Using Vanilla with Jekyll

We’re using NPM as Vanilla’s package manager. Which gives us a number of advantages such as, an easy way to install and update the CSS framework. This all worked fine until we hit an issue with Github Pages. They do not supporting install scripts therefore it is not possible in npm install. Highlighted in this issue #4 on the Jekyll Vanilla theme project.

There are a number of ways to use Vanilla with Jekyll. Here are the number of methods we discussed with their pros and cons.

Commit node_modules

This is not recommended as it duplicates a lot of code. The repo will grow in size as it will include all the framework code also.

Clone and commit Vanilla without NPM

Again this will include the entire framework in the repos code base. Another downfall would be the loss of the NPM update process.

Use Git submodules

This is the method we went with in the end. Creating a submodule in the git repo does not add all the code to the project but includes a reference and path to include the framework.

By running the following command it will pull down the framework into the correct location.

We lose NPM’s functionality but submodules are understood and run when a Github Pages are built.

Conclusion

These methods were derived from a short exploration, but solved our issue. Any better methods would be very much welcomed in the comments. You can see a demo of the Vanilla theme running on the projects Github Page below:

• Demo
• View the project