This is a guide for installing Ruby and the Jekyll package on Windows 11. This is the first step towards setting up a devlog for programming projects hosted on Github Pages.

Github Web

First we must check if we are logged in to Github on our web browsers by visiting the Github website.

Github Desktop

Since we will be using the GUI client for git, make sure you have GitHub Desktop installed and that it is logged in to the same account as the previous step.

RubyInstaller with MSYS21

Since Jekyll projects require Ruby to be installed on the System, our first installation requires us to use RubyInstaller. Be sure to pick the latest version that includes Devkit.

After you click Save/Download, click Run and then click OK. Select “I accept the License” and then click Next. Ensure “Add Ruby executables to your PATH” is selected, and click Install.

Screenshot1

Next you will need to select the components to be installed. Ensure that the MSYS2 development tool chain is selected. Click Next. See the following screenshot:

Screenshot2

When you see the following screen, you’ll be done with the first part of the installation. Click Finish to proceed to the next and final part.

Screenshot3

The next screen installs the development toolchains. Select option 3 and press Enter. This will take a while and ultimately prompt you again for which tools to install. The second time you’re prompted, press Enter and the window will be dismissed.

Screenshot4

From the Windows start screen you’ll be able to find an app named Start Command Prompt with Ruby:

Screenshot5

To verify that Ruby was installed successfully enter the following command at the prompt:

ruby -v

Command Line git Configuration

In case you do not have a command line git installation, we can easily install the program through the official git download page.

Once the installation is completed and using the terminal opened in the previous step, we will adjust the user.name and user.email properties as follows:

$ git config --gloabl user.name "John Doe"
$ git config --gloabl user.email johndoe@example.com

Lastly, we will upgrade our RubyGems installation:

$ gem update --system

This concludes all the preliminary installations. We are now ready to create the Github repository and begin coding our devlog.

A New Github Repository

Create a new public repository named username.github.io where username is your username on Github.

Clone the repository

Click the “Set up in Desktop” button. When the Github desktop app opens, save the project.

Screenshot6

Create the first file

For the first file, we created a README.md file with the following contents:

# Devlog

This is the devlog for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge.

Commit and Publish

Enter the repository, commit your changes, and press the publish button.

Github Commit and Publish GIF

Conclusion

With all these steps completed you are now ready to begin setting up a Jekyll project for the devlog.

Next: Part 2 - Github Pages Deployment

Footnotes

  1. This RubyInstaller guide has been adapted for educational purposes from Agile Web Development with Rails 7 by Sam Ruby and Dave Thomas. All rights belong to their respective authors and The Pragmatic Bookself. ↩