name	shrimple-website-development
description	Specifies how to develop websites using `shrimple` website generator.
compatibility	Requires shrimple installed via Cargo

shrimple website generation guide

shrimple compiles .html and .md files into a static website. Run it as:

shrimple -o dist index.html

Write shrimple HTML, not plain HTML

Skip all boilerplate — no <!DOCTYPE>, <html>, <head>, <body>, or <meta charset>. The compiler inserts them automatically. Just write your content:

<title>My Site</>
<link rel=stylesheet href=style.css />

# Hello, World
Welcome to my site.

Close tags by omitting the element name — </> instead of </div>, etc. This is preferred throughout.

Omit quotes around attribute values if the value doesn't have whitespace, /> or >

Mix Markdown and HTML freely

All text nodes support Markdown (CommonMark + extras). Use Markdown for prose and HTML for structure:

<article>
    # Section Title

    Some **bold** and *italic* text, plus ~strikethroughs~.

    | Col A | Col B |
    |-------|-------|
    | 1     | 2     |
</article>

Use HTML when you need semantic tags or attributes; use Markdown for everything else.

Use `$` for variables and Lua expressions

Set and use variables with $:

$(SITE_NAME = "Acme Corp")
<title>$SITE_NAME</>
<h1>Welcome to $SITE_NAME</>

Run arbitrary Lua inline with $(...):

<p>Page built on $(os.date("%Y-%m-%d"))</>
<div class="$(is_home and 'hero' or 'page')">...</>

Variables work inside attribute strings too:

<div class="card $EXTRA_CLASS">...</>

Define and reuse templates

Use <$template> to create reusable components. Reference them as <$NAME>:

<$template name=Card $title $href $desc="No description">
    <article class=card>
        ## [$title]($href)
        $desc
    </>
</>

<$Card title=Intro href=/about desc="Learn more about us" />
<$Card title=Blog href=/blog />

Templates that wrap other content use acceptsChildren and <$children />:

<$template name=Section $heading acceptsChildren>
    <section>
        ## $heading
        <$children />
    </>
</>

<$Section heading=Features>
    - Fast
    - Simple
    - Shrimple
</>

Iterate directories with `<$foreach>`

Loop over files in a directory to generate repeated sections automatically:

<$foreach $POST in dir=posts>
    <a href=$POST>Post $(index + 1)</>
</>

Files are visited in alphabetical order. index is 0-based.

Use `<$raw>` to render code examples

Wrap HTML snippets you want displayed as literal text:

<$raw code class=snippet>
    <b>This won't be rendered as bold</>
</>

Register and reference assets

Any ref attribute (href, src, action) automatically registers the file as an asset and copies it to the output:

<img src=logo.png />
<script src=app.js></>
<a href=about>About</a>       <!-- .html is assumed -->
<a href=/>Home</a>             <!-- resolves to index.html -->

Force template expansion (so $ variables work) with $template:

<link $template href=vars.css />

Capture the output path to a variable with $var:

<link $var=LOGO_PATH href=logo.png />
<meta property="og:image" content=$LOGO_PATH />

Cache a remote file locally with $cached:

<img $cached src=https://example.com/banner.jpg />

CSS is a template by default

.css files support $VAR and $(...) out of the box — no extra setup needed:

/* style.css */
$(PRIMARY = "#4f46e5")
body { background: $PRIMARY; }
a    { color: $(PRIMARY); }

Keep content files clean with `$wrapIn`

Don't put navbars, footers, or other shared layout markup inside content files. Define that structure once as a template, then attach it to a ref attribute with $wrapIn so the content file stays pure content:

<$template name=withNavBar acceptsChildren>
    <nav>...</>
    <$children />
</>
 
<a $wrapIn=withNavBar href=post.html>A post</>

The template named in $wrapIn must accept children and have no required parameters. Reach for this whenever a page is mostly content but still needs to live inside a shared layout — it keeps content files DRY and separates structure/presentation concerns from the content itself, which matters most as a site grows or multiple files share the same layout.

Checklist when writing a site

Skip all HTML boilerplate — let the compiler add it
Use </> to close every tag
Write prose and lists in Markdown; use HTML only for structure
Define shared layouts/components as <$template>
Use <$foreach> for any list driven by files (posts, products, team members…)
Synchronise HTML & CSS by urilising $ variables
Cache any external images or fonts with $cached
Omit .html from internal links

See the documentation for more details.

name	shrimple-website-development
description	Specifies how to develop websites using `shrimple` website generator.
compatibility	Requires shrimple installed via Cargo

shrimple website generation guide

shrimple compiles .html and .md files into a static website. Run it as:

shrimple -o dist index.html

Write shrimple HTML, not plain HTML

Skip all boilerplate — no <!DOCTYPE>, <html>, <head>, <body>, or <meta charset>. The compiler inserts them automatically. Just write your content:

<title>My Site</>
<link rel=stylesheet href=style.css />

# Hello, World
Welcome to my site.

Close tags by omitting the element name — </> instead of </div>, etc. This is preferred throughout.

