Forge

A modern, lightweight static site generator built in C++ with a custom template engine, hot-reload development server, and flexible content management for building fast static websites.

Features

• Fast Static Generation: C++ performance for instant builds and quick regeneration
• Custom Template Engine: Jinja2-like syntax with variables, filters, loops, and conditionals
• Content Collections: Organize content by type (blog, projects) with automatic sorting
• Hot-Reload Server: Built-in development server with automatic rebuilds on file changes
• Markdown & HTML Support: Process Markdown with YAML frontmatter or use standalone HTML
• Flexible Routing: Clean URL structure (/pages/about.md → /about)
• Zero Configuration: Sensible defaults with optional forge.yaml customization

Technical Highlights

• Custom template engine with variable interpolation, string filters, and control flow (if, for, where)
• Markdown processing powered by md4c library for fast, CommonMark-compliant parsing
• YAML frontmatter support for rich metadata (accessible as in templates)
• File system monitoring with efsw for automatic rebuilds during development
• HTTP server using cpp-httplib for live preview and hot-reload
• Modular architecture: SiteBuilder, TemplateEngine, MarkdownProcessor, FrontMatter, SiteConfig
• Content collections system with configurable sorting and filtering
• Pure static output with no runtime dependencies - deploy anywhere