Configure the public files folder (FREE)

GitLab Pages requires all files you intend to be available in the published website to be in a root-level folder called public. This page describe how to set this up for some common static site generators.

Guide by framework

Eleventy

For Eleventy, you should either:

1. Add the --output=public flag in Eleventy's build commands, for example:

   npx @11ty/eleventy --input=path/to/sourcefiles --output=public

2. Add the following to your .eleventy.js file:

   // .eleventy.js
   module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
     return {
       dir: {
         output: "public"
       }
     }
   };

Astro

By default, Astro uses the public folder to store static assets. For GitLab Pages, rename that folder to a collision-free alternative first:

1. In your project directory, run:

   mv public static

2. Add the following to your astro.config.mjs. This code informs Astro about our folder name remapping:

   // astro.config.mjs
   export default {
     // GitLab Pages requires exposed files to be located in a folder called "public".
     // So we're instructing Astro to put the static build output in a folder of that name.
     dist: 'public',
   
     // The folder name Astro uses for static files (`public`) is already reserved
     // for the build output. So in deviation from the defaults we're using a folder
     // called `static` instead.
     public: 'static',
   };

SvelteKit

NOTE: GitLab Pages supports only static sites. For SvelteKit, we recommend using adapter-static.

When using adapter-static, add the following to your svelte.config.js:

// svelte.config.js
import adapter from '@sveltejs/adapter-static';

export default {
  kit: {
    adapter: adapter({
      pages: 'public'
    })
  }
};

Next.js

NOTE: GitLab Pages supports only static sites. For Next.js, we recommend using Next's Static HTML export functionality

Use the -o public flag after next export as the build command, for example:

next export -o public

Nuxt.js

NOTE: GitLab Pages supports only static sites.

1. Add the following to your nuxt.config.js:

   export default {
     target: 'static',
     generate: {
       dir: 'public'
     }
   }

2. Configure your Nuxt.js application for Static Site Generation.

Vite

Update your vite.config.js to include the following:

// vite.config.js
export default {
  build: {
    outDir: 'public'
  }
}

Webpack

Update your webpack.config.js to include the following:

// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
  output: {
    path: __dirname + '/public'
  }
};

Should you commit the public folder?

Not necessarily. However, when the GitLab Pages deploy pipeline runs, it looks for an artifact of that name. So If you set up a job that creates the public folder before deploy, such as by running npm run build, committing the folder isn't required.

If you prefer to build your site locally, you can commit the public folder and omit the build step during the job, instead.