🚀 Hugo Speedrun on Debian #
Your ultra-quick guide to hosting markdown files with Hugo.
🛠️ 1. Installation #
First, get the necessary tools. We’ll grab the latest Hugo Extended version from GitHub.
# Install Git
sudo apt update && sudo apt install git -y
# Find latest Hugo extended .deb file from https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases
# Example for v0.128.0:
wget https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/download/v0.128.0/hugo_extended_0.128.0_linux-amd64.deb
# Install the package
sudo dpkg -i hugo_extended_0.128.0_linux-amd64.deb
# Verify installation
hugo version
🌐 2. Create a New Site #
Now, let’s scaffold a new Hugo project.
# Create a new site named 'my-awesome-site'
hugo new site my-awesome-site
# Navigate into the new directory
cd my-awesome-site
# Initialize a git repository
git init
🎨 3. Add a Theme #
A Hugo site needs a theme. We’ll add ‘Ananke’ as a Git submodule.
# Add the Ananke theme
git submodule add https://github.com/theNewDynamic/gohugo-theme-ananke.git themes/ananke
# Tell Hugo to use the theme by adding it to the config file
echo "theme = 'ananke'" >> hugo.toml
✍️ 4. Add Content #
Create your first markdown post.
# Create a new post
hugo new content posts/my-first-post.md
Now edit content/posts/my-first-post.md. Make sure to change draft: true to draft: false in the front matter when you’re ready to publish.
---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2025-07-06T13:47:05+02:00
draft: false
---
Hello, world! This is my first post.
## This is a subtitle
- Here is a list item.
- And another.
🖥️ 5. Run the Dev Server #
Preview your site locally. The server will automatically reload when you make changes.
# Start the Hugo development server
hugo server
➡️ Open your browser to http://localhost:1313/.
📦 6. Build Your Site #
When you’re ready to deploy, build the static files.
# Build the static site
hugo
✨ Your static site is now ready in the public/ directory. You can host these files on any static web host.