Jekyll Setup Conversation Log with an LLM

LLM Interaction Log

This page documents an interaction with an LLM to set up and configure a Jekyll project using GitHub Actions.

WonderChat Screenshot of Initial Prompt and Response

Conversation Log

Prompt 1

Let’s setup a jekyll project. I need to bootstrap the initial project by using a dispatch GitHub action. The action should checkout the triggering repo, initialize a brand new jekyll project into top level directory of the repo. Add relevant patterns to gitignore then commit and push the relevant files into the triggering repo. The push needs content write permission. If possible I want the setup to use the minimal-mistakes-jekyll theme.

LLM Action 1

create_directory
create_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 1

I’ve set up the Jekyll project by dispatching a GitHub Actions workflow. You can monitor its progress in the ‘Actions’ tab of your repository.

Prompt 2

You might need to pin ruby version

LLM Action 2

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 2

I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow to pin the Ruby version to 3.2. The changes have been committed and pushed.

Prompt 3

Dispatch and show me top level action link in markdown

LLM Action 3

dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 3

I’ve dispatched the workflow. You can view the action’s progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 4

Run bundle exec jekyll new . –force –skip-bundle Could not locate Gemfile or .bundle/ directory

LLM Action 4

(No tool calls - LLM provided explanation)

LLM Output 4

The error “Could not locate Gemfile or .bundle/ directory” indicates that Bundler is trying to find a Gemfile in the current directory, but it’s not present. The bundle exec jekyll new . --force --skip-bundle command is usually run after Jekyll is installed, but jekyll new itself is what creates the initial Gemfile and project structure. Please run jekyll new . --force --skip-bundle first (without bundle exec). After that, you’ll have a Gemfile and can then proceed with bundle install and other bundle exec commands.

Prompt 5

Add it to the bootstrap workflow

LLM Action 5

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 5

I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow to remove bundle exec from the jekyll new command. The changes have been committed and pushed. I’ve also dispatched the workflow again. You can view the action’s progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 6

[!] There was an error parsing injected gems: You cannot specify the same gem twice with different version requirements. You specified: jekyll-feed (~> 0.12) and jekyll-feed (>= 0). Gem already added. Bundler cannot continue. # from /home/runner/work/jekyll-bootstrap/jekyll-bootstrap/injected gems:1 # ——————————————- > gem “jekyll-feed”, “>= 0”, group: :jekyll_plugins # gem “jekyll-include-cache”, “>= 0”, group: :jekyll_plugins # ——————————————-

LLM Action 6

read_file
update_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 6

I’ve updated the workflow to declare the Jekyll plugins directly in _config.yml instead of using bundle add. This should resolve the gem conflict. The workflow has been updated, committed, and pushed. I’ve also dispatched it again. You can monitor its progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 7

Nice, pull, and list file tree in ascii

LLM Action 7

pull_changes
glob

LLM Output 7

Changes pulled successfully from origin.

.
├── 404.html
├── _config.yml
├── _posts
│   └── 2025-10-02-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown
├── .github
│   ├── workflows
│   │   ├── jekyll_setup.yml
│   │   └── publish-pages.yml
│   └── workflows
├── about.markdown
├── Gemfile
├── .gitignore
└── index.markdown

Prompt 8

The existing publish pages action needs to update so that it builds then jekyll project and publish the generated asset.

LLM Action 8

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes

LLM Output 8

I’ve updated the publish-pages.yml workflow to include steps for setting up Ruby, installing Jekyll and Bundler, building the Jekyll site, and then uploading the _site directory as an artifact for deployment. The changes have been committed and pushed to the repository. This workflow will now correctly build and publish your Jekyll project to GitHub Pages when a new tag is pushed.

