You can set up profiles in iTerm to facilitate the build process with just a few clicks. This can make it a lot easier to quickly build multiple outputs.

About iTerm profiles

When you’re working with tech docs, a lot of times you have builds that push files onto different servers, or that build the content for different environments. It can be a hassle to type out these commands each time. Instead, it’s easier to configure iTerm with profiles that initiate the scripts.

Set up profiles

  1. Open iTerm and go to Profiles > Open Profiles.
  2. Click Edit Profiles.
  3. Click the + button in the lower-left corner to create a new profile.
  4. In the Name field, type a name describing the output, such as Doc theme -- designers.

  5. In the Send text at start field, type the command for the build script, such as this:

    JEKYLL_ENV=production jekyll serve

    Leave the Login shell option selected.

  6. In the Working Directory section, select Directory and enter the directory for your project, such as /Users/tjohnson/projects/documentation-theme-jekyll.
  7. Close the profiles panel.

Here’s an example:

iTerm profile example

Launching a profile

  1. In iTerm, make sure the Toolbar is shown. Go to View > Toggle Toolbar.
  2. Click the New button and select your profile.
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