Jekyll vs Pandoc

Overview

Jekyll

Stacks2.0K

Followers1.4K

Votes230

GitHub Stars51.0K

Forks10.2K

Pandoc

Stacks279

Followers68

Votes3

GitHub Stars40.0K

Forks3.7K

Jekyll vs Pandoc: What are the differences?

Introduction: In the realm of web development and content creation, Jekyll and Pandoc are two commonly used tools that serve different purposes. While Jekyll focuses on generating static websites from markdown files, Pandoc is a universal document converter that can transform various file formats.

Input Formats: Jekyll primarily works with Markdown files, whereas Pandoc can handle a wide range of input formats, including Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, and Docx. This flexibility makes Pandoc a versatile tool for converting different types of documents.
Output Styles: Jekyll is designed for generating static websites, so its output is HTML-based. On the other hand, Pandoc can produce output in multiple formats like HTML, PDF, Word document, and more, making it suitable for various publishing needs.
Customization and Theming: Jekyll offers extensive theming options and customization capabilities through its templating system, allowing users to create unique designs for their websites. Pandoc, while offering some customization options, is more focused on document conversion rather than website theming.
Plugins and Extensions: Jekyll has a robust plugin ecosystem that enables users to add additional functionality to their sites, such as SEO optimization, social media integration, and more. In contrast, Pandoc does not have a similar plugin system, as its main function is file conversion.
Collaborative Editing: Jekyll is well-suited for individual developers or small teams working on static websites, as it simplifies the process of content creation and deployment. Pandoc, with its document conversion capabilities, can be used by writers and researchers collaborating on documents that need to be shared in multiple formats.
Learning Curve: Jekyll, with its focus on static site generation, has a more straightforward learning curve compared to Pandoc, which offers a range of advanced features for document conversion. Users looking for a quick way to create static websites may find Jekyll easier to grasp, while those needing complex document transformations may benefit from Pandoc's capabilities.

In Summary, Jekyll excels in creating static websites from Markdown files with customizable themes, while Pandoc is a versatile document converter supporting various input and output formats.

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Advice on Jekyll, Pandoc

Manuel

Frontend Engineer at BI X

Jul 22, 2020

Decided

As a Frontend Developer I wanted something simple to generate static websites with technology I am familiar with. GatsbyJS was in the stack I am familiar with, does not need any other languages / package managers and allows quick content deployment in pure HTML or Markdown (what you prefer for a project). It also does not require you to understand a theming engine if you need a custom design.

178k views178k

Comments

Kazim

Founder & Developer at Devkind

May 13, 2020

Needs advice

Fastest and quickest way to do static HTML site which is extremely fast? Do you consider above tools or is there anything more quicker or better? This is just a one time one pager site for now, no backend required. I might have such projects in future, having something to get familiar with which can immediately come into action to develop would be great advise!

53.5k views53.5k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Jekyll	Pandoc
Think of Jekyll as a file-based CMS, without all the complexity. Jekyll takes your content, renders Markdown and Liquid templates, and spits out a complete, static website ready to be served by Apache, Nginx or another web server. Jekyll is the engine behind GitHub Pages, which you can use to host sites right from your GitHub repositories.	It is a free and open-source document converter, widely used as a writing tool and as a basis for publishing workflows. It converts files from one markup format into another. It can convert documents in (several dialects of) Markdown, reStructuredText, textile, HTML, DocBook, LaTeX, MediaWiki markup, TWiki and many more.
Simple - No more databases, comment moderation, or pesky updates to install—just your content.;Static - Markdown (or Textile), Liquid, HTML & CSS go in. Static sites come out ready for deployment.;Blog-aware - Permalinks, categories, pages, posts, and custom layouts are all first-class citizens here.	Command-line tool; Supports OS X, Windows, Linux, Universal Document Converter
Statistics
GitHub Stars 51.0K	GitHub Stars 40.0K
GitHub Forks 10.2K	GitHub Forks 3.7K
Stacks 2.0K	Stacks 279
Followers 1.4K	Followers 68
Votes 230	Votes 3
Pros & Cons
Pros 74 Github pages integration 54 Open source 37 It's slick, customisable and hackerish 24 Easy to deploy 23 Straightforward cms for the hacker mindset Cons 4 Build time increases exponentially as site grows 2 Lack of developments lately 1 Og doesn't work with postings dynamically	Pros 2 Markdown 1 More popular and active on github
Integrations
No integrations available	Windows Linux Mac OS X

What are some alternatives to Jekyll, Pandoc?

