Pelican

Pelican — static site generator for fast, secure websites.

Static SitesSimple

Stack Components

SSGPelican 4

PythonPython 3.13

OutputStatic

Why

Pre-renders HTML at build time for optimal performance. Static site generators (Astro, Eleventy) produce 3-10x faster pages than SSR frameworks.

Astro's island architecture ships 90% less JavaScript than Next.js by default, scoring 95+ on Lighthouse.

When

Use for docs, blogs, and marketing sites. Avoid for dynamic content (use SSR).

How

1. Install Pelican 2. Write content (MD) 3. Configure theme 4. Build and deploy to CDN 5. Add environment configuration — cp .env.example .env && edit values 6. Run tests — npm test or pnpm test to verify setup 7. Deploy — git push to trigger CI/CD or manual deploy

Example

# Pelican build npx pelican build # Output in dist/ or public/ // Pelican — usage example import { Pelican } from "static-pelican"; const result = await pelican({ input: "data" }); console.log(result);

Common Problems

⚠Pelican limited plugin ecosystem — check before committing
⚠Slow rebuilds for large sites — use incremental builds
⚠Configuration drift between environments — use infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/Pulumi) to keep dev/staging/prod identical

Best Practices

✓Deploy Pelican output to CDN for edge caching
✓Use {ne} templates for consistent layout
✓Set up health checks and graceful shutdown — handle SIGTERM to drain in-flight requests before exit

FAQ

What is Pelican and what projects is it for?

Pelican — static site generator for fast, secure websites. It pairs layered technologies for end-to-end type safety and out-of-the-box deploys, fitting everything from MVPs to production SaaS.

How do I spin up a working demo with Pelican in 10 minutes?

Two steps: (1) Install Pelican; (2) Write content (MD). Get the local dev server running, then wire one real data source to verify the end-to-end loop.

What is the most common pitfall with Pelican and how do I avoid it?

The most common pitfall is: Pelican limited plugin ecosystem — check before committing. Avoid it by adding the matching checklist to your PR template and running type-check + lint + unit tests in CI — three gates before merge.

What are the best practices for Pelican?

Best practices for Pelican include: Deploy Pelican output to CDN for edge caching; Use {ne} templates for consistent layout; Set up health checks and graceful shutdown — handle SIGTERM to drain in-flight requests before exit. The first one — "Deploy Pelican output to CDN for edge caching" — should be set up at project init to avoid costly rework later.

When should I NOT choose Pelican?

Pick something else in three cases: (1) the team has zero experience with the core framework and the deadline is tight (learning-curve risk); (2) it's a pure content/marketing site (Astro is lighter); (3) you need very high throughput (>10k RPS) or strict-consistency microservices (Go/Rust). Pelican shines for mid-to-high complexity full-stack and API work — don't over-engineer simple static pages with it.