83 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
83 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
# The init command
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There is some minimal boilerplate that is the same for every new book. It's for
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this purpose that mdBook includes an `init` command.
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The `init` command is used like this:
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```bash
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mdbook init
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```
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When using the `init` command for the first time, a couple of files will be set
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up for you:
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```bash
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book-test/
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├── book
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└── src
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├── chapter_1.md
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└── SUMMARY.md
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```
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- The `src` directory is where you write your book in markdown. It contains all
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the source files, configuration files, etc.
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- The `book` directory is where your book is rendered. All the output is ready
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to be uploaded to a server to be seen by your audience.
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- The `SUMMARY.md` is the skeleton of your
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book, and is discussed in more detail [in another
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chapter](../format/summary.md).
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#### Tip: Generate chapters from SUMMARY.md
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When a `SUMMARY.md` file already exists, the `init` command will first parse it
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and generate the missing files according to the paths used in the `SUMMARY.md`.
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This allows you to think and create the whole structure of your book and then
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let mdBook generate it for you.
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#### Specify a directory
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The `init` command can take a directory as an argument to use as the book's root
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instead of the current working directory.
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```bash
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mdbook init path/to/book
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```
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#### --theme
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When you use the `--theme` flag, the default theme will be copied into a
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directory called `theme` in your source directory so that you can modify it.
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The theme is selectively overwritten, this means that if you don't want to
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overwrite a specific file, just delete it and the default file will be used.
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#### --title
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Specify a title for the book. If not supplied, an interactive prompt will ask for
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a title.
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```bash
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mdbook init --title="my amazing book"
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```
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#### --ignore
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Create a `.gitignore` file configured to ignore the `book` directory created when [building] a book.
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If not supplied, an interactive prompt will ask whether it should be created.
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```bash
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mdbook init --ignore=none
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```
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```bash
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mdbook init --ignore=git
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```
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[building]: build.md
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#### --force
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Skip the prompts to create a `.gitignore` and for the title for the book.
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