1
0
Fork 0
hugo/docs/content/en/getting-started/usage.md

179 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown

---
title: Basic usage
description: Hugo's command line interface (CLI) is fully featured but simple to use, even for those with limited experience working from the command line.
categories: [getting started]
keywords: [usage,livereload,command,flags]
menu:
docs:
parent: getting-started
weight: 30
weight: 30
toc: true
aliases: [/overview/usage/,/extras/livereload/,/doc/usage/,/usage/]
---
## Test your installation
After [installing] Hugo, test your installation by running:
```sh
hugo version
```
You should see something like:
```text
hugo v0.123.0-3c8a4713908e48e6523f058ca126710397aa4ed5+extended linux/amd64 BuildDate=2024-02-19T16:32:38Z VendorInfo=gohugoio
```
## Display available commands
To see a list of the available commands and flags:
```sh
hugo help
```
To get help with a subcommand, use the `--help` flag. For example:
```sh
hugo server --help
```
## Build your site
To build your site, `cd` into your project directory and run:
```sh
hugo
```
The [`hugo`] command builds your site, publishing the files to the `public` directory. To publish your site to a different directory, use the [`--destination`] flag or set [`publishDir`] in your site configuration.
{{% note %}}
Hugo does not clear the `public` directory before building your site. Existing files are overwritten, but not deleted. This behavior is intentional to prevent the inadvertent removal of files that you may have added to the `public` directory after the build.
Depending on your needs, you may wish to manually clear the contents of the `public` directory before every build.
{{% /note %}}
## Draft, future, and expired content
Hugo allows you to set `draft`, `date`, `publishDate`, and `expiryDate` in the [front matter] of your content. By default, Hugo will not publish content when:
- The `draft` value is `true`
- The `date` is in the future
- The `publishDate` is in the future
- The `expiryDate` is in the past
{{< new-in 0.123.0 >}}
{{% note %}}
Hugo publishes descendants of draft, future, and expired [node](g) pages. To prevent publication of these descendants, use the [`cascade`] front matter field to cascade [build options] to the descendant pages.
[build options]: /content-management/build-options/
[`cascade`]: /content-management/front-matter/#cascade-field
{{% /note %}}
You can override the default behavior when running `hugo` or `hugo server` with command line flags:
```sh
hugo --buildDrafts # or -D
hugo --buildExpired # or -E
hugo --buildFuture # or -F
```
Although you can also set these values in your site configuration, it can lead to unwanted results unless all content authors are aware of, and understand, the settings.
{{% note %}}
As noted above, Hugo does not clear the `public` directory before building your site. Depending on the _current_ evaluation of the four conditions above, after the build your `public` directory may contain extraneous files from a previous build.
A common practice is to manually clear the contents of the `public` directory before each build to remove draft, expired, and future content.
{{% /note %}}
## Develop and test your site
To view your site while developing layouts or creating content, `cd` into your project directory and run:
```sh
hugo server
```
The [`hugo server`] command builds your site and serves your pages using a minimal HTTP server. When you run `hugo server` it will display the URL of your local site:
```text
Web Server is available at http://localhost:1313/
```
While the server is running, it watches your project directory for changes to assets, configuration, content, data, layouts, translations, and static files. When it detects a change, the server rebuilds your site and refreshes your browser using [LiveReload].
Most Hugo builds are so fast that you may not notice the change unless you are looking directly at your browser.
### LiveReload
While the server is running, Hugo injects JavaScript into the generated HTML pages. The LiveReload script creates a connection from the browser to the server via web sockets. You do not need to install any software or browser plugins, nor is any configuration required.
### Automatic redirection
When editing content, if you want your browser to automatically redirect to the page you last modified, run:
```sh
hugo server --navigateToChanged
```
## Deploy your site
{{% note %}}
As noted above, Hugo does not clear the `public` directory before building your site. Manually clear the contents of the `public` directory before each build to remove draft, expired, and future content.
{{% /note %}}
When you are ready to deploy your site, run:
```sh
hugo
```
This builds your site, publishing the files to the `public` directory. The directory structure will look something like this:
```text
public/
├── categories/
│ ├── index.html
│ └── index.xml <-- RSS feed for this section
├── posts/
│ ├── my-first-post/
│ │ └── index.html
│ ├── index.html
│ └── index.xml <-- RSS feed for this section
├── tags/
│ ├── index.html
│ └── index.xml <-- RSS feed for this section
├── index.html
├── index.xml <-- RSS feed for the site
└── sitemap.xml
```
In a simple hosting environment, where you typically `ftp`, `rsync`, or `scp` your files to the root of a virtual host, the contents of the `public` directory are all that you need.
Most of our users deploy their sites using a CI/CD workflow, where a push[^1] to their GitHub or GitLab repository triggers a build and deployment. Popular providers include [AWS Amplify], [CloudCannon], [Cloudflare Pages], [GitHub Pages], [GitLab Pages], and [Netlify].
Learn more in the [hosting and deployment] section.
[^1]: The Git repository contains the entire project directory, typically excluding the `public` directory because the site is built _after_ the push.
[`--destination`]: /commands/hugo/#options
[`hugo server`]: /commands/hugo_server/
[`hugo`]: /commands/hugo/
[`publishDir`]: /getting-started/configuration/#publishdir
[AWS Amplify]: https://aws.amazon.com/amplify/
[CloudCannon]: https://cloudcannon.com/
[Cloudflare Pages]: https://pages.cloudflare.com/
[commands]: /commands/
[front matter]: /content-management/front-matter/
[GitHub Pages]: https://pages.github.com/
[GitLab Pages]: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/pages/
[hosting and deployment]: /hosting-and-deployment/
[hosting]: /hosting-and-deployment/
[installing]: /installation/
[LiveReload]: https://github.com/livereload/livereload-js
[Netlify]: https://www.netlify.com/