Guest Author

The Guest Author credits one-off and first-time contributions. Anyone can write for zer0-mistakes — this page is your starting point, from a single guest post all the way to your own author profile.

Contribute an article

1. Fork the repository and create a branch.
2. Add your content as Markdown in the matching collection under pages/:
   • pages/_posts/ — articles & news (layout: article, filename YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md)
   • pages/_docs/ — documentation (layout: default)
   • pages/_notes/, pages/_quickstart/, pages/_notebooks/ — notes, guides, notebooks
3. Add front matter (template below) and write your piece. Aim for ≥ 300 words, a 30–60 char title, a 120–160 char description, 3–10 keywords, and a preview image (see the preview-image generator).
4. Preview locally with docker-compose up → http://localhost:4000.
5. Open a pull request. An automated content review plus a maintainer review check SEO, accessibility, links, and accuracy before merge.

Credit a one-off contribution to the Guest author with author: guest.

Front matter template

---
title: "Your concise, descriptive title"
description: "A 120–160 character summary used for SEO and content cards."
author: guest            # or your own key once you have a profile (see below)
layout: article          # article | default — match the collection
date: 2026-01-01T09:00:00.000Z
lastmod: 2026-01-01T09:00:00.000Z
categories: [Tutorial]
tags: [jekyll, how-to]
keywords: [jekyll, contributing, how-to]
preview: /images/previews/your-slug.png
draft: false
---

Become a recognized author

Contributing once, or planning to write regularly? Get your own byline, avatar, and an aggregated profile page:

1. Add yourself to _data/authors.yml with a unique key:

   yourkey:
     name: "Your Name"
     bio: "One or two sentences about you."
     avatar: "/images/authors/yourname.png"
     role: "Contributor"
     github: "yourhandle"
     tagline: "A one-line blurb for your profile hero."
     expertise:
       - "Topic one"
       - "Topic two"
   

2. Use your key in front matter — author: yourkey. Your linked byline, the “About the Author” card, and an aggregated profile at /authors/yourkey/ (every post, doc, and note you write, across all collections) all light up automatically — no other code changes needed.
3. On GitHub Pages (safe mode) only, also commit a small profile stub so the page builds without the plugin. The full field list, the stub format, and how profile pages are generated live in Author Profiles and About-the-Author Bylines.

That’s it — your name now links to your profile everywhere you’re credited.

Writing with AI assistance

If a piece is AI-generated or AI-assisted, disclose it. Mark the author ai: true with a persona block and follow the AI author template; the theme then shows an “AI” badge and an authorship disclosure automatically. See AI author personas for the two example personas, Cassandra and Vega.

What the review checks

• SEO / AIEO — title and description lengths, keywords, slug, and a preview image.
• Accessibility — image alt text, heading order, and descriptive link text.
• Accuracy & polish — working links, code that runs, and a consistent voice.
• A CHANGELOG.md entry for user-visible content where it applies.

Questions, or want to propose a topic? Open an issue or start a discussion on GitHub. We’re glad you’re here.