Switch to Hugo

When I started this website, I decided to use a static site generator because it could run for long periods without maintenance, unlike dynamic websites which are subject to security issues and sometimes need emergency patches. I chose GitHub and Jekyll because it was included.

I was very happy with the result, and at the beginning I found the workflow very convenient.

Then came various inconveniences. First, after any reinstallation, Jekyll stopped working on my computer, and I had to use various workarounds. I remember even using a virtual machine on VirtualBox. I eventually managed to get it working again. This issue now occurs less often because I often work in WSL, where Mistral Vibe works better, but I still had various annoyances, such as the need to run bundler exec.

The build time is also painfully slow. Sure, I would not have this issue if --watch --incremental worked, but it does not because my documents are on a Windows folder while I work in WSL. I want to keep the documents in Windows to have them backed up like everything else. Someday I will rework my workflow, but that will be for another day.

Enough. I decided to migrate to Hugo.

Thanks to Mistral Vibe, the migration was quite feasible. Not as simple as using a converter script, but quite feasible nonetheless.

What I already have from this migration and what I want:

• Faster local builds. Already achieved, and I am really enjoying it.

• Easier installation on Windows. Not currently tested; I will see how well Mistral Vibe works outside of WSL.

• Faster builds on GitHub. This seems to be already the case, but I have not performed formal benchmarks.

Edit 2026-08-23: I reorganised my workflow. Instead of working from WSL on Windows files and folders, I moved the relevant files and folders in WSL and use Nextcloud to have backups. Jekyll would indeed have been much faster and with proper automatic rebuild with this setup, but Hugo is blazing fast and very convenient. I will use even more this workflow, particularly because Mistral Vibe is easier to use in WSL than in Windows.