features content collections

Content Collections

Jekyll collections are groups of related content that share a common structure. This site defines several collections in _config.yml, each with its own directory, frontmatter schema, and output behavior.

Collections Reference

Collection	Directory	Layout	Output	Description
posts	_posts/	post	yes	Blog posts (built-in Jekyll collection)
projects	_projects/	page	yes	Portfolio project cards
news	_news/	post (default)	yes	Announcements displayed on the homepage
books	_books/	book-review	yes	Book reviews with ratings and metadata
teachings	_teachings/	course	yes	Course pages with weekly schedules

The collection configuration in _config.yml:

collections:
  books:
    output: true
  news:
    defaults:
      layout: post
    output: true
  projects:
    output: true
  teachings:
    output: true

Posts (Blog)

See Blog for full details. Files live in _posts/ and follow the naming convention YYYY-MM-DD-title.md.

Frontmatter example:

---
layout: post
title: my post title
date: 2026-05-30 12:00:00
description: a brief description
tags: [tag1, tag2]
categories: [category1]
---

Projects

Project files in _projects/ use the page layout and render as project cards on the projects page. Cards are arranged in a masonry grid when enable_masonry: true is set.

Frontmatter example (from _projects/chess-engine.md):

---
layout: page
title: Chess Engine
description: A basic chess engine with minimax and alpha-beta pruning.
importance: 4
date: 2024-12-05
category: fun
---

Key fields:

• importance — Controls sort order on the projects page (higher = shown first).
• category — Groups projects into filterable categories when enable_project_categories: true.
• redirect — Optionally redirect to an external URL instead of rendering content.

News

News items in _news/ are displayed as announcements on the homepage. Two styles are supported:

Inline announcement (short, no title):

---
layout: post
date: 2015-10-22 15:59:00-0400
inline: true
related_posts: false
---
A simple inline announcement.

Full announcement (with title and body):

---
layout: post
title: A long announcement with details
date: 2015-11-07 16:11:00-0400
inline: false
related_posts: false
---
Full markdown content here...

Configuration in _config.yml:

announcements:
  enabled: true
  scrollable: true  # adds scroll bar if more than 3 items
  limit: 5          # max items shown (blank = all)

Books

Book review files in _books/ use the book-review layout. They support cover images, Open Library IDs, ISBN lookups, ratings, and reading status tracking.

Frontmatter example (from _books/the_godfather.md):

---
layout: book-review
title: The Godfather
author: Mario Puzo
cover: assets/img/book_covers/the_godfather.jpg
olid: OL43499941M
isbn: 7539967447
categories: classics crime historical-fiction mystery novels thriller
tags: top-100
buy_link: https://www.amazon.com/...
date: 2024-08-23
started: 2024-08-23
finished: 2024-09-07
released: 1969
stars: 5
goodreads_review: 6318556633
status: Finished
---

Key fields:

• cover — Path to a local cover image. If omitted, the theme fetches one from Open Library using olid or isbn.
• stars — Rating from 1 to 5.
• status — Reading status (e.g., Finished, Reading, To Read).
• categories / tags — Used for archive filtering via jekyll-archives.

Teachings

Course files in _teachings/ use the course layout and render a structured weekly schedule with linked materials.

Frontmatter example (from _teachings/data-science-fundamentals.md):

---
layout: course
title: Data Science Fundamentals
description: Foundational aspects of data science...
instructor: Prof. Data
year: 2024
term: Spring
location: Science Building, Room 202
time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00-3:30 PM
course_id: data-science-fundamentals
schedule:
  - week: 1
    date: Feb 5
    topic: Introduction to Data Science
    description: Overview of the data science workflow.
    materials:
      - name: Syllabus
        url: /assets/pdf/example_pdf.pdf
      - name: Slides
        url: /assets/pdf/example_pdf.pdf
  # ... more weeks
---

Key fields:

• schedule — Array of weekly entries, each with week, date, topic, description, and materials.
• materials — Array of {name, url} objects linking to lecture slides, assignments, etc.

Adding a New Entry

1. Create a new .md file in the appropriate collection directory.
2. Add the required frontmatter fields (see examples above).
3. Write the content body in Markdown below the frontmatter.
4. Build and verify locally: docker compose up --build.

Related Pages

• Blog — Detailed blog post format and features
• Theming and Styling — How layouts relate to SCSS
• Publications — Bibliography collection via Jekyll Scholar