of the various `_layouts` included with the theme and when to use them.
### Post and Page
These two layouts are very similar. Both have an author sidebar, allow for large feature images at the top, and optional Disqus comments. The only real difference is the post layout includes related posts at the end of the page.
### Post Index Page
A [sample index page]({{ site.url }}/posts/) listing all posts grouped by the year they were published has been provided. The name can be customized to your liking by editing a few references. For example, to change **Posts** to **Writing** update the following:
* Rename `posts/index.md` to `writing/index.md` and update the YAML front matter accordingly.
* Update the **View all posts** link in the `post.html` layout found in `_layouts` to match title and URL set previously.
### Feature Images
A good rule of thumb is to keep feature images nice and wide so you don't push the body text too far down. An image cropped around around 1024 x 256 pixels will keep file size down with an acceptable resolution for most devices. If you want to serve these images responsively I'd suggest looking at the [Jekyll Picture Tag](https://github.com/robwierzbowski/jekyll-picture-tag) plugin[^plugins].
[^plugins]: If you're using GitHub Pages to host your site be aware that plugins are disabled. You'll need to build your site locally and then manually deploy if you want to use this sweet plugin.
The post and page layouts make the assumption that the feature images live in the `images/` folder. To add a feature image to a post or page just include the filename in the front matter like so. It's probably best to host all your images from this folder, but you can hotlink from external sources if you desire.
To add attribution to a feature image use the following YAML front matter on posts or pages. Image credits appear directly below the feature image with a link back to the original source if supplied.
Feature and thumbnail images are used by [Open Graph](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/) and [Twitter Cards](https://dev.twitter.com/docs/cards) as well. If you don't assign a thumbnail the default graphic *(default-thumb.png)* is used. I'd suggest changing this to something more meaningful --- your logo or avatar are good options.
**Pro-Tip**: You need to [apply for Twitter Cards](https://dev.twitter.com/docs/cards) before they will begin showing up when links to your site are shared.
{:.notice}
### Author Override
By making use of data files you can assign different authors for each post.
Start by modifying `authors.yml` file in the `_data` folder and add your authors using the following format.
To include an auto-generated **table of contents** for posts and pages, add the following `_include` before the actual content. [Kramdown will take care of the rest](http://kramdown.rubyforge.org/converter/html.html#toc) and convert all headlines into list of links.
By default the margin below paragraphs has been removed and indent added to each. This is an intentional design decision to mimic the look of type set in a printed book or manuscript.
Video embeds are responsive and scale with the width of the main content block with the help of [FitVids](http://fitvidsjs.com/).
Not sure if this only effects Kramdown or if it's an issue with Markdown in general. But adding YouTube video embeds causes errors when building your Jekyll site. To fix add a space between the `<iframe>` tags and remove `allowfullscreen`. Example below:
Social sharing links for Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are included on posts/pages by default. To hide them on specific posts or pages add `share: false` to the YAML Front Matter. If you'd like to use different social networks modify `_includes/social-share` to your liking. Icons are set using [Font Awesome](http://fontawesome.io).
Jekyll 2.x added support for Sass files making it much easier to modify a theme's fonts and colors. By editing values found in `_sass/variables.scss` you can fine tune the site's colors and typography.
For example if you wanted a red background instead of white you'd change `$bodycolor: #fff;` to `$bodycolor: $cc0033;`.
To modify the site's JavaScript files I setup a Grunt build script to lint/concatenate/minify all scripts into `scripts.min.js`. [Install Node.js](http://nodejs.org/), then [install Grunt](http://gruntjs.com/getting-started), and then finally install the dependencies for the theme contained in `package.json`:
From the theme's root, use `grunt` concatenate JavaScript files, and optimize .jpg, .png, and .svg files in the `images/` folder. You can also use `grunt dev` in combination with `jekyll build --watch` to watch for updates JS files that Grunt will then automatically re-build as you write your code which will in turn auto-generate your Jekyll site when developing locally.
