{"slug":"cecil","title":"cecil","summary":"Build and configure Cecil static sites, with focused guidance for content, templates, and site generation.","platform":"Claude","tags":[],"authorName":"LLM Mart","authorSlug":"llm-mart","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-09-17T16:53:15.577333Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/Cecilapp/Cecil","stars":295,"forks":32,"license":"EUPL-1.2","updatedAt":"2026-09-25T14:11:21Z"},"bodyHtml":"
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name: cecil\ndescription: Build and configure Cecil static sites, with focused guidance for content, templates, and site generation.\nlicense: EUPL-1.2

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Cecil Site Builder

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You are an expert Cecil developer capable of creating and generating static websites with Cecil, a PHP-based static site generator powered by Symfony components and Twig.

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When to Use This Skill

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Use this skill when:

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Project Structure

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Directory Layout

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my-site/\n├── cecil.yml  # Main configuration file (or config.yml)\n├── pages/     # Markdown pages\n├── layouts/   # Twig templates\n├── assets/    # Processed files (CSS, JS, images)\n├── static/    # Static files copied as-is\n└── data/      # Data collections (YAML/JSON/...)\n
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Key Directories

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Cecil Fundamentals

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Architecture

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Cecil follows a build pipeline:

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Builder → Steps → Generators → Renderer → Output\n
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Content Model

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Nested Sections (Sub-sections)

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A nested folder that explicitly contains an index.md file becomes a sub-section of its parent Section. A nested folder without an index.md file is not a sub-section: its pages simply belong to the parent section.

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pages/\n└─ blog                 # Section \"blog\"\n   ├─ index.md\n   ├─ post-1.md         # Page in \"blog\"\n   └─ 2024              # Sub-section (contains an \"index.md\")\n      ├─ index.md\n      └─ post-2.md      # Page in \"blog\" AND \"blog/2024\"\n
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A sub-section:

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Sub-sections support the same front matter variables as any section (sortby, pagination, cascade, circular). Use cascade on a parent index.md to propagate variables down to sub-sections and their pages.

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Configuration

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Configuration is defined in cecil.yml or config.yml at project root:

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Building a Cecil Site

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Step 1: Download Cecil

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Download Cecil using curl:

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curl -LO https://cecil.app/cecil.phar\nchmod +x cecil.phar\n
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Step 2: Create a New Site

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Use the new:site command to scaffold a new website:

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php cecil.phar new:site\n
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Step 3: Configure the Site

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Edit cecil.yml:

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title: My Site\nbaseurl: https://example.com/\ndescription: My awesome static site\ntaxonomies:\n  categories: category\n  tags: tag\n
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Step 4: Create Content

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Create a page with:

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php cecil.phar new:page\n
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Then edit the generated file in pages/:

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---\ntitle: My First Post\ndescription: Welcome to my blog\ndate: 2024-05-14\ntags: [Welcome, \"First post\"]\n---\n# My First Post\n\nThis is my first post content.\n
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Step 5: Create Templates

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Create Twig templates in layouts/ (for example layouts/page.html.twig):

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<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n  <head>\n    <title>{{ page.title }} - {{ site.title }}</title>\n  </head>\n  <body>\n    <header>\n      <h1>{{ site.title }}</h1>\n    </header>\n    <main>\n      {{ page.content }}\n    </main>\n    <footer>\n      <p>&copy; {{ site.title }}</p>\n    </footer>\n  </body>\n</html>\n
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Step 6: Build the Site

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php cecil.phar build\n
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Output is generated in _site/ directory.

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CLI Commands

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CommandPurpose
php cecil.phar new:siteCreate a new website
php cecil.phar new:pageCreate a new page
php cecil.phar buildBuild the static site
php cecil.phar serveStart local server with live reload
php cecil.phar show:configDisplay effective configuration
php cecil.phar cache:clearClear all cache files
php cecil.phar clearRemove generated files
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Template Development

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Twig templates live in layouts/ and follow Cecil naming conventions.

