WikiYou is a free, community-built encyclopedia powered by GitHub. Anyone can create or edit pages by submitting a Pull Request. This guide explains everything you need to know to get started.
Contents
1. Quick Start
Contributing to WikiYou is a simple process using GitHub's Pull Request workflow:
Fork the Repository
Go to github.com/altlimit/wikiyou and click the Fork button in the top-right corner. This creates your own copy of the project.
Create Your Page
Add a new
.htmlfile in the appropriate category folder undersite/src/. Choose the right template and fill in the frontmatter fields (see below).Write Your Content
Write your content inside the
{{define "content"}}block using standard HTML and the CSS helper classes provided below. No custom CSS needed!Submit a Pull Request
Commit your changes, push to your fork, then open a Pull Request to the main repository. The maintainers will review and merge your contribution.
Tip: You can create and edit files directly on GitHub without cloning the repository. Just navigate to the folder you want and click "Add file" → "Create new file".
2. Directory Structure
Pages are organized into category folders. Always place your file in the correct category:
| Folder | Category | What Goes Here | Template |
|---|---|---|---|
site/src/companies/ | Companies | Business profiles, startups, organizations | profile.html |
site/src/tools/ | Tools | Calculators, converters, interactive utilities | tool.html |
site/src/people/ | People | Biographies, public figures, creators | profile.html |
site/src/games/ | Games | Browser games, game reviews, gaming history | article.html or tool.html |
site/src/apps/ | Apps | App reviews, feature walkthroughs, app history | article.html |
site/src/guides/ | Guides | How-to articles, tutorials, educational content | article.html |
Important: Use lowercase, hyphenated filenames. For example: my-company-name.html,
not My Company Name.html.
3. Available Templates
WikiYou provides several templates designed for different types of content. Choose the one that best fits your page:
General-purpose wiki article layout. Best for informational content, histories, tutorials, and guides.
General UseWikipedia-style profile with an infobox sidebar. Best for companies, organizations, and people.
ProfilesInteractive tool layout with app container. Best for calculators, converters, and browser-based tools.
Interactive4. Article Template
The article template is the most versatile. Use it for any informational content.
---
template: article.html
title: Your Article Title
description: "A brief description for SEO and social sharing."
category: guides
category_label: Guides
og_type: article
---
{{define "content"}}
<h2>Section Heading</h2>
<p>Your content here. Use standard HTML tags.</p>
<h2>Another Section</h2>
<p>More content. You can use lists, tables, code blocks, and more.</p>
<ul>
<li>Point one</li>
<li>Point two</li>
</ul>
{{end}}5. Profile Template
The profile template shows a Wikipedia-style infobox sidebar. The infobox fields are populated automatically from your frontmatter.
---
template: profile.html
title: Company or Person Name
description: "Brief description for SEO."
category: companies
category_label: Companies
type: Private Company
industry: Software Development
founded: "2020"
location: San Francisco, CA
website: https://example.com
github: username
og_type: article
---
{{define "content"}}
<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>An overview paragraph about the subject.</p>
<h2>History</h2>
<p>Historical details and background.</p>
{{end}}Available infobox fields:
| Field | Description | Used For |
|---|---|---|
type | Entity type (e.g., "Private Company") | Companies, Orgs |
industry | Industry or field | Companies |
founded | Year founded | Companies |
location | Headquarters or location | Companies, People |
website | Official website URL | Companies, People |
founders | Founder names | Companies |
employees | Employee count | Companies |
github | GitHub username | Companies, People |
born | Birth date/year | People |
occupation | Job title or occupation | People |
6. Tool Template
The tool template provides a centered layout for interactive applications. Include your JavaScript in the
addHead block.
---
template: tool.html
title: My Calculator
description: "A brief description of what this tool does."
category: tools
category_label: Tools
info: true
og_type: article
---
{{define "addHead"}}
<script>
// Your JavaScript here
</script>
{{end}}
{{define "content"}}
<!-- Your interactive tool HTML here -->
<div class="form-group">
<label for="input1">Enter a value</label>
<input type="text" id="input1">
</div>
<div class="form-result" id="result">Result</div>
{{end}}
{{define "tool-info"}}
<h2>About This Tool</h2>
<p>Explain what the tool does and how to use it.</p>
{{end}}7. CSS Helper Classes
WikiYou provides a rich set of CSS utility classes so you can create well-structured pages without writing custom CSS. Here are the most commonly used classes:
Layout
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
container | Centered content with max-width and padding |
grid-2, grid-3, grid-4 | Responsive grid layouts (2, 3, or 4 columns) |
flex, flex-col, flex-center | Flexbox utilities |
gap-1 through gap-6 | Gap between flex/grid items |
Typography
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
text-sm, text-lg, text-xl, text-2xl | Font sizes |
font-bold, font-semibold | Font weights |
text-muted, text-light | Muted/light text colors |
text-center, text-right | Text alignment |
Spacing
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
mt-1 through mt-8 | Margin top (scales from 0.25rem to 3rem) |
mb-1 through mb-8 | Margin bottom |
p-2 through p-6 | Padding all sides |
py-2 through py-10 | Padding top and bottom |
px-3 through px-6 | Padding left and right |
Components
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
card, card-hover | Card with border and optional hover effect |
badge, badge-accent | Inline badge/tag |
btn, btn-primary, btn-outline | Button styles |
alert alert-info | Info notice box (also: alert-success, alert-warning,
alert-danger) |
bg-white, bg-subtle | Background colors |
rounded, rounded-lg | Border radius |
shadow, shadow-md | Box shadows |
8. Content Guidelines
- Be factual and neutral. Write in an encyclopedic tone similar to Wikipedia. Avoid promotional language.
- Use sections. Break your content into clearly headed sections using
<h2>and<h3>tags. - Write enough content. Aim for at least 3-4 paragraphs. Stubs are acceptable but fuller articles are preferred.
- Add descriptions. Always include a
descriptionfield in your frontmatter for SEO and social sharing. - Quote multi-line strings. YAML frontmatter values that contain colons or span multiple lines must be wrapped in quotes.
- Use lowercase filenames. Use hyphens to separate words:
my-page-title.html. - Cite your sources. Link to references or external sources when presenting factual claims.
- No inappropriate content. Content must be suitable for a general audience.
Ready to contribute? Head over to the WikiYou GitHub repository and create your first page!