Host Your Own Blog

Hosting a blog with Jekyll using GitHub Actions is a powerful way to automate your static site deployment to GitHub Pages. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you do just that.

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✅ Prerequisites

1. GitHub repository (<your-username>/<your-repo>)
2. Jekyll blog source code (use jekyll new or clone an existing theme)
3. GitHub Pages enabled in the repository settings
4. Optional: A custom domain set up via DNS

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🧱 Directory Structure

Make sure your repo has the Jekyll site source in the root or a specific folder (src, etc.):

.
├── _config.yml
├── _posts/
├── index.md
├── ...
└── .github/
    └── workflows/
        └── jekyll.yml

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⚙️ GitHub Actions Workflow

Create .github/workflows/jekyll.yml with this content:

name: Build and Deploy Jekyll Blog

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main  # or 'master' if that's your default

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Ruby
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.1  # or your desired version
          bundler-cache: true

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: |
          gem install bundler
          bundle install

      - name: Build Site
        run: bundle exec jekyll build

      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v4
        with:
          github_token: $
          publish_dir: ./_site

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📦 Gemfile

Make sure you have the necessary dependencies in your Gemfile:

source "https://rubygems.org"
gem "jekyll"
gem "github-pages", group: :jekyll_plugins

Then run:

bundle install

Commit the Gemfile.lock.

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🌐 GitHub Pages Settings

1. Go to your repo: Settings → Pages
2. Source: Select GitHub Actions as the build and deployment method

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🌍 Optional: Use a Custom Domain

If using a custom domain:

• Create a CNAME file in the root of your repo with your domain name.
• Ensure DNS is pointed to GitHub Pages servers (e.g., yourusername.github.io CNAME or A records).

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🧪 Test Locally

Before pushing, run locally:

bundle exec jekyll serve

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🚀 Push and Watch

Push to the main branch and watch the Actions tab for your deployment to go live.

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