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Create a Blog

On this page

This guide covers creating a blog with EmDash, from defining the content type to displaying posts with categories and tags.

Prerequisites

  • An EmDash site set up and running (see Getting Started)
  • Basic familiarity with Astro components

Define the Posts Collection

EmDash creates a default “posts” collection during setup. Customize it from the admin dashboard or the API.

The default posts collection includes:

  • title - Post title
  • slug - URL-friendly identifier
  • content - Rich text body
  • excerpt - Short description
  • featured_image - Header image (optional)
  • status - draft, published, or scheduled
  • publishedAt - Publication date (system field)

Create Your First Post

  1. Open the admin dashboard at /_emdash/admin

  2. Click Posts in the sidebar

    EmDash posts list showing titles, status, and dates

  3. Click New Post

    EmDash post editor with title, content, and publish options

  4. Enter a title and write your content using the rich text editor

  5. Add categories and tags in the sidebar panel

  6. Set the status to Published

  7. Click Save

The post is now live and appears immediately.

Display Posts on Your Site

List All Posts

The following page displays all published posts:

---
import { getEmDashCollection } from "emdash";
import Base from "../../layouts/Base.astro";

const { entries: posts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
  status: "published",
});

// Sort by publication date, newest first
const sortedPosts = posts.sort(
  (a, b) => (b.data.publishedAt?.getTime() ?? 0) - (a.data.publishedAt?.getTime() ?? 0)
);
---

<Base title="Blog">
  <h1>Blog</h1>
  <ul>
    {sortedPosts.map((post) => (
      <li>
        <a href={`/blog/${post.data.slug}`}>
          <h2>{post.data.title}</h2>
          <p>{post.data.excerpt}</p>
          <time datetime={post.data.publishedAt?.toISOString()}>
            {post.data.publishedAt?.toLocaleDateString()}
          </time>
        </a>
      </li>
    ))}
  </ul>
</Base>

Display a Single Post

The following dynamic route renders an individual post:

---
import { getEmDashCollection, getEmDashEntry } from "emdash";
import { PortableText } from "emdash/ui";
import Base from "../../layouts/Base.astro";

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const { entries: posts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
    status: "published",
  });

  return posts.map((post) => ({
    params: { slug: post.data.slug },
  }));
}

const { slug } = Astro.params;
const { entry: post } = await getEmDashEntry("posts", slug);

if (!post) {
  return Astro.redirect("/404");
}
---

<Base title={post.data.title}>
  <article>
    {post.data.featured_image && (
      <img src={post.data.featured_image} alt="" />
    )}
    <h1>{post.data.title}</h1>
    <time datetime={post.data.publishedAt?.toISOString()}>
      {post.data.publishedAt?.toLocaleDateString()}
    </time>
    <PortableText value={post.data.content} />
  </article>
</Base>

Add Categories and Tags

EmDash includes built-in category and tag taxonomies. See Taxonomies for details on creating and managing terms.

Filter Posts by Category

The following route lists posts in a single category:

---
import { getEmDashCollection, getTerm, getTaxonomyTerms } from "emdash";
import Base from "../../layouts/Base.astro";

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const categories = await getTaxonomyTerms("category");

  // Flatten hierarchical categories
  const flatten = (terms) => terms.flatMap((t) => [t, ...flatten(t.children)]);

  return flatten(categories).map((cat) => ({
    params: { slug: cat.slug },
    props: { category: cat },
  }));
}

const { category } = Astro.props;

const { entries: posts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
  status: "published",
  where: { category: category.slug },
});
---

<Base title={category.label}>
  <h1>{category.label}</h1>
  {category.description && <p>{category.description}</p>}

  <ul>
    {posts.map((post) => (
      <li>
        <a href={`/blog/${post.data.slug}`}>{post.data.title}</a>
      </li>
    ))}
  </ul>
</Base>

Display Post Categories

The following component shows the categories and tags assigned to a post:

---
import { getEntryTerms } from "emdash";

interface Props {
  postId: string;
}

const { postId } = Astro.props;
const categories = await getEntryTerms("posts", postId, "category");
const tags = await getEntryTerms("posts", postId, "tag");
---

<div class="post-meta">
  {categories.length > 0 && (
    <div class="categories">
      <span>Categories:</span>
      {categories.map((cat) => (
        <a href={`/category/${cat.slug}`}>{cat.label}</a>
      ))}
    </div>
  )}

  {tags.length > 0 && (
    <div class="tags">
      <span>Tags:</span>
      {tags.map((tag) => (
        <a href={`/tag/${tag.slug}`}>{tag.label}</a>
      ))}
    </div>
  )}
</div>

Add Pagination

For blogs with many posts, the following route paginates the post list:

---
import { getEmDashCollection } from "emdash";
import Base from "../../../layouts/Base.astro";

const POSTS_PER_PAGE = 10;

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const { entries: allPosts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
    status: "published",
  });

  const totalPages = Math.ceil(allPosts.length / POSTS_PER_PAGE);

  return Array.from({ length: totalPages }, (_, i) => ({
    params: { page: String(i + 1) },
    props: { currentPage: i + 1, totalPages },
  }));
}

const { currentPage, totalPages } = Astro.props;

const { entries: allPosts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
  status: "published",
});

const sortedPosts = allPosts.sort(
  (a, b) => (b.data.publishedAt?.getTime() ?? 0) - (a.data.publishedAt?.getTime() ?? 0)
);

const start = (currentPage - 1) * POSTS_PER_PAGE;
const posts = sortedPosts.slice(start, start + POSTS_PER_PAGE);
---

<Base title={`Blog - Page ${currentPage}`}>
  <h1>Blog</h1>

  <ul>
    {posts.map((post) => (
      <li>
        <a href={`/blog/${post.data.slug}`}>{post.data.title}</a>
      </li>
    ))}
  </ul>

  <nav>
    {currentPage > 1 && (
      <a href={`/blog/page/${currentPage - 1}`}>Previous</a>
    )}
    <span>Page {currentPage} of {totalPages}</span>
    {currentPage < totalPages && (
      <a href={`/blog/page/${currentPage + 1}`}>Next</a>
    )}
  </nav>
</Base>

Add an RSS Feed

The following endpoint generates an RSS feed for the blog:

import rss from "@astrojs/rss";
import { getEmDashCollection } from "emdash";

export async function GET(context) {
	const { entries: posts } = await getEmDashCollection("posts", {
		status: "published",
	});

	return rss({
		title: "My Blog",
		description: "A blog built with EmDash",
		site: context.site,
		items: posts.map((post) => ({
			title: post.data.title,
			pubDate: post.data.publishedAt,
			description: post.data.excerpt,
			link: `/blog/${post.data.slug}`,
		})),
	});
}

The feed depends on the @astrojs/rss package. The following command installs it:

npm install @astrojs/rss

Next Steps