Getting started
From nothing to a published site in three steps.
1. Install and scaffold
unify runs on Node 22.12+ or Bun 1.2+ (standalone binaries are on the releases page):
npm install -g @fwdslsh/unify
mkdir my-site && cd my-site
unify init
init writes a complete starter into src/: a layout, a nav fragment, an HTML page, a Markdown page, a 404 and a stylesheet. Pass a template name for a different start: unify init blog, docs or portfolio.
2. Edit and preview
unify dev
Open http://localhost:3000. Edit anything under src/, save, and the browser reloads. While it runs, http://localhost:3000/_unify/ lists every finding the audit would report, page by page.
The two files to look at first:
src/_layout.htmlis the site chrome, a complete HTML page with<main><slot></slot></main>where pages land.src/index.htmlis a page. It has its own<head>with a<title>and a description, and its body is the content. It never mentions the layout: the nearest_layout.htmlapplies on its own.
Add a page by adding a file. src/about.md with a title and description in its frontmatter becomes /about.html, wrapped in the same layout.
3. Check and publish
unify build --dry-run --strict # the whole build and every check, writing nothing
unify build # write dist/
Exit 0 means dist/ is the complete site. Anything else means nothing was published and the previous dist/ is untouched. Upload dist/ to any static host.
For a site with an address, add the flags once and keep them in src/unify.yaml so every command shares them:
unify build --pretty-urls --base-url https://example.com/ --canonical auto --save-config
--pretty-urls turns /about.html into /about/ in the output (you still link the real file). --base-url makes share metadata absolute and switches on sitemap.xml and the feed.
Where to go next
How it works covers the composition rules on one page, and Examples shows the patterns this site uses. The complete documentation, including the CLI reference and worked example sites, is at unify.fwdslsh.dev.