> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chatfeatured.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Git-based CMS integration > Publish ChatFeatured articles as Markdown files committed to your site's GitHub repository The Git-based CMS integration publishes each article as a Markdown file, with front matter, committed to your site's GitHub repository. It works with CloudCannon, Hugo, Jekyll, Astro, and more. Your CMS picks up the commit and your site rebuilds as usual. Set it up under **Integrations → Git-based CMS**. Only GitHub repositories are supported. > [!WARNING] > > Every publish rewrites the whole file from the article in ChatFeatured, so edits made in your CMS editor or the repository are lost. Make your edits in ChatFeatured. ## Setup ### Step 1: Create a fine-grained GitHub token 1. On GitHub, go to **Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens** and click **Generate new token**. 2. Under **Repository access**, choose **Only select repositories** and pick the repository your site builds from. 3. Under **Repository permissions**, set **Contents** to **Read and write**. If you'll [publish via pull request](#publishing-via-pull-request), set **Pull requests** to **Read and write** too. 4. Generate the token and copy it. Note its expiry date: publishing stops when the token lapses. ### Step 2: Connect in ChatFeatured Open an existing post in your repository to see its branch, folder, extension and front matter keys. Then go to **Integrations → Git-based CMS** and fill in: | Field | What to enter | | - | - | | **GitHub Repository** | `owner/repo-name` | | **Branch** | The branch your CMS builds from, often `main` | | **Content Path** | The folder your posts live in, such as `content/posts`. New posts are created there as `.md`. | | **File format** | `.md` or `.mdx`, matching your existing posts | | **GitHub Access Token** | The token from Step 1 | | **Site URL (optional)** | Your site's address, such as `https://www.example.com`. Needed to link to and track published posts. | | **URL pattern (optional)** | How your site builds a post's URL, such as `/blog/{slug}/`. Leave blank to derive it from the content path (Hugo's default). | | **Default author (optional)** | Used when no author is given at publish time | Optionally set up the three options below, then click **Connect repository**. ChatFeatured checks the token, repository and branch before saving. To change settings later, edit the form and click **Update Connection**. ### Publishing via pull request By default, ChatFeatured commits straight to your branch. Turn on **Publish via pull request** if the branch is protected or you want to review posts first. Each publish then opens a pull request from a `chatfeatured/...` branch, and the post goes live when you merge it. ### Committing featured images With **Commit featured images** off, front matter points to the image where ChatFeatured hosts it. Turn it on and set an **Image Folder**, such as `static/blog/uploads`, to commit each featured image into your repository. Front matter then uses a site-relative path like `/blog/uploads/.jpg`. ### Front matter (advanced) Open **Front matter (advanced)** to match your theme's keys. Leave a key blank to use the default: | Article field | Default key | Notes | | - | - | - | | Title | `title` | | | Date | `date` | The first publish date. It doesn't change when you publish again. | | Description | `description` | The meta description, or the excerpt if there's none | | Featured image | `image` | | | Image alt text | none | Only written when you set a key | | Tags | `tags` | From the publish dialog | | Keywords | `keywords` | The article's target keywords | | Author | `author` | From the publish dialog, then the article's author, then the Default author | | Draft flag | none | Only written when you set a key. Needed for drafts. | Under **Static keys**, click **Add key** to add keys that go into every post, such as `_schema: default`. A default file looks like this: ```yaml theme={null} --- title: "Your Article Title" date: 2026-07-08T15:00:00.000Z description: "The article's meta description" image: "/blog/uploads/your-slug.jpg" keywords: - "target keyword" author: "Editorial Team" --- ``` ## Publish an article In the article editor, click **Publish** or **Schedule** and choose the Git-based CMS. The dialog has **Publish Status**, **Author (optional)**, **Tags** and, for Schedule, a date, time and timezone. **Save as Draft** only appears once you've set a **Draft flag** key, such as `draft`. Without one, generators like Hugo treat every committed post as live. | Action | In your repository | Article in ChatFeatured | | - | - | - | | Save as Draft | File committed with the draft flag set to true | Keeps its current status | | Publish Now | File committed (or a pull request opened) | Published | | Schedule | Committed at the scheduled time | Scheduled, then Published | | Reschedule | The commit moves to the new time | Stays Scheduled | | Cancel schedule | Nothing is committed | Back to Review | | Unpublish | The file is deleted in a commit (or a pull request) | Back to Review | | Publish again | The file is regenerated at the same path | Published | To change a published article, choose **Unpublish** from its menu in the Articles list, edit it, then publish again. The `date` stays the original publish date. ## Troubleshooting > **GitHub rejected the token. Check that the fine-grained personal access token is valid and not expired.** > > The token expired, was revoked, or wasn't copied in full. Generate a new one (Step 1), paste it into **GitHub Access Token**, and click **Update Connection**. > **Repository not found. Check the owner/name and make sure the token is scoped to this repository.** > > Enter the repository as `owner/repo-name`. Fine-grained tokens only see the repositories picked when they were created, so you may need a new token with the right repository selected. > **The commit is there but the post isn't on the site** > > Find the `via ChatFeatured` commit in your repository's history, then check your CMS's sync and build logs. Hugo hides future-dated posts by default, so check the `date`, and the draft key if you use one. ## Related > **[All integrations](/integrations/overview)** > > Every CMS and analytics integration ChatFeatured supports. > **[Articles](/using-chatfeatured/articles)** > > How articles move from idea to published. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.