Prompt 9

Publish

LLM Action 9

publish_website

LLM Output 9

The website has been published. You can view it at: https://wonderchatai.github.io/jekyll-bootstrap

Prompt 10

Run bundle exec jekyll build Configuration file: /home/runner/work/jekyll-bootstrap/jekyll-bootstrap/_config.yml ———————————————— Jekyll 4.4.1 Please append --trace to the build command for any additional information or backtrace. ———————————————— /home/runner/work/jekyll-bootstrap/jekyll-bootstrap/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jekyll-4.4.1/lib/jekyll/theme.rb:86:in `rescue in gemspec’: The minimal-mistakes-jekyll theme could not be found.

LLM Action 10

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 10

I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow. I removed the remote_theme line from _config.yml and added bundle add minimal-mistakes-jekyll to ensure the theme is installed as a gem. I’ve updated the workflow to correctly install the minimal-mistakes-jekyll theme as a gem and removed remote_theme from _config.yml. The changes have been committed, pushed, and the workflow has been dispatched again. You can monitor its progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 11

/opt/hostedtoolcache/Ruby/3.2.9/x64/lib/ruby/3.2.0/bundler/runtime.rb:304:in check_for_activated_spec!': You have already activated rake 13.0.6, but your Gemfile requires rake 13.3.0. Prepending bundle exec` to your command may solve this. (Gem::LoadError)

LLM Action 11

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes
dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 11

I understand the rake version conflict you’re encountering. This often happens when a different version of a gem (like rake) is loaded before Bundler has a chance to manage the versions specified in your Gemfile. The solution is to ensure all relevant commands are run within the Bundler environment. The main changes will be:

Consolidating gem installation by creating the Gemfile upfront and running bundle install once.
Ensuring bundle exec precedes jekyll new to guarantee it uses the Bundler-managed Jekyll version.
Removing redundant gem installation steps. I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow to address the rake version conflict. The changes are: Removed the explicit gem install jekyll bundler step. Ensured a comprehensive Gemfile is created before the first bundle install. Removed the redundant second bundle install after jekyll new. Confirmed that jekyll new is executed with bundle exec. These changes should ensure that Jekyll and its dependencies are managed consistently by Bundler, preventing version conflicts. The workflow has been updated, committed, and pushed. I’ve also dispatched it again. You can monitor its progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 12

Pull

LLM Action 12

pull_changes

LLM Output 12

Changes pulled successfully from origin.

Prompt 13

nice, now the the style is not working and the link to the post 404. Why?

LLM Action 13

read_file
read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes

LLM Output 13

The _config.yml file is indeed missing baseurl and url configurations, which are crucial for Jekyll sites hosted on GitHub Pages in a project repository (e.g., https://wonderchatai.github.io/jekyll-bootstrap). This is the most likely reason for the broken styling and 404 links. I will update the jekyll_setup.yml workflow to explicitly add these settings to _config.yml during project initialization. I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow to include the url and baseurl in the _config.yml file. This should resolve the broken styling and 404 issues for your Jekyll site on GitHub Pages. I’ve updated the jekyll_setup.yml workflow and pushed the changes.

Prompt 14

Why are we updating the bootstrap flow? And not the publish flow?

LLM Action 14

(No tool calls - LLM provided explanation)

