Web Intermediate Reviewed syntax

Static Site Pipeline

Compile each Markdown page into HTML, then rebuild a shared index from the generated output. This example is small on purpose: it shows `glob`, `foreach`, and a script-backed target without hiding the graph.

Back to Examples Rules & Targets

Directory Structure

site-example/
  • pages/
  • index.md
  • about.md
  • site/
  • Netsukefile

The manifest reads Markdown from pages/, writes HTML into site/, then synthesises an index page from the same sources.

Why it matters

This is the design-doc workflow in miniature: templating resolves first, then Netsuke turns an explicit file graph into Ninja rules.

Annotated Manifest

examples/website.yml
netsuke_version: "1.0.0"

vars:
  pages_dir: pages
  site_dir: site
  pages:
    - about
    - contact

rules:
  - name: page
    command: "pandoc {{ ins }} -o {{ outs }}"

  - name: index
    command: "pandoc --standalone {{ ins }} -o {{ outs }}"

targets:
  - name: "{{ site_dir }}"
    command: "mkdir -p {{ outs }}"

  - foreach: pages
    name: "{{ site_dir }}/{{ item }}.html"
    rule: page
    sources: "{{ pages_dir }}/{{ item }}.md"
    order_only_deps: "{{ site_dir }}"

  - name: "{{ site_dir }}/index.html"
    rule: index
    sources:
      - "{{ pages_dir }}/about.md"
      - "{{ pages_dir }}/contact.md"
    order_only_deps: "{{ site_dir }}"

defaults:
  - site/index.html
  - site/about.html
  - site/contact.html
1

`foreach` expands the page set

The target list comes from the `pages` variable, so each Markdown file becomes one `.html` output without duplicating the rule block. Discovery with `glob(pages_dir ~ '/*.md')` works too when the page set should track the filesystem.

2

`order_only_deps` sequences the output directory

Every page target names `{{ site_dir }}` as an order-only dependency: the directory is created first, but touching it never triggers page rebuilds.

3

Defaults name the deployable artefact

Running `netsuke` with no target builds `site/index.html`, not an abstract package target.

Running the Build

Terminal
$ netsuke build
[1/4] mkdir -p site
[2/4] pandoc pages/about.md -o site/about.html
[3/4] pandoc pages/contact.md -o site/contact.html
[4/4] pandoc --standalone pages/about.md pages/contact.md -o site/index.html

Build Flow

1. Declare

List the page names once in `vars.pages`.

2. Expand

`foreach` creates one `page` target per entry.

3. Render

Invoke Pandoc for each Markdown page.

4. Assemble

Build `site/index.html` from the source pages with `pandoc --standalone`.