Quantum Computing Journey Blog

A Jekyll-based blog exploring quantum computing, from Boolean logic to quantum gates, with philosophical reflections on Vedanta and consciousness. Designed for GitHub Pages deployment with LinkedIn sharing capabilities.

✅ Recent Fixes (Dec 1, 2025)

Issue: Blog posts weren't displaying - pages were empty except the homepage.

Root Cause: Missing default.html layout and improper configuration.

Fixes Applied:

1. Created _layouts/default.html - The base template that all pages inherit from
2. Created _layouts/home.html - Homepage template with post listing
3. Added assets/css/style.css - Custom styling for the blog
4. Fixed _config.yml - Removed conflicting collections configuration
5. Updated index.md and about.md - Proper layout references

Features

• ✍️ Write blog posts in Markdown
• 🚀 Automatic deployment to GitHub Pages
• 🔗 LinkedIn and social media sharing buttons
• 📱 Responsive design with Minima theme
• 🔍 SEO optimized with meta tags
• 📊 Sitemap and RSS feed generation

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Ruby 3.0 or higher
• Bundler gem
• Git

Installation

1. Clone this repository or push it to your GitHub account

2. Install dependencies:

bundle install

3. Update the configuration in _config.yml:

   • Change title, email, description
   • Update url to your GitHub Pages URL (e.g., https://yourusername.github.io)
   • Set your social media usernames

4. Run the site locally:

bundle exec jekyll serve

5. Visit http://localhost:4000 in your browser

Writing Blog Posts

Creating a New Post

1. Create a new file in the _posts directory with the naming format:

   YYYY-MM-DD-title-of-your-post.md
   

2. Add front matter at the top of the file:

   ---
   layout: post
   title: "Your Post Title"
   date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS +0000
   categories: category-name
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   author: Your Name
   description: "Brief description for SEO"
   ---
   
   Your content goes here...

3. Write your content in Markdown below the front matter

Markdown Features

• Headers: Use # for H1, ## for H2, etc.
• Bold: **text**
• Italic: *text*
• Links: [link text](url)
• Images: ![alt text](/assets/images/image.jpg)
• Code blocks: Use triple backticks with language identifier

Example:

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, World!")
```

Publishing to GitHub Pages

Initial Setup

1. Push your repository to GitHub

2. Go to your repository Settings → Pages

3. Under "Source", select "GitHub Actions"

4. The included .github/workflows/jekyll.yml workflow will automatically build and deploy your site

Automatic Deployment

Every time you push to the main branch:

1. GitHub Actions will build your Jekyll site
2. Deploy it to GitHub Pages
3. Your site will be available at https://yourusername.github.io/repository-name

Publishing to LinkedIn

While LinkedIn doesn't support direct API posting, you can easily share your articles:

1. After publishing to GitHub Pages, visit your article URL

2. Click the "Share on LinkedIn" button on the post page

3. LinkedIn will open with a pre-filled post containing your article link

4. Add your own commentary and publish to LinkedIn

Tips for LinkedIn Sharing

• Write a compelling introduction (2-3 sentences) when sharing
• Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility
• Tag relevant people or companies
• Share at optimal times (Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-12pm)

Project Structure

.
├── _config.yml           # Site configuration
├── _posts/               # Blog posts (Markdown files)
├── _layouts/             # HTML templates
├── _includes/            # Reusable HTML components
├── assets/
│   ├── css/             # Custom stylesheets
│   └── images/          # Image files
├── about.md              # About page
├── index.md              # Homepage
├── Gemfile               # Ruby dependencies
└── .github/
    └── workflows/        # GitHub Actions workflows

Customization

Changing the Theme

The default theme is Minima. To use a different theme:

1. Browse Jekyll themes
2. Update theme in _config.yml
3. Add the theme gem to Gemfile
4. Run bundle install

Custom Styling

Add custom CSS in assets/css/custom.css and include it in your layouts.

Adding Pages

Create a new .md file in the root directory with front matter:

---
layout: page
title: Page Title
permalink: /page-url/
---

Page content here...

Troubleshooting

Jekyll build fails locally

bundle update
bundle exec jekyll serve

GitHub Pages deployment fails

• Check the Actions tab in your GitHub repository
• Verify _config.yml syntax
• Ensure all front matter is valid YAML

Posts not appearing

• Verify filename format: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
• Check that the date in front matter isn't in the future
• Ensure the file is in the _posts directory

Resources

• Jekyll Documentation
• GitHub Pages Documentation
• Markdown Guide
• LinkedIn Sharing Best Practices

License

This project structure is available for personal and commercial use.

Contributing

Feel free to fork this repository and customize it for your needs!

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Happy blogging! 🎉