Static Site Generator for Ruby on Rails

Perron.configure do |config| config.site_name = "Perron" config.search_scope = %w[articles resources] config.additional_routes = %w[root_path search_path] # Set meta title suffix config.metadata.title_suffix = "Perron" config.metadata.title_separator = " | " config.metadata.author = "Rails Designer" config.markdown_options = { options: { render: { unsafe: true } }, plugins: { syntax_highlighter: { theme: "tailwind-slate-dark", path: Rails.root.join("app", "themes").to_s } } } end

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" class="scroll-smooth"> <%= render "shared/head" %> <body class="selection:bg-gray-300 selection:text-gray-800 antialiased scroll-smooth [--nav-width:18rem]"> <%= render "layouts/content/docs/navigation" %> <main class="flex flex-row gap-12 w-full [--nav-width:18rem]"> <%= render partial: "layouts/content/docs/sidebar_navigation", locals: { top_level_items: [{label: "Library", href: resources_path, icon: "cube", current_page?: current_page?(controller: "resources")}, {label: "Docs", href: articles_path, icon: "book-open", current_page?: current_page?(controller: "articles", action: "index")}], sections: Content::Article.sections } %> <div class="relative grow flex-col w-full mx-auto lg:ml-(--nav-width) lg:px-6"> <%= render partial: "layouts/content/docs/sidebar_navigation/toggle_button", locals: { resource: @resource } %> <%= yield %> </div> </main> </body> </html>

class Content::Article < Perron::Resource include Adjacency search_fields :description, :collection_name SECTIONS = { getting_started: "Getting started", content: "Content", metadata: "Metadata" }.with_indifferent_access def self.sections SECTIONS.map { |section_data| Section.new(key: section_data.first, name: section_data.second, resources: Content::Article.all.select { it.metadata.section == section_data.first }.sort_by(&:order)) } end delegate :section, :order, :title, :description, to: :metadata validates :title, :description, presence: true validates :section, inclusion: { in: SECTIONS.keys } validates :order, numericality: { greater_than_or_equal_to: 1 } def article_section Section.new(key: metadata.section, name: SECTIONS[metadata.section], resources: Content::Article.all.select { it.metadata.section == metadata.section }.sort_by(&:order)) end def collection_name = "Docs" private Section = Data.define(:key, :name, :resources) end

Hey! 👋

Another Static Site Generator (SSG)? Launched in 2025? Yes! For years I've built static sites using Ruby-based SSGs and occasionally tried JavaScript alternatives. But there's always been a frustrating disconnect when switching between building Rails apps and creating static sites. You can't reuse your views, helpers, partials or any of the frontend code you've already built. Countless parts of your Rails workflow simply aren't transferable to static site generators (even Ruby-based ones!).

Perron (Dutch/French; a platform at a railway station from where passengers can board or disembark trains) bridges this gap elegantly. Rather than being a standalone SSG, Perron is packaged as a gem that runs within your Rails app. This approach gives you:

all the Rails features you know and love: layouts, views, partials, helpers and all the gems you already use in your app
purpose-built tools for static content: content collections, markdown processing, frontmatter parsing and built-in search
SEO essentials (meta tags, sitemap.xml) and syndication feeds (RSS/JSON)
smart features like related content recommendations (using TF-IDF algorithm) and programmatic content (for pSEO)
flexible data handling through YML, JSON or CSV files

Perron offers two operating modes to fit your needs:

Standalone: generate a complete static site for deployment to services like Netlify, Render, statichost.eu, etc.
Integrated: add static pages directly to your existing Rails application

With Perron's convention-over-configuration approach, you can organize content in familiar Rails patterns. Create collections with generators, set up routes naturally and leverage ERB embedding in your markdown when needed.

Perron is already powering multiple sites (this site's repo can be found here). I'd love to see you give Perron a try for your next marketing site, blog or documentation project! 😊

Check it out (and ⭐ it) on GitHub. ❤️

-Rails Designer