LLM Output 14

That’s an excellent question, and it highlights a crucial distinction between the two workflows. The jekyll_setup.yml workflow (the bootstrap flow) is responsible for initializing and committing the core project structure and configuration files to the repository. This includes creating the Gemfile, Gemfile.lock, and _config.yml. The publish-pages.yml workflow is designed to build and deploy the website using the existing project files that have already been committed to the repository. It doesn’t modify or create core project configuration files to be committed back. Here’s why we updated the bootstrap flow (jekyll_setup.yml): 1. Root Cause: The _config.yml file, as it was being committed by the bootstrap process, was missing the url and baseurl settings. These settings are fundamental for Jekyll to generate correct paths for assets (CSS, JS) and internal links (posts) when hosted on GitHub Pages in a project subfolder. 2. Persistent Fix: By adding url and baseurl to the _config.yml creation step within jekyll_setup.yml, we ensure that any new Jekyll project initialized by this workflow will always have these critical configurations correctly set in the repository from the start. This means the _config.yml that gets committed and lives in your repository will be correct. 3. Publish Workflow’s Role: The publish-pages.yml workflow checks out the repository, reads the _config.yml (which now, thanks to the updated bootstrap, will contain the correct url and baseurl), and then builds the site. If we had only added these settings to the publish-pages.yml workflow, those changes would only apply to that specific workflow run’s environment and would not be committed back to your repository’s _config.yml. Consequently, the source _config.yml would remain incorrect, and any future local builds or other workflow runs would still suffer from the same issues. In summary, the jekyll_setup.yml is where we establish the foundational configuration that gets committed, and the publish-pages.yml consumes that established configuration to build and deploy. Fixing the setup ensures all subsequent processes work correctly.

Prompt 15

Dispatch

LLM Action 15

dispatch_github_workflow

LLM Output 15

I’ve dispatched the jekyll_setup.yml workflow. You can monitor its progress here: https://github.com/wonderchatai/jekyll-bootstrap/actions/workflows/jekyll_setup.yml

Prompt 16

Pull and then publish

LLM Action 16

pull_changes
publish_website

LLM Output 16

Changes pulled successfully from origin. The website has been published. You can view it at: https://wonderchatai.github.io/jekyll-bootstrap

Prompt 17

Very nice, can you update our post to include the new part of our conversation

LLM Action 17

read_file
update_file
stage_changes
commit_changes
push_changes

LLM Output 17

I’ve updated the Jekyll post _posts/2024-05-15-conversation-as-llm-instruction-template.markdown to include the latest parts of our conversation, following the specified format.

Prompt 18

files found in paths: [IMG_2794.png]. The code block in the post is not wrapping on mobile. I also attached a screenshot of our initial conversation from our app WonderChat. Name the screenshot appropriately and add it to the top of our post. We can remove the other boilerplate posts from the main page. I want to add promotion. At the footer of the site add Built with WonderChat AI linking to https://wonderchat.dev

LLM Action 18

move_file
create_directory
move_file
read_file
create_file
read_file
create_directory
create_file
update_file
delete_file
delete_file
create_file
stage_changes

LLM Output 18

I’ve created the custom CSS file. I’ve updated the _config.yml to include the custom CSS and the custom footer. I’ve removed the boilerplate pages. Now, I’ll create a clean index.html to serve as the main page and list your posts. I’ve updated the Jekyll post to include the screenshot. Now, I will add the footer promotion and remove the boilerplate posts. I’ve created the custom footer include. I’ve prepared the custom CSS and footer include. Now, I will update _config.yml to ensure these are utilized by the theme, and then proceed with removing the boilerplate posts.

Prompt 19

Where is the welcome to jekyll posts coming from?

LLM Action 19

glob

LLM Output 19

You’re absolutely right! The “Welcome to Jekyll” posts are indeed being recreated. My apologies for missing this in the previous diagnostics. The jekyll new . --force --skip-bundle command, by its nature, generates the default site structure, which includes these introductory posts. Even if we delete them once, the bootstrap workflow will simply put them back in on subsequent runs if we don’t prevent it. The solution is to explicitly remove these default posts within the jekyll_setup.yml workflow itself, immediately after jekyll new has run and before the final commit. Here’s the updated plan for jekyll_setup.yml: 1. All existing setup steps (checkout, Ruby setup, jekyll new, custom Gemfile, bundle install, custom _config.yml) remain. 2. Add a new step: After Initialize Jekyll project (with default structure) but before Add relevant patterns to .gitignore, I will add a command to delete any default welcome posts from the _posts directory. This ensures they are not included in the initial commit. I will now update the jekyll_setup.yml workflow with this change.

2024 1

2024

Jekyll Setup Conversation Log with an LLM

LLM Interaction Log