Default Metalsmith build

.gitignore

node_modules
_build

build.js

var Metalsmith = require('metalsmith')
var sitemap = require('metalsmith-mapsite')
var feed = require('metalsmith-feed')
var defaultValues = require('metalsmith-default-values')
// HTML
var layouts = require('metalsmith-layouts')
var drafts = require('metalsmith-drafts')
var snippet = require('metalsmith-snippet')
var markdown = require('metalsmith-markdown')
var permalinks = require('metalsmith-permalinks')
var collections = require('metalsmith-collections')
var pagination = require('metalsmith-pagination')
var tags = require('metalsmith-tags')
// CSS
var sass = require('metalsmith-sass')
var prefix = require('metalsmith-autoprefixer')
// JS
var uglify = require('metalsmith-uglify')
// IMAGES
var imagemin = require('metalsmith-imagemin')

var siteBuild = Metalsmith(__dirname)
  .source('source')
  .destination('_build')
  .metadata({
    site: {
      title: 'My Metalsmith Site',
      url: 'http://example.com',
      description: 'A website, built with Metalsmith',
      keywords: 'metalsmith, blog, static site generator'
    }
  })
  // CSS
  .use(sass({
    includePaths: require('node-neat').includePaths,
    outputStyle: 'compressed',
    outputDir: 'css/'
  }))
  .use(prefix())
  // JS
  .use(uglify({
    concat: 'js/main.js',
    removeOriginal: true
    }))
  // IMAGES
  .use(imagemin())
  // HTML
  .use(drafts())
  .use(collections({
    blog: {
      pattern: 'blog/**/*.md',
      sortBy: 'date',
      reverse: true
    },
    pages: {
      pattern: '*.md'
    }
  }))
  // Set default values
  .use(defaultValues([
    {
      pattern: 'blog/**/*.md',
      defaults: {
        layout: 'post.jade'
      }
    }
  ]))
  .use(pagination({
    'collections.blog': {
      perPage: 10,
      layout: 'blog.jade',
      first: 'blog/index.html',
      noPageOne: true,
      path: 'blog/page/:num/index.html',
      pageMetadata: {
        title: 'Blog'
      }
    }
  }))
  .use(markdown({
    gfm: true,
    smartypants: true,
    tables: true
  }))
  .use(snippet({
    maxLength: 140
  }))
  .use(permalinks({
    pattern: ':collection/:title',
    relative: false,
    linksets: [{
      match: { collection: 'pages' },
      pattern: ':title'
    }]
  }))
  .use(tags({
    handle: 'tags',
    path:'tagged/:tag/index.html',
    pathPage: "tagged/:tag/:num/index.html",
    perPage: 10,
    layout: 'tag.jade',
    sortBy: 'date',
    reverse: true
  }))
  .use(layouts({
    engine: 'jade',
    moment: require('moment'),
    directory: 'templates',
    default: 'default.jade',
    pattern: '**/*.html'
  }))
  .use(sitemap('http://example.com'))
  .use(feed({collection: 'blog'}))

siteBuild.build(function (err) {
  if (err) {
    console.log(err)
  } else {
    console.log('Site build complete!')
  }
})

package.json

{
  "name": "my-metalsmith-site",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "description": "A website, built with Metalsmith",
  "engines": {
    "node": "5.0.0"
  },
  "main": "build.js",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "git+https://github.com/me/my-metalsmith-site.git"
  },
  "keywords": [
    "metalsmith",
    "blog"
  ],
  "author": "Me",
  "license": "MIT",
  "bugs": {
    "url": "https://github.com/me/my-metalsmith-site/issues"
  },
  "homepage": "https://github.com/me/my-metalsmith-site#readme",
  "devDependencies": {
    "browser-sync": "^2.12.8",
    "jade": "^1.11.0",
    "metalsmith": "^2.1.0",
    "metalsmith-autoprefixer": "^1.1.0",
    "metalsmith-collections": "^0.7.0",
    "metalsmith-default-values": "0.0.2",
    "metalsmith-drafts": "0.0.1",
    "metalsmith-feed": "^0.2.0",
    "metalsmith-layouts": "^1.4.2",
    "metalsmith-mapsite": "^1.0.4",
    "metalsmith-markdown": "^0.2.1",
    "metalsmith-pagination": "^1.4.0",
    "metalsmith-permalinks": "^0.4.0",
    "metalsmith-sass": "^1.3.0",
    "metalsmith-snippet": "^2.0.0",
    "metalsmith-tags": "^1.2.0",
    "metalsmith-uglify": "^1.2.1",
    "moment": "^2.11.1",
    "node-neat": "^1.7.2",
    "nodemon": "^1.9.2"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node build.js",
    "browser_sync": "browser-sync start --server _build --no-ui --no-notify",
    "develop": "npm run browser_sync & NODE_ENV=development nodemon --exec 'npm start && browser-sync reload'"
  }
}

My default Metalsmith build.

1. Copy .gitignore, package.json & build.js to root of project
2. Update contents of package.json & build.js to match your project
3. npm start now builds your project to the _build directory
4. npm run develop will watch files for changes and serve files to localhost:3000

Typical file tree structure:

|- source/
    |- blog/
        |- 2016-03-01_blog-post.md
        |- 2016-04-01_another-blog-post.md
    |- stylesheets/
        |- main.scss
    |- scripts/
        |- main.js
    |- 404.md
    |- about.md
    |- contact.md
    |- index.md
|- templates/
    |- partials/
        |- _footer.jade
        |- _head.jade
        |- _navigation.jade
    |- default.jade
|- build.js
|- package.json