Every workshop page uses YAML frontmatter to control how it appears on the site. This guide explains each field and when to use it.
Required frontmatter
Every markdown file needs at minimum:
---
title: "Page Title"
date: 2026-04-25T00:00:00-07:00
draft: false
---
| Field | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
title | Display title in nav and page header | "Python: Basics" |
date | Last update date (shown on site) | 2026-04-25T00:00:00-07:00 |
draft | false for published, true for work-in-progress | false |
Workshop landing page fields
The _index.md file for a workshop supports additional fields:
---
title: "Python: Basics"
description: "Learn Python fundamentals including variables, loops, and functions"
date: 2026-04-25T00:00:00-07:00
difficulty: "Beginner"
prereq: "None"
draft: false
hidden: false
alwaysopen: false
icon: "fab fa-python"
weight: 1
---
| Field | Purpose | Values |
|---|---|---|
description | Short summary shown in listings | Free text |
difficulty | Skill level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
prereq | Prerequisites | "None" or workshop name |
hidden | Hide from navigation | true / false |
alwaysopen | TOC expand behavior | false (preferred) |
icon | Font Awesome icon for homepage | See icons below |
weight | Sort order in navigation | Number (lower = first) |
Common icons
The homepage displays an icon for each workshop. Use Font Awesome
classes in the icon frontmatter field:
| Class | Good for |
|---|---|
fab fa-python | Python workshops |
fab fa-html5 | HTML/web workshops |
fab fa-js | JavaScript workshops |
fas fa-laptop-code | General coding |
fas fa-microchip | Hardware / Arduino |
fas fa-shield-alt | Security workshops |
fas fa-database | SQL / data workshops |
fas fa-code | General (default) |
fas fa-gamepad | Game workshops |
fas fa-music | Music / audio |
Activity page fields
Activity pages are simpler:
---
title: "Activity 1: Hello World"
date: 2026-04-25T00:00:00-07:00
draft: false
weight: 3
---
Answer key fields
Answer keys should be hidden from navigation:
---
title: "Python: Basics - Answer Key"
date: 2026-04-25T00:00:00-07:00
draft: false
weight: 15
hidden: true
---
The date field
The date field is displayed on the site footer of each page. Update it whenever you make significant changes to a page so visitors know the content is current.
Format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS-07:00 (ISO 8601 with timezone) or YYYY-MM-DD (date only).
YAML tips
- Always wrap string values in double quotes if they contain colons:
title: "Python: Basics" - Boolean values don’t need quotes:
draft: false - Don’t use tabs — YAML requires spaces for indentation
- Frontmatter must be between
---delimiters at the very top of the file
You did it!
Workshop complete