This Heroku buildpack allows you to deploy raw markdown file(s) which will get rendered with GitHub's Markdown parser and served via a simple web server. See this project's README rendered here.
It has no code dependencies. Markdown rendering is accomplished using command line utilities and GitHub's markdown API. Serving of the rendered HTML files uses a simple Python web server, available by default on a Heroku dyno.
This buildpack focuses on quick compile times and minimal setup. It is a useful tool for:
- Sharing git-based markdown content rendered with custom CSS
- Ensuring complete compatability with GitHub flavored markdown
- A simple blog/draft mechansim for articles
In the (git-enabled) directory where your article(s) exist, run the following:
$ heroku create -b git://github.com/rwdaigle/heroku-buildpack-github-markdown.git
$ git push heroku master
$ heroku openIf your markdown file was named index.md, you should now see it rendered and styled. Otherwise you will see a directory listing of your files with all *.md content now in rendered HTML.
As you update your content, deploying and rendering it is as easy as committing your changes to git and doing a git push heroku master:
$ git commit -m "Update article"
$ git push heroku masterBy default the stylesheet used is located at: https://gist.github.com/4579178. If you want to use a custom stylesheet you will need to set a config var on the Heroku app and use a Heroku labs feature so the var will be available at build time.
$ heroku labs:enable user-env-compile
$ heroku config:set STYLESHEET_URL=https://gist.github.com/raw/4570328/styles.cssBecause the stylesheet location is embedded at build-time you will need to force a rebuild if you want to change the stylesheet:
$ git commit --allow-empty -m "Force rebuild"
$ git push heroku masterWhile this buildpack is completely functional it is mostly a proof of concept. Please send any interesting derivatives to @rwdaigle.