fddl
A high-performance static site generator written in Swift.
Fast Document Deployment Layer (fddl)
fddl (pronounced “fiddle”) is my personal static site generator, built entirely in Swift. It’s the engine powering this very website.
Why build another SSG?
While there are many excellent static site generators like Jekyll, Hugo, and Astro, I wanted something that combined:
Swift Power: Leveraging the speed and type safety of Swift for the build engine.
Custom Markdown: A processor (SwiftMark) that I can extend with custom shortcodes and syntax.
Minimalist Templates: A simple YAML-based configuration that stays out of the way.
Learning: Building it was a way to dive deep into Swift’s string processing, file system APIs, and CLI argument parsing.
Key Features
SwiftMark: A custom Markdown engine with real-time, high-fidelity rendering.
Shortcode System: Easily embed YouTube videos, info alerts, and even retro Geocities-style effects.
Plugin Architecture: Support for automated sitemaps, RSS feeds, and search indexing.
Flexible Navigation: Navigation menus defined in simple YAML configs.
Themes: Support for multiple look-and-feel options, from “Brutalist” to “Glassmorphism.”
How it works
The generator scans your contents/ directory for Markdown files, processes the frontmatter, and applies your chosen template. It then copies all assets (CSS, JS, Images) to the output/ folder.
# Generate the site
fddl generate
# Preview with live-reload
fddl serve
The resulting output folder is purely static—it can be hosted anywhere with zero server-side requirements.