---
title: Documentation
draft: false
weight: 5
lang: en
type: doc
cascade:
  type: doc
  variant: standard
category: documentation
description: Guides for building documentation sites, blogs, knowledge bases, and product sites with Bengal
keywords:
- bengal
- python static site generator
- documentation site generator
- blog generator
- knowledge base
- seo
- sitemap
- rss
- search
menu:
  main:
    weight: 10
tags:
- documentation
- docs
variant: overview
icon: book-open
---

# Documentation

## Start Here

New to Bengal? Start here to build documentation sites, blogs, knowledge bases, and
product sites with Python. Bengal covers authoring, search, SEO/discovery, theming,
deployment, and performance in one toolchain.

::::{cards}
:columns: 2
:gap: medium

::::{card} Get Started
:icon: arrow-clockwise
:link: ./get-started/
:description: Install Bengal and create your first site
::::{/card}

::::{card} Tutorials
:icon: notepad
:link: ./tutorials/
:description: Guided learning journeys to master Bengal
::::{/card}

::::{/cards}

## Write & Organize

Author content in Markdown, structure your site, and validate quality.

::::{cards}
:columns: 2
:gap: medium

::::{card} Author
:icon: edit
:link: ./content/authoring/
:description: Markdown, MyST directives, code blocks, and callouts
::::{/card}

::::{card} Organize
:icon: folder
:link: ./content/organization/
:description: Pages, sections, bundles, and frontmatter
::::{/card}

::::{card} Reuse
:icon: recycle
:link: ./content/reuse/
:description: Snippets, data files, and DRY patterns
::::{/card}

::::{card} Validate
:icon: check-circle
:link: ./content/validation/
:description: Health checks, linting, and auto-fixes
::::{/card}

::::{card} Version
:icon: git-branch
:link: ./content/versioning/
:description: Maintain multiple doc versions side-by-side
::::{/card}

::::{card} Analyze
:icon: search
:link: ./content/analysis/
:description: Find orphan pages and optimize internal linking
::::{/card}

::::{/cards}

## Customize

Control appearance with themes, templates, and CSS. Add custom directives, content
sources, and build hooks.

::::{cards}
:columns: 2
:gap: medium

::::{card} Theming
:icon: palette
:link: ./theming/
:description: Templates, assets, and visual customization
::::{/card}

::::{card} Extending Bengal
:icon: starburst
:link: ./extending/
:description: Custom directives, content sources, collections, and build hooks
::::{/card}

::::{/cards}

## Build & Ship

Configure builds, optimize performance, improve SEO/discovery, and deploy to
production.

::::{cards}
:columns: 2
:gap: medium

::::{card} Configure
:icon: settings
:link: ./building/configuration/
:description: Site settings, environments, and build options
::::{/card}

::::{card} SEO & Discovery
:icon: globe
:link: ./building/seo/
:description: Metadata, sitemap, feeds, canonical URLs, social cards, and search
::::{/card}

::::{card} Performance
:icon: zap
:link: ./building/performance/
:description: Incremental builds, caching, and parallel processing
::::{/card}

::::{card} Deploy
:icon: rocket
:link: ./building/deployment/
:description: GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and CI/CD
::::{/card}

::::{card} Troubleshoot
:icon: warning
:link: ./building/troubleshooting/
:description: Common issues and how to resolve them
::::{/card}

::::{/cards}

## Look It Up

Technical specifications, directive syntax, architecture details, and project
background.

::::{cards}
:columns: 2
:gap: medium

::::{card} Reference
:icon: bookmark
:link: ./reference/
:description: Technical specifications, directives, and architecture
::::{/card}

::::{card} About
:icon: info
:link: ./about/
:description: Concepts, benchmarks, and philosophy
::::{/card}

::::{/cards}
