Bridgetown is a Ruby-based site generator that compiles Markdown, layouts, and components into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It can build static sites, full-stack applications, or projects combining both. Static publishing features include permalinks, Git-based content deployment, atomic builds, data pipelines, and pagination. Collections, taxonomies, and content relationships help organize material, with content generated at build time or in real time and connected to a headless CMS or other web APIs. For full-stack projects, its Roda backend supports dynamic routes, server APIs, and database connections such as PostgreSQL. Template options include ERB, Serbea, Streamlined, and Liquid; components support modular design, web components, and Markdown inclusion. The frontend build system includes zero-configuration esbuild and PostCSS, and custom Ruby plugins can extend builds and content. Static output can be deployed wherever HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files are served; Render is recommended for full-stack production setups. Installation requires GCC and Make, Ruby 3.3 or newer, and Node 22.21 or newer. Source code is MIT-licensed.
Who it is for
Bridgetown suits developers building static sites or full-stack applications with Ruby and JavaScript. It may fit projects that need content collections, CMS or API connections, or a Roda backend with database access.
What is good
- Supports static sites and full-stack applications
- Roda supports dynamic routes and server APIs
- Connects to headless CMS products and web APIs
- MIT-licensed source code
What to know first
- Installation requires GCC and Make
- Requires Ruby 3.3 or newer
- Requires Node 22.21 or newer
- Render is recommended for full-stack production setups
Verdict
Bridgetown combines static publishing tools with a Roda backend and frontend asset build system. Its installation requirements include GCC, Make, Ruby 3.3 or newer, and Node 22.21 or newer.
Compared on static site generators
- Free plan
- Yes
- Content sources
- markdown
- CMS integration
- Yes
- Incremental builds
- Yes
- Multilingual support
- Yes
- Local preview server
- Yes
- Supported languages
- Ruby, JavaScript
