A rake task to create a new jekyll post (with title, slug, date pre-filled)

about.md

Here is the little rake task I use to create new posts for the WiseCash jekyll-based blog.

To use, just run:

rake blog:new["Your Blog Post Title"]

blogging.rake

namespace :blog do

  task :new, [:title] => :environment do |t, args|
    today = Date.today.to_s
    title = args[:title]
    if title.blank?   
      abort("\nPlease specify a title, eg:\n\nrake blog:new[\"Freelance Cash Flow: 10 Tips for a Happier Freelancing\"]\n\n")
    end

    slug = title.parameterize
    folder = File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', 'blog', 'src', '_posts')
    filename = File.join(folder, [today, slug].join('-')) + '.markdown'

    config = {
      'layout' => 'post',
      'title' => title,
      'date' => today
    }

    if File.exist?(filename)
      abort("File #{filename} already exists! Aborting.")
    else
      File.open(filename, 'w') do |file|
        file << config.to_yaml
        file << "---\n"
        file << "\n\nPut the summary here\n\n"
        file << "<!--more-->"
        file << "\n\nPut the next part here\n\n"
      end
    end
  end

end