Initial work
- I preserved all outdated content from the old Google Site (kept in
old/, downloaded via Google Takeout as described in this Google support thread)
- I created a github repo (
usamabilal.github.io) to host the site using GitHub Pages.
- I asked Codex to re-build the site using Quarto. While doing this, I also gave it my last CV and asked to update accordingly.
- I opened the local repo in Positron, and used
quarto render and quarto preview to see the site locally.
- While reviewing the site, I continued giving instructions to codex to update things, e.g.: keep dissertation subpages; update grants (no dollar amounts, add links); restructure Publications/Teaching with dropdowns and subpages; fix publication years; add dashboards/platforms; adjust contact (no phone, new profile link, remove Twitter); filter presentations to invited/keynotes/orals; update teaching pages; rename software/code sections; add online platforms.
- After transitioning most of my AI workflows to Claude, I had Claude Code pick up where Codex left, and used this as an opportunity to make this v1.0.0 of this website.
Deployment
- The initial workflow required me to remember to do
quarto render and quarto publish gh-pages --no-browser.
- I then created a bash script to do this.
- I then remembered I can have github actions do this through a workflow file. So I asked Codex to write one for me and guide me through setting it up.
Structure
- Content lives in
.qmd files at the repo root and in publications/ and teaching/ for their subpages.
- Navbar items are configured in
_quarto.yml.
- Custom styles live in
styles.css.
- Legacy site is preserved under
old/ for reference.