---
title: Gatsby.js
---

## Gatsby.js

Gatsby is a static site generator for [React](https://guide.freecodecamp.org/react), powered by [GraphQL](https://graphql.org/). 

The Gatsby environment provides several "starters" to help configure static sites quickly. Starters can be found here: [Starter Library](https://www.gatsbyjs.org/starters/).

### How Gatsby works
Gatsby builds sites with the data provided by developer, regardless of the source.

#### Data sources
Gatsby accepts the data behind the site in various formats, such as:

1- CMSs: Wordpress, Contenful, Drupal, etc.
2- Markdown: Documentation, posts, etc.
3- Data: APIs, Databasses, JSON, CSV, etc.

#### Build 
Gatsby's build is powered by GraphQL and rendered through HTML, CSS, and React.

#### Deploy 
Gatsby deploys the site on a static web host such as Amazon S3, Netlify, Github Pages, Surge.sh and many more.

### Installation and using the Gatsby CLI
* Node: `npm install --global gatsby-cli`
* Get started with the official Gatsby starter: `gatsby new gatsby-site https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-default`
* After that change to the newly created directory `cd gatsby-site`
* `gatsby develop` starts a hot-reloading development server. The site will reload when changes in `src/pages` will be saved.
* To generate the static HTML pages use `gatsby build`
* `gatsby serve` will start a local server that will present your built site.

### More Information:
For tutorials and more information check out the Gatsby.js official site: [Gatsby.js official site](https://www.gatsbyjs.org/tutorial/)