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SEO Tools

Markdown Front Matter Generator

Build YAML front matter with title, date, description, tags, layout, author, slug, and draft status. Copy the block into the top of your Markdown content files.

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What is Markdown Front Matter Generator?

Front matter is a block of YAML or TOML at the top of a Markdown file that provides metadata to the static site generator. It tells the generator what layout to use, what the page title is, when it was published, and which tags or categories apply. Front matter is the bridge between raw Markdown content and the generated HTML page.

Quick answer

Front matter is YAML or TOML metadata at the top of a Markdown file that tells your static site generator the page title, layout, publish date, tags, and other settings. It is separated from content by triple dashes.

Limitations

  • The specific front matter fields vary by static site generator. Jekyll, Hugo, Astro, and 11ty each use different field names and conventions.
  • This tool generates YAML format only. Generators that prefer TOML or JSON front matter will need a different format.
  • Front matter values are case-sensitive in most static site generators. layout: post and Layout: post are treated as different fields.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the page title, publish date, and meta description for your post or page.
  2. Add tags and an author name if your site supports them. Leave these blank to omit.
  3. Set the layout to match your theme's template name, such as post or page.
  4. Copy the generated front matter block and paste it at the very top of your Markdown file.

What you can use it for

  • Create consistent front matter for a batch of new blog posts.
  • Generate front matter for a static site migration from WordPress to Jekyll or Hugo.
  • Prepare draft front matter with draft: true so the content stays unpublished during review.

Use cases

Practical examples

Example

Jekyll blog post

A writer adds front matter with title, date, layout: post, and a list of tags. Jekyll uses the layout to wrap the content and the date to sort it in the blog archive.

Example

Astro content collection entry

An Astro site uses front matter with title, description, and a slug field. The slug overrides the filename so the URL stays clean even when the file is renamed.

Common mistakes

  • Using tabs instead of spaces in YAML values, which causes parse errors in static site generators.
  • Forgetting the closing ---, which makes the generator treat the rest of the file as front matter.
  • Writing unquoted values with colons or special characters such as Title: My Page: Subtitle, which breaks the YAML parser.

Verification

  1. Build the site with your static site generator and confirm the page renders with the correct layout, title, and metadata from the front matter.
  2. Check that special characters in front matter values are quoted to avoid YAML parse errors during build.

FAQ

Questions about Markdown Front Matter Generator

What is front matter used for?

Front matter tells your static site generator how to handle a page: which layout to apply, what title to use in the HTML head, when to publish, and how to organize the content in collections or tag pages.

Does every Markdown file need front matter?

No. Static files like an about page with no special metadata can omit front matter. Most generators treat a file without front matter as a plain HTML passthrough.

What is the difference between YAML and TOML front matter?

YAML uses indentation-based structure with key: value pairs separated by colons. TOML uses INI-style sections with key = value pairs. Most static site generators default to YAML, but Hugo and some others support TOML as an alternative.

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