Lab Website

This repository contains the source code for the lab's website, built with Pandoc and deployed to GitHub Pages.

Repository Structure

.
├── Makefile           # Build commands
├── README.md          # This file
├── .gitignore         # Files to exclude from git
├── src/               # Source files
│   ├── index.md       # Homepage
│   ├── papers.md      # Publications page
│   ├── people.md      # Team page
│   ├── 404.md         # Custom 404 error page
│   ├── template.html  # HTML template for all pages
│   ├── style.css      # Website styling
│   └── imgs/          # Images and icons
└── build/             # Generated website for local preview (git-ignored)

Prerequisites

Install Pandoc

macOS:

brew install pandoc

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pandoc

Linux (other distributions): Download from Pandoc releases:

wget https://github.com/jgm/pandoc/releases/download/3.1.11/pandoc-3.1.11-1-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i pandoc-3.1.11-1-amd64.deb

Windows: Download the installer from pandoc.org

Verify Installation

pandoc --version

Local Development

Build the Website

make build

This converts all .md files in src/ to HTML and copies assets to build/.

Preview Locally

make serve

This builds the website and starts a local server at http://localhost:8000.

Open your browser and navigate to:

• Homepage: http://localhost:8000/index.html
• Papers: http://localhost:8000/papers.html
• People: http://localhost:8000/people.html

Press Ctrl+C to stop the server.

Clean Build Directory

make clean

Removes all generated files from build/.

Editing Content

Adding/Editing Pages

1. Edit the markdown files in src/:

   • index.md - Homepage with bio section
   • papers.md - Publications list
   • people.md - Team members

2. Save your changes

3. Run make serve to preview

Adding Images

Place images in src/imgs/ and reference them in markdown:

![Alt text](imgs/image.jpg)

Styling

Edit src/style.css to change the website's appearance. Changes take effect on next build.

Publishing to GitHub Pages

First-Time Setup

1. Enable GitHub Pages:
   • Go to repository Settings → Pages
   • Source: "Deploy from a branch"
   • Branch: gh-pages, folder: / (root)
   • Click Save

Your site will be available at:

• Organization site: https://orgname.github.io/ (if repo is named orgname.github.io)
• Project site: https://orgname.github.io/repo-name/ (for other repo names)

Publishing Updates

To publish changes to the website:

1. Edit content in src/ files

2. Test locally:

   make serve

3. Commit changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Describe your changes"

4. Push to GitHub:

   git push

The website is automatically deployed via GitHub Actions. Changes appear online within 1-2 minutes. You can monitor deployment progress in the "Actions" tab of your GitHub repository.

Troubleshooting

"command not found: pandoc"

Install Pandoc following the instructions in Prerequisites section.

"Address already in use" when running make serve

Another process is using port 8000. Either stop that process or change the port:

cd build && python3 -m http.server 8080

Changes not showing on GitHub Pages

• Wait 1-2 minutes for GitHub Actions to complete the deployment
• Hard refresh your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R)
• Check the Actions tab on GitHub for deployment status

Broken links or missing CSS on GitHub Pages

If your repo is NOT named orgname.github.io, you may need to update paths in src/template.html:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/repo-name/style.css" />

Make Commands Reference

• make build - Build the website
• make serve - Build and serve locally at http://localhost:8000
• make clean - Remove all built files
• make help - Show available commands