Project internals
.nift/config.json.
The project config tells Nift where content lives, where generated files go, which extensions and template are the defaults, and how builds should use threads and detect changes.
A typical web project
{
"config": {
"content-dir": "content/",
"content-ext": ".html",
"output-dir": "public/",
"output-ext": ".html",
"default-template": "templates/template.html",
"build-threads": -1,
"incremental-mode": "modified"
}
}For a web project, public/ is a useful conventional output directory because many servers, hosts and frameworks already use that name for browser-facing files. Nift does not require the directory to be called public/; it simply uses the value in output-dir.
Fields
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
content-dir | Base directory used to derive content paths for tracked names. It must be non-empty. |
content-ext | Default content-file extension. It must begin with .. |
output-dir | Base directory used to derive generated output paths. For web projects, public/ is a convenient convention. |
output-ext | Default output extension. It must begin with .. |
default-template | Template used by newly tracked items when a different template is not supplied. |
build-threads | Number of build threads. The generated config uses -1, meaning the default based on available cores. A missing/invalid zero value is reset to -1. |
incremental-mode | How Nift determines whether dependencies changed: modified, hash, or hybrid. |
How tracked names become paths
With this config:
{
"config": {
"content-dir": "content/",
"content-ext": ".html",
"output-dir": "public/",
"output-ext": ".html",
"default-template": "templates/template.html",
"build-threads": -1,
"incremental-mode": "modified"
}
}a tracked name such as about resolves naturally to:
content/about.html → public/about.htmland a nested name:
docs/getting-started
content/docs/getting-started.html
↓
public/docs/getting-started.htmlThe tracked item stores the name/title/template; the project config supplies the default directory and extension rules that turn the name into concrete content and output paths.
Incremental modes
modified
Uses modification information to decide whether inputs have changed. This is the generated default and is fast for everyday development.
hash
Uses content hashes when determining changes.
hybrid
Uses the hybrid mode implemented by Nift, combining its change-detection strategies.
Should you edit it?
Yes, when you want to change project-wide defaults such as moving generated files to public/, changing the default template, or choosing an incremental mode. It is deliberately ordinary JSON so the project setup is inspectable and easy for humans, scripts and AI assistants to understand.
config.json describes the project-wide rules.tracked.json describes the individual things Nift manages within those rules.
tracked.json →