CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Overview

Jekyll-powered personal portfolio site for Christian Sherland, deployed via GitHub Pages. Content is data-driven through YAML files in _data/, with templates in _includes/ and layouts in _layouts/.

Development Commands

# Install dependencies (required once or after Gemfile changes)
bundle install

# Run local development server with live reload
bundle exec jekyll serve --livereload
# Site runs at http://127.0.0.1:4000

# Build production output (validates before deployment)
bundle exec jekyll build

# Sanity-check configuration
bundle exec jekyll doctor

Architecture

Content-Driven Design

• Data sources: _data/experience.yml and _data/projects.yml contain all structured content
• Templates: _includes/ contains reusable partials (intro.html, experience.html, background.html, footer.html, etc.)
• Page composition: index.html uses default layout and includes multiple partials to build the single-page site
• Styling: SCSS partials in _sass/ are compiled via assets/css/main.scss; Sass compression is enabled in _config.yml

Jekyll Configuration

• Plugins: jekyll-sitemap, jemoji
• Markdown: kramdown
• Build excludes: Gemfile, Gemfile.lock, gemspecs, README.md, LICENSE.md
• Site metadata (name, title, description, social links) lives in _config.yml

File Organization

• Layouts: _layouts/default.html (base template), _layouts/project.html (for project pages)
• Assets: assets/img/ for images, assets/resume.pdf for downloads
• Use kebab-case for asset filenames

Coding Conventions

• Indentation: 2 spaces for HTML, Liquid, YAML, and SCSS
• Naming: kebab-case for files/assets, snake_case for Liquid variables
• Front matter: minimal and ordered (layout, title, description, then custom fields)
• SCSS: group variables/mixins in _sass/, avoid inline styles
• Liquid: prefer filters over inline Ruby

Testing

• No automated tests; validate by running bundle exec jekyll serve and manually checking navigation, images, and social links
• Before pushing, run bundle exec jekyll build to catch Liquid/YAML errors
• Verify _data changes render correctly in the local build

Git Workflow

• Commit style: short, imperative messages (e.g., “Update experience.yml”, “Update _config.yml”)
• GitHub CLI:
  • gh auth status — confirm authentication
  • gh repo view --web — open repo in browser
  • gh pr create --fill --web — create PR after push
  • gh pr status — check CI status

Important Notes

• This is a GitHub Pages site; changes pushed to master automatically deploy
• Site configuration (URLs, email, social links) is public-facing and stored in _config.yml
• All content in _data/ drives the rendered site via Liquid templates in _includes/