How to Set up a Gatsby JS Project

Published March 23, 2024 | By Matt

Understanding Gatsby.js: Why Use It?

Static Site Generator: Gatsby transforms your React code into a static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript file collection.
Performance: Static sites generated by Gatsby deliver lightning-fast load speeds and enhanced user experiences.
SEO-Friendly: Pre-rendered HTML makes your content easily discoverable by search engines.
Ideal for Blogs: Gatsby’s strengths and the included ‘blog starter’ make it a popular choice for building blogs and similar content-driven websites.

Prerequisites

Node.js (version 18 or newer): Download and install from https://nodejs.org/
npm or yarn (package managers): These are installed along with Node.js.

Installation

Global Gatsby CLI:
Bash
npm install -g gatsby-cli
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Or, if you prefer yarn:
Bash
yarn global add gatsby-cli
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Creating Your Gatsby Project

Using the Default Starter:
Bash
gatsby new my-awesome-project
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Using the Blog Starter:
Bash
gatsby new my-blog https://www.gatsbyjs.org/starters/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-blog/
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Project Structure

content/blog: Houses your blog posts in Markdown format.
src: Contains React components, pages, templates, and utility functions.
- components: Reusable React components.
- pages: Components here become individual pages on your site.
- templates: Reusable layouts for pages (like blog post templates).
gatsby-config.js: Site metadata, plugin configuration.
gatsby-node.js: Dynamic page creation, GraphQL node customization.
gatsby-browser.js: Client-side JavaScript for browser customization.

Running the Development Server

Navigate into your project directory:
Bash
cd my-blog
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Start the development server:
Bash
gatsby develop
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Your site will be accessible at http://localhost:8000

Key Concepts and Customization

GraphQL: Gatsby uses GraphQL to fetch data from various sources (e.g., Markdown files, CMSs).
Plugins: Extend Gatsby’s functionality with plugins for image optimization, data sourcing, SEO, and more. Find them on the Gatsby Plugin Library: https://www.gatsbyjs.com/plugins/
Styling: Gatsby supports various styling methods (CSS Modules, styled-components, etc.).

Wrapping Up

Gatsby offers a powerful, streamlined approach to building blazing-fast, SEO-optimized React websites. Its pre-rendering, rich plugin ecosystem and starter templates make it an excellent choice for developers seeking a performant and developer-friendly solution.