Hexo Blog Update Skill

Overview

Standardized workflow for creating, editing, and publishing Hexo blog posts.

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a new blog post
• Edit existing blog posts
• Preview blog locally before publishing
• Deploy blog to production

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed (>= 14)
• Hexo CLI installed globally (npm install -g hexo-cli)
• Blog repository cloned locally
• Git configured with SSH key for deployment

Workflow

Step 1: Create New Post

# Navigate to blog directory
cd /path/to/blog

# Create new post
hexo new post "post-title"

# Or use npm script
npm run new "post-title"

Post will be created at: source/_posts/post-title.md

Step 2: Edit Post Content

Edit the generated markdown file with the following structure:

---
title: Post Title
date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
categories:
- Category 1
- Category 2
tags:
- Tag 1
- Tag 2
---

Post excerpt content, will be displayed in the homepage list...

<!--more-->

## Body Heading

Body content...

## Another Heading

More content...

Important Rules:

• ✅ Use <!--more--> to separate excerpt from full content
• ✅ Set proper categories and tags
• ✅ Use Chinese for Chinese blogs
• ✅ Keep front matter (YAML between ---) at the top

Step 3: Local Preview

# Start local server
hexo server

# Or with npm
npm run server

Access at: http://localhost:4000

Preview Checklist:

• Post appears in list with correct title
• Excerpt shows correctly (before <!--more-->)
• Full content displays properly
• Categories and tags are correct
• No formatting errors

Step 4: Deploy to Production

# Deploy (clean + generate + deploy)
npm run release-blog

# Or manually
hexo clean && hexo generate && hexo deploy

Deployment Output:

INFO  Deploy done: git
To github.com:username/username.github.io.git
   xxx...xxx  HEAD -> master

Standard Post Template

---
title: Post Title
date: 2026-02-11 17:20:00
categories:
- Category 1
- Category 2
tags:
- Tag 1
- Tag 2
- Tag 3
---

Post excerpt, displayed in the homepage list. Briefly introduce the article content and value.

<!--more-->

## Preface

Detailed background introduction...

## Main Content

### Section 1

Content...

### Section 2

Content...

## Summary

Summary of key points...

---

*Related Links*:
- [Link Description](url)

Common Commands Reference

File Structure

blog/
├── source/
│   └── _posts/
│       └── post-title.md      # Post files
├── themes/                    # Theme directory
├── _config.yml               # Site config
├── package.json              # Scripts & dependencies
└── public/                   # Generated output (auto)

Best Practices

Do's

✅ Always preview before deploying ✅ Use meaningful categories and tags ✅ Include <!--more--> for proper excerpt ✅ Check date format (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS) ✅ Verify deployment success message

Don'ts

❌ Don't modify public/ directory directly ❌ Don't forget to set categories/tags ❌ Don't skip local preview ❌ Don't use special characters in filenames

Troubleshooting

Post not showing in list

• Check if file is in source/_posts/
• Verify front matter format
• Run hexo clean and regenerate

Deployment fails

• Check SSH key configuration
• Verify git remote is correct
• Ensure network connectivity

Formatting issues

• Use standard Markdown syntax
• Verify YAML front matter syntax
• Check theme compatibility

Example Session

User: Create a new blog post about AI tools

Agent:

Step 1: Create post
$ hexo new post "Recommended AI Development Tools"
INFO  Created: source/_posts/Recommended-AI-Development-Tools.md

Step 2: Edit content
[Edit file with proper structure and <!--more-->]

Step 3: Preview
$ hexo server
INFO  Hexo is running at http://localhost:4000/
[Verify post displays correctly]

Step 4: Deploy
$ npm run release-blog
INFO  Deploy done: git

Version History

• v1.0 (2026-02-11) - Initial release
  • Standard 4-step workflow
  • Chinese blog format support
  • Common commands reference