Hugo

Hugo is a static site generator written in Go. It is optimized for speed, easy use and configurability. Hugo takes a directory with content and templates and renders them into a full html website. Hugo makes use of markdown files with front matter for meta data.

Gatsby

Gatsby lets you build blazing fast sites with your data, whatever the source. Liberate your sites from legacy CMSs and fly into the future.

Hexo

Hexo is a fast, simple and powerful blog framework. It parses your posts with Markdown or other render engine and generates static files with the beautiful theme. All of these just take seconds.

Middleman

Middleman is a command-line tool for creating static websites using all the shortcuts and tools of the modern web development environment.

Gridsome

Build websites using latest web tech tools that developers love - Vue.js, GraphQL and Webpack. Get hot-reloading and all the power of Node.js. Gridsome makes building websites fun again.

Pelican

Pelican is a static site generator that supports Markdown and reST syntax. Write your weblog entries directly with your editor of choice (vim!) in reStructuredText or Markdown.

DocPad

Empower your website frontends with layouts, meta-data, pre-processors (markdown, jade, coffeescript, etc.), partials, skeletons, file watching, querying, and an amazing plugin system. DocPad will streamline your web development process allowing you to craft full-featured websites quicker than ever before.

Metalsmith

In Metalsmith, all of the logic is handled by plugins. You simply chain them together. Since everything is a plugin, the core library is actually just an abstraction for manipulating a directory of files.

11ty

A simpler static site generator. An alternative to Jekyll. Written in JavaScript. Transforms a directory of templates (of varying types) into HTML. Works with HTML, Markdown, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, and JavaScript Template Literals.

MkDocs

It builds completely static HTML sites that you can host on GitHub pages, Amazon S3, or anywhere else you choose. There's a stack of good looking themes available. The built-in dev-server allows you to preview your documentation as you're writing it. It will even auto-reload and refresh your browser whenever you save your changes.

Related Comparisons

Jekyll vs Pandoc: What are the differences?

Input Formats: Jekyll primarily works with Markdown files, whereas Pandoc can handle a wide range of input formats, including Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, and Docx. This flexibility makes Pandoc a versatile tool for converting different types of documents.
Output Styles: Jekyll is designed for generating static websites, so its output is HTML-based. On the other hand, Pandoc can produce output in multiple formats like HTML, PDF, Word document, and more, making it suitable for various publishing needs.
Customization and Theming: Jekyll offers extensive theming options and customization capabilities through its templating system, allowing users to create unique designs for their websites. Pandoc, while offering some customization options, is more focused on document conversion rather than website theming.
Plugins and Extensions: Jekyll has a robust plugin ecosystem that enables users to add additional functionality to their sites, such as SEO optimization, social media integration, and more. In contrast, Pandoc does not have a similar plugin system, as its main function is file conversion.
Collaborative Editing: Jekyll is well-suited for individual developers or small teams working on static websites, as it simplifies the process of content creation and deployment. Pandoc, with its document conversion capabilities, can be used by writers and researchers collaborating on documents that need to be shared in multiple formats.
Learning Curve: Jekyll, with its focus on static site generation, has a more straightforward learning curve compared to Pandoc, which offers a range of advanced features for document conversion. Users looking for a quick way to create static websites may find Jekyll easier to grasp, while those needing complex document transformations may benefit from Pandoc's capabilities.

In Summary, Jekyll excels in creating static websites from Markdown files with customizable themes, while Pandoc is a versatile document converter supporting various input and output formats.

Jekyll vs Pandoc

Overview