Introducing Quartize: Streamline Your Quarto Blog Workflow in VS Code

Managing a Quarto blog just got easier. Today, I’m excited to introduce {quartize}, a Visual Studio Code extension that simplifies the process of creating and organizing blog posts for Quarto-based websites. Taking inspiration from the popular {blogdown} R package’s new_post() function in R, {quartize} brings similar conveniences to VS Code users.

Background

This extension came about as a result of my recent migration to Quarto for my personal blog. After years of using various static site generators (Hugo and Jekyll) and more dynamic frameworks (CodeIgniter and WordPress), I made the switch to Quarto and immediately missed some of the workflow conveniences I’d grown use to. Having used R’s blogdown::new_post() back in the olden days, I wanted something similar but native to my current VS Code environment. Rather than switching contexts between editors just to create a new post, I built {quartize} to streamline the process directly within VS Code.

As my first VS Code extension, {quartize} represents not just a tool but also my journey into VS Code extension development. I’ve learned a lot about the VS Code extension API, TypeScript, and the intricacies of integrating it all. There’s still much to learn, but I’m excited to share this project with the Quarto community and see how it evolves. Moreover, I’m particularly excited about testing {quartize}’s compatibility with Posit’s upcoming Positron IDE, which is based on the open-source version of VS Code (“Code - OSS”). This potential compatibility could provide a seamless experience for users transitioning between different Code IDEs in the Quarto ecosystem.

Why Quartize?

If you’re using Quarto for blogging, you know the drill: create a new directory, set up the frontmatter, organize your images, and maintain a consistent structure. {quartize} handles all of this automatically, letting you focus on what matters most – writing great content.

The extension is designed to be a lightweight, user-friendly tool that streamlines the process of creating new posts, making it easier to maintain a consistent structure across your blog. Specifically, {quartize} offers the following key features:

• Post Creation: Create new posts directly from VS Code’s command palette or through a user-friendly form interface
• Smart Defaults: Automatically generates slugs, dates, and directory structures
• Image Selection: Built-in image selection and alt text handling
• Category Support: Manage and reuse categories with autocomplete suggestions
• Theme Integration: Seamlessly matches your VS Code theme

Getting Started

1. Install Quartize from the VS Code marketplace or Open VSX Registry
2. Open your Quarto blog project
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
4. Type “Quartize: New Blog Post”
   • Select either (Palette) to proceed in the command palette; or,
   • (Open Plugin) to create a new post using a web form interface similar to an RStudio plugin.

Answer the prompts and your new post is ready for content.

Configuration

Customize Quartize for your workflow by adding common authors and categories to your VS Code settings:

{
  "quartize.authors": ["Your Name"],
  "quartize.categories": ["tech", "data-science"],
  "quartize.defaultAuthor": "Your Name"
}

[!TIP] You can access the settings.json file by pressing Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+, (macOS) to open the Settings view, then clicking the “Edit in settings.json” link.

Or you can open the file directly by going to File > Preferences > Settings (Windows/Linux) or Code > Preferences > Settings (macOS) and clicking the “Open Settings (JSON)” button.

Setting	Type	Description
quartize.authors	array	List of predefined authors
quartize.categories	array	List of predefined categories
quartize.defaultAuthor	string	Default author for new posts

Related Tools

The Quarto community has been actively working on solving the “new post” workflow challenge. Here are some excellent alternatives depending on your preferred environment:

• Command Line: {quarto-new-content} by Marcos Huerta (@Astrowonk) - A Python-based CLI utility
• R-based:
  • {quartopost} by Peter Baumgartner (@petzi53) - A GitHub-only R package with an RStudio plugin integration for new post creation.
  • {newpost} by Sharon Machlis (@smach) - A GitHub-only two-function R package for new document creation
  • {flighttools} by Robert M Flight - Includes ft_create_quarto_post() function

There’s even a nice blog post by Thomas Mock from his time as Quarto’s product manager that walkthroughs the process of creating such a function in R to generate Quarto blog posts.

With that in mind, {quartize} aims to complement these tools by providing a native VS Code solution, bringing similar functionality to developers who prefer working in VS Code or want IDE-integrated post creation.

Fin

In summary, {quartize} is a lightweight, user-friendly extension that simplifies the process of creating blog posts for Quarto-based websites. Feel free to check it out, provide feedback, or contribute to its development.