Docs
Everything about Fieldnotes: setting up a site, writing, trips with maps and photos, the look, and making it your own.
These docs assume no experience with Hugo. Commands go into a terminal (Terminal on macOS, PowerShell or Windows Terminal on Windows); everything else is text files you edit in any editor, such as Visual Studio Code (opens in a new tab).
Words you’ll meet
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Hugo | the program that turns your Markdown files into a website |
| theme | the templates, styles and scripts that decide how the site looks and works: here, Fieldnotes |
| site, or project | the folder with your content and your settings |
hugo.toml | your site’s settings file, in the folder’s top level |
| Markdown | plain text with a few marks for headings, links and lists, in files ending in .md |
| front matter | the settings at the top of a Markdown file, between --- lines |
| section | a folder in content/, like posts/ or trips/ |
| page bundle | a folder with an index.md and the page’s files: its photos, its map |
| shortcode | a short tag in Markdown that inserts something bigger: {{< gallery >}} |
| preset | how Fieldnotes draws the site: fonts, background, cards, decoration |
| colour scheme | the colours, in a light and a dark version |
How the docs are organised
Getting started takes you from nothing to a published site. Writing covers pages, posts and Markdown; Trips the maps and galleries. Look and feel explains presets, schemes, fonts and colours, Customizing how to change anything beyond them. The reference lists every setting, and Help has troubleshooting, working with an AI assistant, and the roadmap.
In this section
- Getting started · From an empty folder to your site online, in four steps.
- Writing · The home page, posts and pages, and everything Markdown can do in Fieldnotes.
- Trips · A map of the route and galleries of photos and videos, in a post of their own.
- Look and feel · Six presets, fourteen colour schemes, light and dark, fonts, backgrounds and single colours.
- Customizing · Changing anything the settings don't cover, without touching the theme's files.
- Reference · Every setting, front matter key and shortcode, in one place.
- Help · Common problems, working with an AI assistant, and what's planned.