CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

This is a personal website built with Jekyll and hosted on Netlify. The site serves as Kevin McGillivray’s blog, portfolio, and creative writing platform, featuring posts, artwork, and various creative projects.

Development Commands

Local Development

jekyll serve

Starts the Jekyll development server at http://localhost:4000

Build

npm run build
# or directly:
jekyll build

Builds the site for production. The built site is output to _site/ directory.

Architecture Overview

Jekyll Structure

• Layouts: Found in _layouts/ - includes specialized layouts like diver.html, noble.html for different content types
• Includes: Found in _includes/ - reusable components like navigation, forms, and content sections
• Content Collections:
  • _posts/ - Blog posts (markdown files with YAML front matter)
  • _notes/ - Notes collection (configured in _config.yml)
• Static Assets:
  • css/ - SCSS files compiled by Jekyll
  • js/ - JavaScript files
  • img/ - Images and media

Styling System

• Uses SCSS with modular imports in css/main.scss
• Custom design system with variables in _sass/variables.scss
• Specialized theming for different content types (diver, noble themes)
• Dark mode support using CSS media queries
• Uses Tachyons-inspired utility classes

Content Organization

• Main sections: Home, Archive, About, Paintings & Drawings (external), Newsletter (external)
• Special content areas:
  • word/ - Creative writing projects
  • sketchbook/ - Art galleries
  • code/ - Development projects
  • lane-coaching/ - Coaching content
• Markdown includes: Content is often split into reusable markdown files in _includes/

Configuration

• Jekyll config: _config.yml - site settings, collections, defaults
• Ruby dependencies: Gemfile (minimal - just Jekyll)
• Build config: netlify.toml - Netlify deployment settings
• Package.json: Contains npm build script that runs Jekyll

Deployment

• Hosted on Netlify
• Auto-deploys from master branch
• Build command: npm run build (which runs jekyll build)

Development Notes

• Content uses YAML front matter for metadata and layout specification
• Many pages use custom layouts for different content types
• The site has a rich design system with custom color variables and typography
• Images are often served from Cloudinary CDN
• The site supports multiple languages (language switcher in navigation)