[ Simulation: a run (partial extract) of/for makestaticsite.sh ]

Current version 0.30.13.1

See the examples to see how it is used.

Hello! MakeStaticSite is a command-line tool for generating and deploying refined static versions of both existing websites — typically dynamic, i.e. depend on server-side scripting and databases — and sites archived by the Wayback Machine.

Such static (or flat) websites are coded in plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, along with supporting assets such as multimedia files. The web output contains no server-side scripting and no databases are involved, making it considerably more secure and faster than the original source. If you are currently using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress for your website, especially one that is information-oriented, then MakeStaticSite will probably be able to flatten most, if not all, of it.

The main technical prerequisite is to have Bash installed on your computer (see requirements for more details). To use the tool requires just a basic acquaintance with a terminal and command line, as illustrated in the animation above, which replicates many of the lines echoed during the generation of this site. If you are unfamiliar with this environment, then you may like to consult a basic introduction (for Macs). Once you have set up your project, you only have to run one command — makestaticsite.sh, the same one as this site’s domain name!

The code comprises a series of Bash shell scripts (simply explained in another tutorial), with the functionality built around Wget. The scripts are made available under the terms of the GNU AGPL license, which means that you are free to download, use, modify and redistribute. Please note that whilst we hope that it’s useful, the software is considered a prototype, provided as-is, with no guarantees and no formal offer of support.

Interested to know more? To find out what the software is capable of, please continue to explore its features.