add-content-type

name: add-content-type description: "Add a new content type to the lqdev.me F# static site generator — complete 8-file checklist"

Add Content Type to lqdev.me

This skill walks through adding a new content type to the F# static site generator. A content type requires changes in 8 files, in this order.

Prerequisites

• Working in the lqdev.me repo (verify PersonalSite.fsproj exists)
• dotnet build passes before starting

The 8-File Checklist

1. Domain.fs — Define the type

Add a new details record type with [<CLIMutable>] and [<YamlMember>] attributes:

[<CLIMutable>]
type MyContentDetails = {
    [<YamlMember(Alias="title")>] Title: string
    [<YamlMember(Alias="description")>] Description: string
    [<YamlMember(Alias="published_date")>] PublishedDate: string
    // Add fields as needed
}

Add the wrapper record:

type MyContent = {
    FileName: string
    Metadata: MyContentDetails
    Content: string
    MarkdownSource: string option
}

Implement ITaggable if the content type has tags.

2. ASTParsing.fs — Add parse function

Add a parse function (usually a one-liner wrapping the generic parser):

let parseMyContentFromFile (filePath: string) =
    parseDocumentFromFile<MyContentDetails> filePath

3. Processors/MyContentProcessor.fs — Create processor

Create a new file Processors/MyContentProcessor.fs as a top-level module (no =) that opens GenericBuilder for the core abstraction, then defines a ContentProcessor<MyContent>:

module MyContentProcessor

open GenericBuilder
// ...other opens as needed (Domain, ASTParsing, Giraffe.ViewEngine, ...)

let create () : ContentProcessor<MyContent> = {
    Parse = fun filePath -> ...
    Render = fun entry -> ...
    OutputPath = fun entry -> ...
    RenderCard = fun entry -> ...
    RenderRss = fun entry -> ...
}

Wire it into PersonalSite.fsproj between GenericBuilder.fs and UnifiedFeeds.fs (after the other Processors\*.fs entries) — UnifiedFeeds.fs and the page builders consume processors, so they must compile after. The core ContentProcessor/FeedData types and buildContentWithFeeds stay in GenericBuilder.fs; reference them as GenericBuilder.FeedData<_> etc.

Also add a convertMyContentToUnified function in UnifiedFeeds.fs (and a feed in buildAllFeeds) if the content type should appear in the unified feed and/or have its own RSS feed.

4. Builders/ContentTypePages.fs — Add build function

Add a buildMyContent delegate in Builders/ContentTypePages.fs (module ContentTypePagesBuilder) following the existing BuildDriver-based pattern. It orchestrates: load source files → parse → render → write output, returning the GenericBuilder.FeedData<MyContent> list for the unified feed. Call the processor as MyContentProcessor.create() (unqualified — it's a top-level module).

5. Program.fs — Wire into main pipeline

Add the build function call in the main pipeline, after data collection (let myContentFeedData = buildMyContent()), then add one row to the contentRoster table (the B1 content-type registry):

{ Identity = ContentTypes.ContentType.MyContent; Unified = myContentUnified
  InTimeline = true; InAllFeeds = true; InBlogArchive = false }

The timeline / all-content / blog-archive feed lists DERIVE from this roster, so you set participation once via the flags — there are no separate membership lists to keep in sync. (Adding the ContentType.MyContent DU case in ContentTypes.fs

• its serialize/parse/urlPrefix arms is compiler-enforced.) Tag-page participation (allTaggableContent) and desktop nav (Views/Navigation.fs) remain explicit and are edited separately when relevant.

6. Views/LayoutViews.fs — Page view

Create the individual page view function.

7. Views/CollectionViews.fs — Index/listing view

Create the collection/listing view for the content type landing page.

8. Views/Partials.fs — Re-export

Add re-exports if the content type introduces new shared view components.

Validation

After all 8 files are updated:

1. dotnet build — must compile with 0 errors
2. dotnet run — must generate the site successfully
3. Check output in _public/ for correct rendering

Important Notes

• Use fully qualified type names (MediaType.Unknown not Unknown)
• ASTParsing.fs uses .IgnoreUnmatchedProperties() — new optional string fields default to null and need no parser changes
• Add any new .fs module to PersonalSite.fsproj respecting compile order: Processors\*.fs go between GenericBuilder.fs and UnifiedFeeds.fs; Builders\*.fs go after their dependencies (Views, Services, UnifiedFeeds.fs, BuildDriver.fs) and before Program.fs
• Date field names vary by type: posts use published_date, responses use dt_published