Challenge10k · Acceleration
Jekyll Mastery - Expansion and Automation
Five-hour deep dive into an advanced Jekyll setup: i18n system, Challenge10k dashboard, content batching, and an automation pipeline.
The longest session this month—complete rebuild of the Jekyll architecture with a focus on scalability and automation.
🌍 I18n System Implementation (2h)
Built a custom i18n plugin for Jekyll.
Features implemented:
- Multi-language support (PL/EN)
- Translation key matching between posts
- Locale-specific URL structures
- Language switcher component
- Fallback mechanism for missing translations
Files created:
_plugins/i18n.rb- core functionality_locales/en.yml+_locales/pl.yml- translation files_includes/language-switcher.html- UI component
Challenge: Jekyll’s static nature plus dynamic language switching required creative Liquid templating.
📊 Challenge10k Dashboard (1.5h)
Expanded the dashboard with advanced metrics.
New calculations:
- Content hours batching (posts → practice hours)
- Logbook plus content hours aggregation
- Progress projections with trend analysis
- Monthly breakdowns with visual charts
Technical approach:
- Liquid loops for content processing
- YAML data structures for configuration
- Bootstrap components for responsive layout
- Custom CSS for challenge-specific styling
🔄 Content Batching Logic (1h)
Implemented the “writing hours” system.
Result: Posts with writing_hours metadata automatically count toward Challenge10k totals.
🎨 Bootstrap 5.3 Integration (0.5h)
Upgraded to the latest Bootstrap.
- CDN integration for faster loading
- Custom CSS variables for brand colors
- Responsive breakpoint optimization
- Icon fonts (Bootstrap Icons) integration
Results
- Full i18n system - ready to scale
- Challenge10k v2 - advanced metrics and projections
- Content batching - automated writing hour tracking
- Modern Bootstrap - responsive and performant
- Documentation - comprehensive CLI guide created
Technical Architecture
Jekyll Site Structure:
├── _plugins/i18n.rb # Custom translation system
├── _locales/*.yml # Translation files
├── _data/challenge.yml # Challenge configuration
├── _layouts/challenge10k.html # Dashboard layout
├── _logbook/*.md # Practice sessions
├── _posts/*.md # Bilingual content
└── assets/css/*.css # Custom styling
Related links
Key Learnings
- Liquid templating is powerful but has performance limits.
- YAML front matter enables complex content classification.
- Plugin architecture allows unlimited Jekyll customization.
- GitHub Pages constraints require careful dependency management.
- Bootstrap CDN beats local compilation for simple sites.
Performance Metrics
- Build time: 0.7s (300% improvement)
- Bundle size: 85KB (40% reduction)
- Lighthouse score: 95/100
- Mobile responsive: ✅ Passed all breakpoints
Next: GitHub Actions automation plus automated screenshot generation for social sharing.