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Chirping Astro

Getting Started

Your first post with Chirping Astro. Learn how to configure your site, write posts, and deploy.

Guide 1 min read

Welcome to your new blog! This sample post walks you through the basics of using Chirping Astro.

Open src/config.ts and update:

  • title — your site/blog name
  • description — shown in search engines and RSS
  • author.name — displayed in the sidebar and footer
  • url — your production URL (set via SITE_URL env var for deploys)

Copy .env.example to .env:

Terminal window
cp .env.example .env

Key variables:

VariablePurpose
SITE_URLYour production URL (e.g., https://myblog.com)
BASE_PATHSet to /<repo-name> for GitHub Pages, blank otherwise
PUBLIC_GITHUB_HANDLEShows GitHub icon in sidebar
PUBLIC_GISCUS_*Enable Giscus comments (setup guide)

Create Markdown files in src/content/posts/en/:

---
title: 'My Post Title'
description: 'A brief description for SEO and listings.'
pubDate: 2026-05-03
tags: [tag1, tag2]
categories: [Category]
---
Write your content here using standard Markdown.

FieldRequiredDescription
titleYesPost title (1–140 chars)
descriptionYesMeta description (1–280 chars)
pubDateYesPublication date (ISO format)
tagsNoArray of tags
categoriesNoArray of categories
heroImageNoPath to featured image
pinnedNoPin to top of listings
tocNoShow table of contents
draftNoHide from production

For richer content, use .mdx files to include components:

---
title: 'MDX Example'
description: 'Using components in posts.'
pubDate: 2026-05-03
tags: [mdx]
categories: [Guide]
---
import Callout from '../../components/Callout.astro';
<Callout type="tip">You can embed Astro components directly in your posts!</Callout>

Push to main on GitHub. The included workflow builds and deploys to GitHub Pages automatically.

For custom domains, set SITE_URL in your repository’s environment variables under Settings → Environments → github-pages.


Happy blogging! Delete this post when you’re ready to publish your own content.