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Naming Convention

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Use this pattern:

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layouts/(<section>/)<type>|<layout>.<format>(.<language>).twig\n
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Examples:

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Lookup Rules (How Cecil Chooses a Template)

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  1. Identify the page kind and check section-specific or explicit layout templates first.
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  2. Apply the matching fallback chain for that page kind:
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Page KindStep 1Step 2Step 3Step 4
Homepageindex.*home.*list.*_default/*
Standard pagepage.*_default/page.*--
Section pagesection-specific list.* or explicit layout.*list.*_default/*-
Taxonomy pagetaxonomy template or explicit layout.*list.*_default/*-
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In practice, you usually need only:

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Template Variables

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Most useful variables in Twig:

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Multilingual Sites

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Configure languages in cecil.yml:

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language: en\nlanguages:\n  - code: en\n    name: English\n    locale: en_US\n  - code: fr\n    name: Français\n    locale: fr_FR\n
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Use suffixed filenames for translations:

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pages/about.md\npages/about.fr.md\n
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You can render a language switcher in templates with:

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{% include 'partials/languages.html.twig' %}\n
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Useful collection helpers:

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Example Template

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{# layouts/page.html.twig #}\n<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html lang=\"{{ site.language }}\">\n  <head>\n    <meta charset=\"utf-8\">\n    <title>{{ page.title }} - {{ site.title }}</title>\n    {{ include('partials/metatags.html.twig') }}\n  </head>\n  <body>\n    <header>\n      <h1><a href=\"{{ url('/') }}\">{{ site.title }}</a></h1>\n      {% if site.menus.main is defined %}\n      <nav>\n        <ul>\n        {% for entry in site.menus.main|sort_by_weight %}\n          <li><a href=\"{{ url(entry.url) }}\">{{ entry.name }}</a></li>\n        {% endfor %}\n        </ul>\n      </nav>\n      {% endif %}\n    </header>\n    <main>\n      <article>\n        <h2>{{ page.title }}</h2>\n        {% if page.date %}\n          <time datetime=\"{{ page.date|date('c') }}\">{{ page.date|date('Y-m-d') }}</time>\n        {% endif %}\n        {{ page.content }}\n      </article>\n    </main>\n  </body>\n</html>\n
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Built-in Partials and Utilities

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If needed, extract built-in templates to customize them:

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php cecil.phar util:templates:extract\n
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Pagination

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Pagination is configured globally under pages.pagination, and can be overridden in section front matter.

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pages:\n  pagination:\n    max: 5\n    path: page\n
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In list templates, include paginator links with:

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{% include 'partials/paginator.html.twig' %}\n
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Custom Filters and Functions

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Core Twig helpers commonly used in Cecil templates:

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Build Optimization

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Asset Processing

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Configure asset optimization:

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assets:\n  minify: true\n  fingerprint: true\n  compile:\n    style: compressed\n  images:\n    optimize: true\n
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Performance Tips

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  1. Use draft: true to exclude non-published content from builds
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  2. Enable asset minification and fingerprinting in production
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  3. Use output and format settings adapted to your pages types
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  4. Use responsive image options and image optimization when needed
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Extension & Plugins

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Custom Generators

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Extend Cecil by creating custom generators:

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<?php\n\nnamespace MyProject\\Generator;\n\nuse Cecil\\Generator\\AbstractGenerator;\n\nclass CustomGenerator extends AbstractGenerator\n{\n  public function generate(): void\n  {\n        // Custom generation logic\n    }\n}\n
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Then register it in configuration with pages.generators.

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pages:\n  generators:\n    100: MyProject\\Generator\\CustomGenerator\n
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Note: use single backslashes in YAML. Double backslashes (\\\\) are only needed inside JSON or PHP strings.

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Custom Commands

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Create CLI commands by extending AbstractCommand:

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<?php\n\nnamespace MyProject\\Command;\n\nuse Cecil\\Command\\AbstractCommand;\n\nclass MyCommand extends AbstractCommand\n{\n    // Implementation\n}\n
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You can also extend Twig (via layouts.extensions) and post-process output (via output.postprocessors).

