# metalsmith/metalsmith

An extremely simple, pluggable static site generator for Node.js

Repository: https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/metalsmith
Homepage: https://metalsmith.io
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: metalsmith, static-site-generator, markdown, markdown-to-html, javascript, nodejs, ssg, templates
Last push: 2026-02-09T20:40:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 63/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 66, release rhythm 37, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4593, "days_push": 205, "days_rel": 211, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7824, forks 607 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:05.295242+00:00)

## What it is
Metalsmith is an extremely simple, pluggable static site generator for Node.js that converts a source directory of files into JavaScript objects, manipulates them through a chain of plugins, and writes the results to a destination directory. It works like a library rather than a framework, letting developers compose functionality from plugins for markdown, layouts, collections, permalinks, and more.

## Use cases
- generate a static site or blog from markdown files
- convert markdown to html with templating layouts
- build a jamstack website with custom permalinks and collections
- scaffold project files with a custom generator tool
- create a static documentation site
- build a deploy-ready static site for Netlify or GitHub Pages

## When to choose
- you want full control over your static site build pipeline with a library-like API
- you prefer composing small, focused plugins over a monolithic framework
- you work in the Node.js ecosystem and want to use npm, markdown, yaml, and your own templating language
- you need a simple tool for scaffolding, generating, or transforming directory trees of files

## When to avoid
- you want a batteries-included static site generator with built-in content management like Hugo or Jekyll
- you need server-side rendering of a dynamic JavaScript application
- you prefer convention-over-configuration with minimal setup
- you need a non-JavaScript toolchain

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: static-site-generator, templating, markdown, cli, plugin-system
- domain: web-development, developer-tools, documentation
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: ssg, jamstack, markdown-to-html, pluggable-pipeline, blog-generator, static-site-generator, nodejs

## Member repositories
- metalsmith/metalsmith (main) score 63

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:05.295242+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:34:08.799097+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:05.295242+00:00, sha b22ba1d77bf8)
  - homepage: https://metalsmith.io (fetched 2026-08-29T08:30:59.414791+00:00, sha ba39581e17fd)
  - site_page: https://metalsmith.io/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:30:59.424489+00:00, sha 232aa93a7bf1)
  - site_page: https://metalsmith.io/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:30:59.426509+00:00, sha 6b3c71888623)
  - site_page: https://metalsmith.io/docs/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T08:30:59.428444+00:00, sha ce34e6dc1939)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/metalsmith (fetched 2026-08-29T08:30:59.430717+00:00, sha 04efb346482a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.