CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

TripGazer is a personal travel blog built with Eleventy (11ty) static site generator. The site is deployed at https://www.tripgazer.com/

Commands

npm run dev      # Start development server with live reload
npm run build    # Build static site to _site/
npm run start    # Alias for dev server

Architecture

Eleventy Configuration

• .eleventy.js - Main config file with plugins, filters, collections, and build settings
• Node version: 18 (see .nvmrc and netlify.toml)
• Template engines: Nunjucks (njk), Markdown, Liquid, HTML
• Output directory: _site/

Content Structure

• post/ - Blog posts, each in its own directory with format post-slug/post-slug.md
  • Posts include frontmatter: title, date, featureImage, summary, categories, tags, permalink
  • Images stored in post-slug/images/ subdirectory
• pages/ - Static pages (about, contact, privacy, destination landing pages)

Templates

• _includes/layouts/ - Page layouts (base.njk is the main template, post.njk for articles)
• _includes/components/ - Reusable components (head, footer, nav, author boxes)
• _includes/assets/ - CSS/JS assets

Data

• _data/metadata.json - Site metadata (title, description, URL)
• _data/env.js - Environment configuration
• _data/tipping.js - Resolved tipping dataset for the tipping calculator
• _data/tipStrings.js - Tipping calculator UI copy (EN + DE)
• _data/fx.js - Exchange rates, fetched at build time with a checked-in fallback

Tipping Calculator

Lives at /tip-calculator/ (EN) and /de/trinkgeld/ (DE), plus one landing page per
country at /tip-<slug>/ and /de/trinkgeld-<slug>/.

To change tipping guidance, edit lib/tipping/ — not the templates:

• lib/tipping/profiles.js - Tipping-culture profiles; each country points at one
• lib/tipping/countries.js - The country table, plus per-country overrides and notes
• lib/tipping/landing.js - Intro + FAQ copy; a country only gets a page if it's listed here
• lib/tipping/fx-fallback.json - Rate snapshot used when the build-time fetch fails
• lib/tipping/timezones.json - IANA timezone → country, for detecting the visitor's location

Flat amounts (per night, per bag) are written once in USD in profiles.js and converted
to local currency at build time, so they never need updating per country.

Run ELEVENTY_SKIP_FX=1 npm run build to skip the exchange-rate fetch during local work.

Key Plugins

• @11ty/eleventy-navigation - Navigation
• eleventy-plugin-lazyimages - Lazy loading images (generates .lazyimages.json cache)
• @aloskutov/eleventy-plugin-external-links - External link handling
• eleventy-plugin-embed-instagram - Instagram embeds

Collections

• categoryList - All unique categories from posts
• authors - Posts grouped by author
• events - Posts with location data

Build Processing

• CSS minification via clean-css (cssmin filter)
• JS minification via uglify-es (jsmin filter)
• HTML minification via html-minifier (automatic transform)
• Markdown with markdown-it, markdown-it-anchor, markdown-it-attrs

Static Assets (passthrough copy)

• static/img/ - Site images
• post/*.jpg and post/**/images/*.jpg - Post images
• favicon.ico, manifest.json, ads.txt, push-worker.js

Content Strategy

Focus areas:

• Packing guides (supports PackMyTrip app)
• Essential apps for [country/region] guides
• Transportation guides (subways, airports, getting around)
• Day trips from specific cities
• Hiking/outdoor activities
• Seasonal travel (cherry blossoms, fall foliage, winter activities)
• Baby/family travel tips

Avoid (too competitive):

• Hotels/resorts (Booking, Expedia dominate)
• "Best restaurants in X" (Yelp, TripAdvisor dominate)
• Generic city guides (too broad, too competitive)

Writing Style Guide

Tone & Voice

• Friendly and conversational, speaking directly to readers ("If you're on the hunt for...", "You won't want to miss...")
• Realistic and balanced - avoid hype words like "blown away", "futuristic", "game-changer"
• Practical and helpful - focuses on actionable information
• Occasional first-person perspective ("My favorite dish is...")
• Acknowledge downsides honestly ("rush hour is brutal", "some areas show their age")
• Add caveats when needed ("not all have this", "quality varies")
• Write as honest travel advice, not a sales pitch

Post Structure

• Brief intro paragraph that sets context and mentions the main keyword
• H2/H3 headings to organize content into scannable sections
• Each place/item gets its own section with address, website link, and 2-4 sentences of description
• End with a call-to-action or recommendation

Content Patterns

• Include personal recommendations and insider tips ("My Tip:", "My recommendation is...")
• Embed Instagram posts for visual content
• Internal links to related articles on the site
• Bold keywords throughout for SEO (location names, key phrases)
• Practical details: addresses, phone numbers, hours, specific menu items
• Invite reader engagement ("What's your favorite place...")

Formatting Conventions

• Images use {.center} class: ![Alt text](/path/to/image.jpg){.center}
• Addresses formatted consistently (pipes or H4 headings)
• Year often included in titles for freshness (e.g., "2026")
• Frontmatter includes: title, date, featureImage, summary, categories, tags, permalink