Eleventy Garden is a free, MIT-licensed starter template for building a digital garden (mind garden) website with the Eleventy static site generator.
What is Eleventy Garden?
Eleventy Garden is a starter repository for creating a personal mind garden website using Eleventy (11ty), a static site generator. It takes a folder of Markdown notes and generates a static website that organizes content through contextual hyperlinks rather than chronological order. The template was created by Binyamin and is maintained on GitHub, with a live demo at eleventy-garden.netlify.app. It combines the ethos of a notebook and a blog, supporting "working in public."
Key Features
Eleventy Garden comes with features specifically designed for building interconnected digital gardens.
- Double-bracket wiki links — Write notes using the double-bracket linking syntax popularized by Roam Research; Eleventy Garden automatically resolves them into hyperlinks.
- Backlinks — Each note displays a list of other notes that link to it, helping you see connections across your knowledge base.
- Hovercards for backlinks — Hovering over a backlink shows a preview card with context about the linked note.
- Eleventy static site generation — Built on Eleventy (11ty), producing a fast, static HTML site from Markdown files with no database required.
- Customizable branding — Replace the avatar at /assets/avatar.png and edit site-wide metadata in /_data/site.json.
- Simple content management — Drop Markdown notes into the /notes folder; no CMS or admin interface needed.
- One-click deploy to Netlify — The template includes a Netlify deploy button, and also works with Vercel or any static host.
- MIT License — Free to use, modify, and distribute for personal or commercial projects.
Who is it for?
Eleventy Garden is aimed at anyone who wants to publish a public knowledge base in a non-linear format.
- Personal knowledge managers — Individuals who want to publish a non-linear, interconnected set of notes on the web, similar to public wikis.
- Developers familiar with static sites — People comfortable with npm, Git, and Markdown who want a hackable starter kit rather than a hosted platform.
- Writers and researchers — Those who want to present their ideas, book notes, or research in a hyperlinked format that emphasizes relationships between topics.
- Hacktoberfest contributors — The project actively welcomes feedback and contributors via its contributing guide and issues.
What can you do with Eleventy Garden?
You can turn Markdown notes into an interlinked website that supports exploration by connection.
- Create a public knowledge base — Organize your notes by connecting them with wiki-links and backlinks, making it easy to explore related topics.
- Showcase your ideas non-linearly — Unlike a traditional blog that is ordered by date, you can present content based on thematic connections.
- Deploy a personal website — Customize the avatar, styles, and site metadata to publish a personal site on Netlify, Vercel, or any static host.
- Learn Eleventy — Use this starter to see how Eleventy handles Markdown collections, custom data files, and shortcodes.
How does Eleventy Garden work?
To get started, generate a repository from the template, clone it locally, and run npm install. Then customize the CSS in /assets/style.css, add your avatar at /assets/avatar.png, edit /_data/site.json for site-wide branding, and place Markdown notes in the /notes folder. Run npm start to preview locally, and deploy to Netlify via the one-click button or to any static host.
Alternatives
The project page lists related digital-garden templates: maximevaillancourt/digital-garden-jekyll-template (Jekyll-based) and mathieudutour/gatsby-digital-garden (Gatsby-based). A broader list is maintained at maggieappleton/digital-gardeners.
FAQ
Is Eleventy Garden free?
Yes, Eleventy Garden is open-source and released under the MIT license, so it is free to use, modify, and deploy for any purpose.
What does Eleventy Garden use for storing notes?
Notes are plain Markdown files stored in the /notes folder. You don't need a database or CMS; the Eleventy static site generator converts them into HTML at build time.
Does Eleventy Garden support Roam-style double brackets?
Yes, the template renders double-bracket links (the syntax used by Roam Research) into hyperlinks and also generates backlinks and hovercards.
Can I deploy Eleventy Garden to Vercel?
Yes, the README states you can use Netlify, Vercel, or any other static hosting service. A one-click Netlify deploy button is included.
