Al-folio powers my portfolio—and over time, I’ve discovered how to use it to not just list projects, but to tell clear, curated stories about what I’ve built. Here’s how I structure my project posts, and how you can too.

💡 The Basics: YAML Front Matter

Each project starts with a front matter block that defines how it appears on the site.

Here are some examples I’ve used:

Project 1: Research-focused

---
layout: page
title: Project 1
description: with background image
img: assets/img/12.jpg
importance: 1
category: work
related_publications: true

Project 2: With comments enabled

---
layout: page
title: Project 2
description: a project with a background image and giscus comments
img: assets/img/3.jpg
importance: 2
category: academic
giscus_comments: true

Project 3: External redirect

---
layout: page
title: Project 3 with very long name
description: a project that redirects to another website
img: assets/img/7.jpg
redirect: https://unsplash.com
importance: 3
category: work

Project 4: No cover image

---
layout: page
title: Project 4
description: another without an image
img:
importance: 3
category: fun

Project 5: Creative UI build

---
layout: page
title: Project 5
description: a project with a background image
img: assets/img/1.jpg
importance: 3
category: fun

🧠 What These Fields Do

• layout: page — Tells al-folio this is a standalone page.
• title — The visible name in the project grid and browser tab.
• description — Shown in project cards and metadata.
• img — Project thumbnail (used in preview cards).
• importance — Lower numbers float higher in the project listing.
• category — Groups projects into tabs (like work or fun).
• redirect — If set, clicking the project card takes you to another site.
• giscus_comments: true — Enables user feedback below the post.
• related_publications: true — Automatically links to connected publications.

🔄 How I Use These Fields

I use importance to surface high-priority projects on top, and category to separate work-based projects from more experimental or fun builds.

Some of my academic or long-form builds include related_publications, while more interactive ones—like game engines—link out via redirect.

I even turn on giscus_comments for public-facing projects where I welcome questions or suggestions.

🎯 Why It Works

• Keeps my homepage clean and smartly sorted
• Makes it easy for viewers to distinguish between project types
• Allows me to customize engagement (comments, links, etc.) per project
• Aligns with Jekyll’s flexible static-site structure