Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesGitHub’s February 1, 2016 announcement said GitHub Pages had moved to Jekyll 3.0, simplifying its supported Markdown and syntax-highlighting setup and adding tools for inspecting local build times. GitHub called Pages faster, but published no benchmark or measured speedup. The change was a historical upgrade—not a statement of the Jekyll version Pages supports today.
What GitHub announced in February 2016
GitHub said Pages was running Jekyll 3.0 and described the result as easier and faster publishing. The author-facing changes centered on Markdown, code highlighting, and local build feedback, alongside two compatibility changes. GitHub’s original announcement did not give build-time measurements, a percentage improvement, or a benchmark method, so “faster” is a qualitative claim rather than a quantified result.
Markdown moved to kramdown
Starting May 1, 2016, GitHub Pages would support kramdown alone. The post advised authors using Rdiscount or Redcarpet to change their configuration to kramdown or remove the Markdown-engine setting. GitHub said kramdown’s GitHub-flavored Markdown support was enabled by default.
Rouge and fenced code blocks
The announcement named Rouge as the supported Ruby syntax highlighter and said builds would transition users of Pygments to Rouge. It also pointed to fenced backtick code blocks as a native Markdown way to add syntax highlighting. In practical terms, the migration involved the highlighting engine as well as the syntax used to mark code in Markdown files.
#1 Best Overall
Local profiling and preview
Jekyll 3.0 was described as improving local preview speed and introducing experimental incremental regeneration. For build-time diagnostics, GitHub suggested jekyll build --profile or jekyll serve --profile. These commands were profiling options, not evidence of a promised speed gain for every site.
What authors needed to check before upgrading
Relative permalinks
Jekyll no longer supported relative permalinks. GitHub singled out sites that had explicitly set relative_permalinks: true as needing attention. The announcement also said page-level permalink values should be relative to the site root, so existing permalink configuration and generated links were worth checking during migration.
Rank #2
Textile files
Textile support was scheduled to end on May 1, 2016. GitHub told authors with Textile content to convert it to Markdown before that cutoff.
Later Jekyll 3.1.6 compatibility notes
The original 3.0 post was not the last upgrade notice. By May 23, 2016, GitHub reported Pages had moved to Jekyll 3.1.6, noted performance improvements, and advised owners of complex sites to test locally with the GitHub Pages Gem. That follow-up also called out changes in how layout front matter was accessed and inherited. These are dated 2016 details, not current version guidance; see GitHub’s Jekyll 3.1 announcement.
Does GitHub Pages still use Jekyll?
GitHub Pages still supports building a site with Jekyll, but its deployment architecture changed after the 2016 upgrade. GitHub’s August 2022 announcement said that all Pages sites build and deploy with GitHub Actions. It explained that the earlier single-purpose worker lacked versioning and made it difficult to upgrade Jekyll or safely add plugins. The post described Pages as home to 16 million websites at that time; that is a figure reported by GitHub in 2022, not a current site count. Read GitHub’s 2022 explanation of Pages and Actions.
GitHub’s July 8, 2024 changelog said the legacy Pages worker had shut down on June 30, 2024. As a result, building a Pages site from a branch with Jekyll requires GitHub Actions. A root-level .nojekyll file bypasses the Jekyll build; in that arrangement, the site owner must build the static assets and push them to the source branch. The changelog does not establish a current supported Jekyll runtime version. See the legacy worker sunset notice.
How to interpret the upgrade today
The 2016 announcement is useful as a record of a specific transition: kramdown replaced competing Markdown engines, Rouge became the supported highlighter, and authors were asked to review permalinks and convert Textile. It should not be treated as a current setup guide or as proof of a specific speed improvement.
| Area | 2016 migration note | What to know about the later deployment model |
|---|---|---|
| Markdown and content | Use kramdown; convert Textile content to Markdown by the announced May 1, 2016 cutoff. | The 2024 changelog addresses the build route, not the current supported Jekyll version. Follow current GitHub Pages documentation for present configuration details. |
| Code highlighting | Rouge was the supported highlighter; GitHub said Pygments users would transition during builds and described fenced backtick blocks. | The 2024 changelog does not provide an updated highlighting configuration. |
| Permalinks | Jekyll 3.0 no longer supported relative permalinks; page permalink values were to be relative to the site root. |
The 2024 changelog does not describe permalink behavior. |
| Deployment | The announcement concerned GitHub Pages running Jekyll 3.0. | Branch-based Jekyll builds require GitHub Actions; root .nojekyll bypasses Jekyll, with static assets built and pushed by the site owner. |
GitHub’s separate December 2016 publishing explainer described conveniences such as Markdown rendering without per-file YAML front matter, using a README as an index in some cases, and a default theme or layout. Those are historical descriptions, so they should not be assumed to describe current behavior without checking GitHub’s current documentation. Read the publishing explainer.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