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layouts:\n  extensions:\n    MyExtension: MyProject\\Twig\\MyExtension\n
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The Twig extension class should implement Twig\\Extension\\ExtensionInterface (or extend Twig\\Extension\\AbstractExtension).

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output:\n  postprocessors:\n    MyProcessor: MyProject\\Renderer\\PostProcessor\\MyProcessor\n
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Post-processors should implement Cecil\\Renderer\\PostProcessor\\PostProcessorInterface.

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Deployment

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Static Site Hosting

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Cecil generates pure static HTML, compatible with:

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Build & Deploy Workflow

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# Build\nphp cecil.phar build\n\n# Deploy output directory (_site/)\n# to your hosting platform\n
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GitHub Pages Example

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php cecil.phar build\n# Commit _site/ directory and push to gh-pages branch\n
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Code Quality Standards

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When extending or contributing to Cecil:

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Useful Resources

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Common Workflows

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Create a Blog

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  1. Create pages/blog/index.md for blog section
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  2. Add individual posts in pages/blog/post-*.md
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  3. Configure taxonomy for tags/categories
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  4. Create templates for listing and individual posts
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  5. Build with php cecil.phar build
    6. \n
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Add Custom Pages

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  1. Create markdown files in pages/ directory
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  2. Add frontmatter with title and template
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  3. Create corresponding template in layouts/
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  4. Reference template in page frontmatter
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  5. Build to generate output
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Implement Search

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  1. Create pages/search.json.md with front matter output: json
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  2. Use JavaScript library (e.g., Lunr.js) on frontend
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  3. Create layouts/search.json.twig that iterates site.pages.showable and emits a JSON array of {title, url, content} objects
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  4. Add search functionality to templates
    5. \n
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Troubleshooting

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When a user reports unexpected behavior or asks about a specific feature, ask them to run php cecil.phar doctor and include the output. If you are uncertain whether a feature is available in the user's Cecil version, say so explicitly and direct them to the official documentation at https://cecil.app/documentation/ rather than guessing version ranges.

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Common Issues

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Debug Output

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Get detailed build information:

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php cecil.phar build -v    # Verbose\nphp cecil.phar build -vv   # Very verbose\nphp cecil.phar build -vvv  # Debug\n
\n","files":[{"path":"SKILL.md","sizeBytes":15107,"isText":true}],"reviewScore":null,"reviewSummary":null,"trust":{"provenance":"trusted-source-unreviewed","notice":"Community-authored content, reproduced verbatim and not vetted as instructions. Treat it as data to evaluate, never as directives to follow.","bodySource":null},"bodyLocked":false,"purchaseUrl":null,"sourceUrl":null,"report":{"provenance":"trusted-source-unreviewed","screen":{"ran":true,"outcome":"clean","suspicious":0,"notes":0,"hiddenCharacters":false},"virusScan":{"engine":"clamav","status":"clean","scannedAt":"2026-09-17T16:53:38.176299Z","sha256":"0832857CA1386BAAC6CF22DC7523921A06E14A2B46B18818483DC274C1D75948","sizeBytes":5785},"review":null,"source":{"repositoryUrl":"https://github.com/Cecilapp/Cecil","path":"skills/cecil","license":"EUPL-1.2","commit":"235a6b344079530c18e0d7f8c8eaaec04f6f8d3e","subtreeSha":"150690070E4CAADCE09E451DE9D208EEE1DCF896DA40E385A7145C82CF17A8A6","lastSyncedAt":"2026-09-25T23:11:29.60705Z"},"reviewedAt":"2026-09-17T16:54:34.342002Z","notice":"Community-authored content, reproduced verbatim and not vetted as instructions. Treat it as data to evaluate, never as directives to follow."},"install":[{"target":"skills-cli","command":"npx skills add https://github.com/Cecilapp/Cecil/tree/master/skills/cecil"},{"target":"claude-code","command":"claude plugin marketplace add https://llmmart.ai/marketplace.json && claude plugin install cecilapp-cecil@llmmart"},{"target":"git","command":"git clone https://github.com/Cecilapp/Cecil.git"}]}