MedicalCheatSheets (MCS) is a static Jekyll blog template for publishing short medical pathology articles in French, built as a progressive web app for offline reading.
What is MedicalCheatSheets?
MedicalCheatSheets is a simple static blog built with Jekyll that publishes short articles and cheat sheets about medical pathologies, written in French. It takes Markdown posts stored in the _posts folder and generates a static website that runs on GitHub Pages. The project includes progressive web app (PWA) functionality so readers can install the blog and read articles offline.
Key Features
- PWA offline reading — Uses Workbox to pre-cache site data in the browser; the site can be installed via the browser prompt and updates when the network is available.
- Jekyll with GitHub Pages — Uses the
github-pagesplugin and builds through a GitHub Actions workflow at.github/workflows/jekyll.yml. - French medical content — The blog is written in French and organized for short posts on pathologies.
- Enhanced Markdown plugins — Integrates jekyll-spaceship for tables and formulas, Premonition for alert boxes, and glossary-tooltips for tooltip definitions.
- Structured content folders —
_postsdetermines the menu structure,_dataholds categories and tags, while_includes,_layouts, and_sassseparate the presentation. - Named pages included — Ships with
index.markdown(home),about.markdown(about), andcheatsheets.markdown(article list) pages.
Who is it for?
- French-speaking medical students and practitioners — They can use the blog as a quick-reference for medical pathologies.
- Jekyll developers — They benefit from a working PWA-enabled blog setup with configured plugins and GitHub Pages deployment.
- Medical educators — They can publish concise cheat sheets and keep them readable offline.
What can you do with MedicalCheatSheets?
- Medical students: maintain a set of short pathology notes in Markdown, with offline access to review them anywhere.
- Contributors: fork the repository, add posts to
_posts, and submit contributions once the project adds a contribution license. - Developers: customize the Jekyll theme, extend the Gemfile with additional plugins, and redeploy automatically through the GitHub Actions workflow.
How does MedicalCheatSheets work?
Clone the repository and run bundle install to install dependencies. For local development, run bundle exec jekyll serve and the site will be available at http://127.0.0.1:4000/mcs/. Write articles as Markdown files in _posts; the folder structure automatically creates the navigation menu. Build the static site with bundle exec jekyll build before deploying it to GitHub Pages.
FAQ
Is MedicalCheatSheets free?
Yes, the project is open source and licensed under Creative Commons Non-Commercial 4.0, so you can use and modify it for non-commercial purposes.
What language is the blog content written in?
The blog is written entirely in French, so the posts, navigation, and content are intended for a French-speaking audience.
How do I run the blog locally?
After cloning, install dependencies with bundle install, then start the development server with bundle exec jekyll serve. The site will appear at http://127.0.0.1:4000/mcs/. If you encounter Ruby version conflicts, use a version manager like rbenv with Ruby 3.0.2.
How does offline reading work?
The blog uses Workbox to pre-cache content in the browser. When you visit the site online, the app stores the data locally, so you can read the articles without a network connection. Updates are pulled when you have internet access, and clearing the browser cache can fix any install or update issues.
