How to write a new post

Here's how to create and write posts in vāk.

Create a new post

Use the new command with a slug (URL-friendly name):

./vaak.cjs new my-first-post

This creates posts/my-first-post.md with a template you can edit.

Post structure

Every post needs frontmatter at the top:

---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2025-01-15
slug: my-first-post
status: published
collections: Journal, Tutorials
---

Your content starts here...

Frontmatter fields

Field	Required	Description
`title`	Yes	Post title (use quotes for safety)
`date`	Yes	Publication date in YYYY-MM-DD format
`slug`	Yes	URL-friendly identifier
`status`	Yes	`published`, `draft`, or `unlisted`
`collections`	No	Comma-separated list of collections

Status options

published - Appears everywhere (homepage, archive, RSS)
draft - Not generated at all
unlisted - Accessible by URL but hidden from listings

Writing content

Write your post in Markdown. Standard syntax works:

## Headings

Paragraphs with **bold** and *italic* text.

- Bullet lists
- Like this

1. Numbered lists
2. Work too

[Links](https://example.com) and `inline code`.

Code blocks with syntax highlighting:

```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
```

Next steps