Building a Modern TypeScript + Jekyll Workspace in 2025

From Zero to Production: Building a Modern TypeScript + Jekyll Workspace in 2025

Ever wondered how to build a development workspace that handles everything from content management to automated testing? At MIJUG, we’ve spent months perfecting a TypeScript + Jekyll workspace that goes from idea to production deployment in minutes, not hours.

What Makes This Different?

This isn’t just another Jekyll setup. We’re talking about a dual-repository architecture with:

• Performance-First Design: < 15 second startup times, < 90 second full test suites
• 70+ NPM Commands: Everything from npm run quick:start to npm run deploy:optimized
• Multi-Browser Testing: Chromium, Firefox, WebKit with accessibility compliance
• Smart Cache Management: Two-phase cache busting that actually works
• Memory Optimization: 50% memory reduction with 60% faster execution

The Technology Stack (2025 Edition)

Core Foundation

• Node.js 22.8+ LTS with V8 performance optimizations
• Ruby 3.3.8 with YJIT JIT compiler (15-25% performance boost)
• TypeScript 5.5+ with strict compilation and enhanced IntelliSense
• ESLint 9.15.0 with flat configuration system

Development Superpowers

• Jekyll 4.4.1 with liquid templating and incremental builds
• Playwright 1.47+ for enhanced browser automation
• Jest 29.7+ with TypeScript support and worker pools
• FrontMatter CMS for visual content management

Quick Start: 30 Seconds to Productivity

#!/bin/bash
# Rapid project setup and health check (< 30 seconds)
npm install && cd docs && bundle install && cd ..
npm run health-check

# Ultra-fast development environment (< 15 seconds startup)
npm run quick:start           # TypeScript + Jekyll with performance monitoring
npm run dev:optimized         # Parallel development with memory limits

# Performance-monitored testing (< 90 seconds)
npm run test:all:safe         # Jest + Playwright + Accessibility + Mermaid
npm run test:smoke            # Quick validation (< 15s)

The Secret Sauce: Performance Benchmarks

Real-World Features That Matter

1. Accessibility-First Development

Every component is tested for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance automatically:

#!/bin/bash
npm run test:a11y             # Comprehensive accessibility audits
npm run test:a11y:headed      # Visual accessibility verification

2. Dual Repository Workflow

• Private workspace (mijug-dot-net-project) for development
• Public deployment (mijug-dot-net) auto-generated from builds
• Never edit public repository directly - changes flow through automation

3. Smart Cache Management

Two-phase cache busting system that optimizes both build performance and browser caching:

#!/bin/bash
npm run cache:manage          # Smart cache updates only when assets change
npm run cache:optimize        # Build performance optimization
npm run cache:verify:debug    # Debug cache issues

Content Management That Actually Works

Using FrontMatter CMS integrated directly into VS Code:

1. Access: Command Palette → “FrontMatter”
2. Content Types: Posts, Documentation, Drafts with structured metadata
3. Jekyll Workflow: Create drafts → Preview → Publish with automated file naming
4. Bulk Operations: Tagging, categorization, scheduling from visual dashboard

Testing Strategy: Comprehensive but Fast

Browser Compatibility Matrix

#!/bin/bash
npm run test:browser-compat        # Multi-browser compatibility (< 60s)
npm run test:firefox:timeout-fix   # Firefox with memory optimization
npm run browsers:ensure-safe       # Browser management automation

Specialized Testing

• Mermaid Diagrams: Dedicated testing with scripts/test-mermaid-diagrams.js
• Performance Monitoring: Built-in benchmarking for regression detection
• Memory Efficiency: Single worker for complex tests, parallel for standard E2E

Deployment: From Local to Production

Pre-Commit Quality Gateway

#!/bin/bash
npm run precheckin     # Full checkpoint: format → lint → build → test → validate

This single command runs:

• Auto-format all code files
• Fix auto-fixable linting issues
• Clear all caches and build artifacts
• Full production build validation
• Complete test suite (unit + E2E + accessibility)
• HTML, links, and liquid templating validation

Production Deployment

#!/bin/bash
npm run deploy:optimized     # Automated sync with performance benchmarks
npm run deploy:production    # Production deployment with NODE_ENV=production

Performance Monitoring in Real-Time

#!/bin/bash
npm run perf:monitor            # Live performance metrics
npm run analyze:memory          # Memory usage analysis
npm run perf:regression-check   # Detect performance regressions

Why This Matters for Your Projects

For Content Creators

• Visual content management with structured metadata
• Automatic file naming and organization
• Draft workflow with live preview
• Accessibility validation built-in

For Developers

• Sub-second TypeScript compilation
• Parallel build systems
• Comprehensive testing that actually runs fast
• Memory-optimized operations

For Teams

• Consistent development environment
• Pre-commit validation prevents CI/CD failures
• Automated deployment with verification
• Performance benchmarking for optimization

Getting Started with Your Own Workspace

System Requirements (WSL2 Ubuntu 24.04)

#!/bin/bash
# Performance-optimized system preparation
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install build tools with performance optimization
sudo apt install -y curl wget gnupg software-properties-common \
  build-essential zlib1g-dev libssl-dev libreadline-dev

# Critical for Jekyll performance
echo fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
echo fs.inotify.max_user_instances=256 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p

Node.js with Performance Tuning

#!/bin/bash
# Install nvm and Node.js LTS
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install 22 && nvm use 22 && nvm alias default 22

# Configure npm for performance
npm config set fund false
npm config set audit-level moderate
npm config set maxsockets 50

Ruby with YJIT Optimization

#!/bin/bash
# Install rbenv with performance configuration
curl -fsSL https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-installer/raw/HEAD/bin/rbenv-installer | bash

# Enable YJIT for 15-25% performance improvement
echo 'export RUBY_CONFIGURE_OPTS="--enable-yjit"' >> ~/.bashrc
RUBY_CONFIGURE_OPTS="--enable-yjit" rbenv install 3.3.8
rbenv global 3.3.8

The Results: Measurable Developer Productivity

• 15-20% faster Node.js operations with v22.8+
• 15-25% performance boost for Jekyll builds with YJIT
• 50% faster test execution with enhanced browser management
• 40% faster IDE response with optimized VS Code extensions

Next Steps: Making It Your Own

1. Start Small: Begin with the quick start commands
2. Customize Gradually: Adapt the npm scripts for your specific needs
3. Monitor Performance: Use the built-in benchmarking tools
4. Scale Confidently: The architecture handles complexity gracefully

Conclusion: Development Workspace as Competitive Advantage

In 2025, your development environment isn’t just tooling—it’s a competitive advantage. When you can go from idea to tested, accessible, production-ready deployment in minutes instead of hours, you’re not just more productive. You’re fundamentally changing how fast your team can innovate.

The MIJUG workspace represents thousands of hours of optimization, testing, and real-world usage. Every script, every configuration, every performance tweak serves a purpose: making developers more productive while maintaining the highest quality standards.

Ready to transform your development workflow? Contact our team for consultation on implementing modern development workspaces, or check out our Getting Started guide to dive deeper into the technical details.

This post was created using FrontMatter CMS for efficient content management and tested with our comprehensive accessibility and performance validation suite.