Build Command

build is the main cr4te command. It reconciles metadata and renders the static site.

cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site

Common Examples

cr4te build -i path/to/Musicians -o path/to/site --domain music
cr4te build -i path/to/Artists -o path/to/site --domain art
cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site --strict
cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site --clean --force
cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site --open

Required Options

• -i, --input: path to the creator folder.
• -o, --output: path to the generated site folder.

The input and output paths must be different. The output path cannot be inside the input path, and the input path cannot be inside the output path.

Config Options

• --config: load a JSON config file.
• --domain: apply a domain preset.
• --image-sample-strategy: choose none, spread, head, or all.
• --portrait-strategy: choose none, named, or auto.

Build Behavior Options

• --strict: fail immediately on invalid metadata instead of skipping/reporting invalid entries.
• --open: open index.html after a successful build.
• --force: skip confirmation prompts.
• --clean: when clearing an existing output folder, also delete thumbnails.

Existing Output Folder

If the output folder already exists, cr4te asks before clearing it.

By default, it preserves the thumbnails folder so rebuilds can reuse generated thumbnails. Use --clean to remove thumbnails too.

Use --force when running non-interactively:

cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site --force

Build Summary

At the end of a build, cr4te logs a summary:

Build summary: creators=15, projects=17, errors=0, warnings=0

If best-effort mode encountered issues, they are listed with severity, scope, relative path, issue code, and message.

Best-Effort vs Strict

Default behavior is best-effort:

• Invalid creator metadata skips that creator.
• Invalid project metadata skips only that project.
• Warnings, such as unknown collaboration references, are reported.

Strict behavior:

cr4te build -i path/to/Creators -o path/to/site --strict

With --strict, metadata errors fail immediately.

Other Commands

Print the resolved config:

cr4te print-config
cr4te print-config --domain music

Delete metadata files:

cr4te clean-json -i path/to/Creators --dry-run
cr4te clean-json -i path/to/Creators --force

Use --dry-run before deleting metadata files.