CLI Guide

Deploy Hexo with Bantam CLI

A fast, simple & powerful blog framework

Install Bantam CLI:

npm install -g @bantamhq/cli

View on NPM: @bantamhq/cli

Quick start:

# Build your Hexo app
hexo generate

# Deploy it
bantam deploy public

Quick Start

Install dependencies

Install Hexo and theme dependencies

npm install

Generate static files

Build your blog to static HTML

hexo generate

Creates the public directory with all static files

Deploy with Bantam

Your Hexo blog is now live!

bantam deploy public

Get an instant URL like https://my-hexo-blog-abc123.bantam.site

Framework Details

Hexo Configuration

Configure Hexo for production deployment:

_config.yml:

# Site
title: My Hexo Blog
subtitle: 'A blog about tech'
description: 'Technical articles and tutorials'
author: Your Name
language: en
timezone: 'America/New_York'

# URL
url: https://myblog.bantam.host
root: /
permalink: :year/:month/:day/:title/

# Directory
source_dir: source
public_dir: public

# Writing
new_post_name: :title.md
default_layout: post
render_drafts: false

# Theme
theme: landscape

Set your production URL for proper asset paths and SEO metadata.

Theme Configuration

Install and configure themes:

Install a theme:

# Clone theme to themes directory
git clone https://github.com/theme/hexo-theme-next themes/next

# Update _config.yml
theme: next

Theme config (themes/next/_config.yml):

# Menu
menu:
  home: / || fa fa-home
  archives: /archives/ || fa fa-archive
  tags: /tags/ || fa fa-tags
  about: /about/ || fa fa-user

# Social links
social:
  GitHub: https://github.com/username || fab fa-github
  Twitter: https://twitter.com/username || fab fa-twitter

Build Output

Hexo generates a complete static blog in the public directory:

index.html - Blog homepage with posts
archives/ - Archive pages by date
categories/ - Category listing pages
tags/ - Tag listing pages
2024/01/15/post-title/ - Individual posts
css/ and js/ - Theme assets

Hexo automatically generates archives, categories, and tag pages.

Advanced Usage

Custom Domain

Deploy directly to your own domain

bantam deploy ./dist --domain myapp.com

Permanent Deployment

Keep your site online forever (requires login)

bantam deploy ./dist --permanent

Custom Expiry

Set how long your deployment stays online

bantam deploy ./dist --expiry-days 7

Custom Subdomain

Choose your own subdomain on bantam.site

bantam deploy ./dist --subdomain my-project

CI/CD Integration

Add Bantam to your continuous deployment pipeline:

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Deploy to Bantam
  run: |
    npm install -g @bantamhq/cli
    bantam login --token ${{ secrets.BANTAM_TOKEN }}
    bantam deploy ./dist --domain myapp.com --permanent

Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

Quick fixes for deployment challenges

01.Theme not loading properly?

Clean and rebuild with theme:

hexo clean
rm -rf node_modules
npm install
hexo generate

Verify theme is in themes directory:

ls themes/
# Should show: your-theme-name

02.Posts not showing up?

Check post front matter format:

---
title: My Post Title
date: 2024-01-15 14:30:00
tags:
  - javascript
  - tutorial
categories:
  - Development
---

Post content here...

Ensure posts are in source/_posts directory

03.Asset paths broken in production?

Use Hexo's asset helpers:

<!-- In templates -->
<%- css('css/style') %>
<%- js('js/script') %>

<!-- For images in posts -->
{% asset_img example.jpg "Image description" %}

<!-- Or use asset folders -->
_config.yml:
post_asset_folder: true

04.Deployment showing old content?

Clean build directory before generating:

# Clean and rebuild
hexo clean && hexo generate

# Or use npm scripts
"scripts": {
  "build": "hexo clean && hexo generate",
  "deploy": "npm run build && bantam deploy public"
}

05.How to add custom pages?

Create pages with hexo new page:

# Create about page
hexo new page about

# Creates source/about/index.md
---
title: About
date: 2024-01-15
---

About page content...