Setup Blog Module

Setup Blog Module

Greenfield workflow for a new OpenBlog instance. Use when the user does not have an existing product site to integrate, or explicitly wants a local demo before INTEGRATION.

Agent: confirm with the user

If unclear, ask:

Do you want to mount /blog on an existing product site (→ INTEGRATION.md), or run a local demo first (→ create-openblog)?

Only use this skill after they choose greenfield / try-first.

When to use

• User wants a new blog from zero (standalone, subdirectory, or subdomain)
• User needs openblog.config.ts, env, theme, or features configured
• User asks to verify the project builds before first deploy

Steps

1. Scaffold

npx create-openblog my-blog
# or from monorepo root:
npm run create-openblog -- my-blog

Options: --dir <name>, --preset vercel-geist, --no-install. See packages/create-openblog/README.md.

2. Configure openblog.config.ts

At repo root, set:

• site — name, description, locale, url
• content — adapter and content dir (default templates/next/content/blog)
• theme — preset id or custom; run theme:sync after changes
• features — toggle categories, tags, authors, RSS (see docs/features.md in monorepo, or FEATURES.md in scaffolded projects)
• components.optional — Blog Chrome toggles (TOC, share bar, etc.)

3. Deploy environment

Copy templates/next/.env.example → .env.local:

SITE_URL=https://yourdomain.com
DEPLOY_MODE=subdirectory   # subdirectory | subdomain | standalone
BLOG_BASE_PATH=/blog       # subdirectory only
# ASSET_PREFIX=/blog       # if static assets 404 behind reverse proxy

See templates/next/docs/DEPLOY-ROUTING.md for mode details.

4. Theme sync

npm run theme:sync   # writes templates/next/src/app/theme.generated.css

dev and build run theme:sync automatically. See docs/theming.md. Optional: npm run theme:infer -- --url https://… for draft palette hints.

5. Features

Edit features in openblog.config.ts to disable taxonomy/feeds the site does not need. Validation rules follow enabled flags — see docs/features.md (or FEATURES.md in scaffolded projects).

6. Validate and build

From repo root:

npm install
npm run validate:posts
npm run build
npm run dev   # → http://localhost:3000/blog

Fix any frontmatter or config errors before handing off to content skills.

Related skills

• Not sure which path? Start with blog-cms.
• Existing product site? Use integrate-product-site instead.
• Writing posts? Use create-post (user provides body/brief).
• Pre-publish checks? Use validate-blog-seo.

Out of scope

Do not use this skill for:

• Keyword research, content calendars, or GEO strategy → use marketing-skills
• Marketing landing pages, product homepage, or docs site
• Site-wide SEO audit (llms.txt, homepage meta, GSC) → host site responsibility
• Autonomous AI content generation at scale → user provides content; OpenBlog validates structure