Quarto Markdown: creating

Create (2/7)

Create your Quarto web

1 Overview

Follow the Quick Start with Visual Code Extension Quarto to get a simple website up and running. After covering the basics, read on to learn about website navigation and other more advanced website features.

(1) Install Quarto Extension for Visual Code

VS Code extension for the Quarto scientific and technical publishing system. This extension provides language support for Quarto .qmd files. Extension Resources: - Marketplace - Repository - License - Quarto

Quarto extension for Visual Code

(2) Quarto: Create Project

To create a new website project within VS Code, execute the Quarto: Create Project command from the command-palette (CTRL + SHRIFT + P)

Quarto Visual Code palette create Project

(3) Quarto: Select Website and Directory Name

Then, select Website Project.

You’ll be prompted to select a parent directory to create the project within. Then, you’ll be asked to name the directory for your website project.

Quarto Visual Code palette create Project and then select website

Quarto Visual Code palette create Project and then select website and directory Name

(4) Quarto: Project Created

The new website project will be created and opened within VS Code. Click the Render button to preview the website and code the _quarto.yml.

Quarto Visual Code Project Created

2 Config File

Every website has a _quarto.yml config file that provides website options as well as defaults for HTML documents created within the site.

For example, here is the default config file for the simple site created above:

_quarto.yml

project:
  type: website

website:
  title: "My New Quarto web about Dev"
  navbar:
    left:
      - href: index.qmd
        text: Home
      - about.qmd

format:
  html:
    theme: cosmo
    css: styles.css
    toc: true

YAML

YAML (YAML Ain’t Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format that stands out for its simplicity and readability. It uses indentation to represent data structures, making it easy to write and understand. YAML is often used for configuration files and data exchange between languages with different data structures. It’s not a programming language but rather a configuration language.

The popularity of YAML stems from its clarity and conciseness. Its syntax is clean and doesn’t rely on complex symbols, making it accessible to both developers and non-developers.

YAML files are commonly used in various contexts, including configuration files for applications, Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and infrastructure as code tools.

YAML’s readability makes it suitable for expressing configurations in a natural and easily comprehensible way.

It has become a standard for configuration in many software projects due to its simplicity and broad adoption. Tools like Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker Compose, and configuration files for languages like Python and JavaScript commonly use YAML. Its human-friendly syntax and widespread support contribute to its prevalence in modern software development.