JotIt

Super duper totes minimal file-based CMS

Wat?

I started keeping a journal at work, writing down thoughts and things learned on a given day. I default to writing everything in Markdown, and I didn't want to set up a static site generator of some sort for a variety of reasons, so I wrote a very minimal Flask-based CMS that does little more than render GitHub Flavored Markdown.

So, what do I do?

Well, you start by installing JotIt via pip:

pip install jotit

Then you make a file called myawesomejournal.py and place the following in it:

from jotit import JotIt
jotit = JotIt().new_jotit()
jotit.run()

Then you make a file called config.yml and populate it with what you need. Here's a sample configuration:

---
site_name: 'My Awesome Journal'
login_required: True
secret_key: 'somereallylongstringthatshouldbemadeupofrandomcharacters'
users:
    - username: 'foo'
      password_hash: '3b0746488c92b328aec7c1fbd359ea36c304c785139679fec2de43dbbd0a3739badef548de6981f9ace7340d9e0d85bc420eef7864a6af1edf813b535265ce5f'  # This is a sha512 hash for 'wat' (without quotes)

Now make a directory called content/ and place your Markdown files in there. (Note: Only .md files are supported at the moment.)

Now you should be able to run python myawesomejournal.py and visit http://localhost:5000 to see your masterpiece!

Should I use this?

Sure, why not?

Seriously, though, it's v0.1. That means this is the bare minimum anyone would define as even remotely useful. I make no guarantees that things won't drastically change in the (near) future. In fact, some major changes are definitely already planned.

However, your content/ dir will be safe. Its expected structure shouldn't change. Go ahead and write to your heart's content!

What's coming?

Oh, lots of stuff!

I know, I know, I said this is supposed to be a minimal CMS, but some other functionality may be worthwhile. Here are some things on my to-consider list:

• Better default templates - Something a little more palatable would be nice.
• Custom template/static support - Because no one wants a site that looks like garbage and/or everyone else's, right?
• Support for other file extensions - People write Markdown with all sorts of extensions (e.g., .markdown, .mdown, .text), so that'd be cool.
• Support for other file types - It's not particularly difficult and may not be entirely out of scope to support other formats (e.g., reStructuredText, Textile, HTML).
• Example site - Lead by example, they say...
• Custom functionality - It'd be cool if you could write your own plugins, special routes, and whatever else you need, right? Your own Cloud To Butt Plus coming in 3..2..1...

I wanna' help!

Well, uhh, for now you can create isues, submit pull requests, or get in touch and go from there. :)