Omit quotes around attribute values if the value doesn't have whitespace, /> or >

Mix Markdown and HTML freely

All text nodes support Markdown (CommonMark + extras). Use Markdown for prose and HTML for structure:

<article>
    # Section Title

    Some **bold** and *italic* text, plus ~strikethroughs~.

    | Col A | Col B |
    |-------|-------|
    | 1     | 2     |
</article>

Use HTML when you need semantic tags or attributes; use Markdown for everything else.

Use `$` for variables and Lua expressions

Set and use variables with $:

$(SITE_NAME = "Acme Corp")
<title>$SITE_NAME</>
<h1>Welcome to $SITE_NAME</>

Run arbitrary Lua inline with $(...):

<p>Page built on $(os.date("%Y-%m-%d"))</>
<div class="$(is_home and 'hero' or 'page')">...</>

Variables work inside attribute strings too:

<div class="card $EXTRA_CLASS">...</>

Define and reuse templates

Use <$template> to create reusable components. Reference them as <$NAME>:

<$template name=Card $title $href $desc="No description">
    <article class=card>
        ## [$title]($href)
        $desc
    </>
</>

<$Card title=Intro href=/about desc="Learn more about us" />
<$Card title=Blog href=/blog />

Templates that wrap other content use acceptsChildren and <$children />:

<$template name=Section $heading acceptsChildren>
    <section>
        ## $heading
        <$children />
    </>
</>

<$Section heading=Features>
    - Fast
    - Simple
    - Shrimple
</>

Iterate directories with `<$foreach>`

Loop over files in a directory to generate repeated sections automatically:

<$foreach $POST in dir=posts>
    <a href=$POST>Post $(index + 1)</>
</>

Files are visited in alphabetical order. index is 0-based.

Use `<$raw>` to render code examples

Wrap HTML snippets you want displayed as literal text:

<$raw code class=snippet>
    <b>This won't be rendered as bold</>
</>

Register and reference assets

Any ref attribute (href, src, action) automatically registers the file as an asset and copies it to the output:

<img src=logo.png />
<script src=app.js></>
<a href=about>About</a>       <!-- .html is assumed -->
<a href=/>Home</a>             <!-- resolves to index.html -->

Force template expansion (so $ variables work) with $template:

<link $template href=vars.css />

Capture the output path to a variable with $var:

<link $var=LOGO_PATH href=logo.png />
<meta property="og:image" content=$LOGO_PATH />

Cache a remote file locally with $cached:

<img $cached src=https://example.com/banner.jpg />

CSS is a template by default

.css files support $VAR and $(...) out of the box — no extra setup needed:

/* style.css */
$(PRIMARY = "#4f46e5")
body { background: $PRIMARY; }
a    { color: $(PRIMARY); }

Keep content files clean with `$wrapIn`

<$template name=withNavBar acceptsChildren>
    <nav>...</>
    <$children />
</>
 
<a $wrapIn=withNavBar href=post.html>A post</>

Checklist when writing a site

Skip all HTML boilerplate — let the compiler add it
Use </> to close every tag
Write prose and lists in Markdown; use HTML only for structure
Define shared layouts/components as <$template>
Use <$foreach> for any list driven by files (posts, products, team members…)
Synchronise HTML & CSS by urilising $ variables
Cache any external images or fonts with $cached
Omit .html from internal links

See the documentation for more details.

shrimple-website-development

shrimple website generation guide

Write shrimple HTML, not plain HTML

Mix Markdown and HTML freely

Use $ for variables and Lua expressions

Define and reuse templates

Iterate directories with <$foreach>

Use <$raw> to render code examples

Register and reference assets

CSS is a template by default

Keep content files clean with $wrapIn

Checklist when writing a site

shrimple website generation guide

Write shrimple HTML, not plain HTML

Mix Markdown and HTML freely

Use $ for variables and Lua expressions

Define and reuse templates

Iterate directories with <$foreach>

Use <$raw> to render code examples

Register and reference assets

CSS is a template by default

Keep content files clean with $wrapIn

Checklist when writing a site

Use `$` for variables and Lua expressions

Iterate directories with `<$foreach>`

Use `<$raw>` to render code examples

Keep content files clean with `$wrapIn`

Use `$` for variables and Lua expressions

Iterate directories with `<$foreach>`

Use `<$raw>` to render code examples

Keep content files clean with `$wrapIn`