Quick Start

Methanol turns a folder of Markdown and MDX files into a static site with routing, navigation, and a build pipeline.

No special setup is required: create pages/index.mdx, add more files/folders, and Methanol will build routes and navigation automatically.

Run for a Quick Try

For a fast start, run Methanol directly with npx:

npx methanol dev

Open http://localhost:5173.

Use an Existing Markdown Folder

If you already have Markdown or MDX files in a folder, point Methanol at it:

npx methanol dev ./my-docs

That folder becomes the content root, so ./my-docs/index.mdx maps to /.

Faster Local Workflow

If you want a faster CLI startup, install globally and use methanol directly:

npm install methanol -g
methanol dev

Build for Production

npx methanol build
npx methanol serve

serve runs a local preview using the production output in dist/.

Project Layout

pages/        # MDX/MD pages (or use docs/)
components/   # JSX/TSX components used in MDX
public/       # static assets (override theme assets)
build/        # intermediate HTML (optional)
dist/         # production output

Files in public/ are served at / (e.g. public/logo.png → /logo.png) and override theme-provided public assets.

First Page

Create a file at pages/index.mdx:

---
title: Home
---

# Welcome

This is my site.

The file path becomes the route:

pages/index.mdx       -> /
pages/guide.mdx       -> /guide
pages/blog/post.mdx   -> /blog/post