Jigsaw review
A focused static generator for PHP teams that prefer Blade, Markdown, and Vite.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Jigsaw is an open-source static site generator from Tighten for developers who prefer Laravel-style tooling. It is particularly suited to PHP teams already working with Blade templates and Markdown content. Blade handles page layouts and templates, while Markdown provides the content source. Collections add structure for related content, including sorting, filtering, pagination, categories, and tags. Jigsaw generates static output into deployable build directories, making it a focused option for content-led sites rather than a general application framework.
The development workflow brings together Composer installation, a local server available through the serve command, environment-specific configuration files, and Vite for compiling CSS and JavaScript assets. Optional Vite-powered reloads support a quicker local editing cycle. This combination fits teams that want Laravel-style templating with a static publishing process, but it also means the project depends on PHP and Node.js tooling. Teams seeking a simpler editor-first workflow or a generator without this development stack may prefer an alternative.
Jigsaw is free and open source, and it is distributed as an MIT-licensed project. Deployment guidance covers GitHub Pages, Netlify, Amazon S3, Kinsta Application Hosting, and manual hosting, while the published platform scope is self-hosted. That gives teams several ways to publish generated files without requiring a managed Jigsaw service. Its strengths are the Blade-and-Markdown workflow, structured collections, and Vite asset compilation; its trade-off is a narrower ecosystem and limited advanced build functionality. Choose Jigsaw when those Laravel-oriented tools match the team’s workflow. Look elsewhere when broader platform coverage or deeper build features matter more.
Jigsaw pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Blade templates pair with Markdown content and environment-specific configuration.
- Collections support sorting, filtering, pagination, categories, and tags.
- Vite integration and deployment guidance cover common hosting workflows.
- Where it doesn't
- Platform support is centered on self-hosted deployment.
- Advanced build features are limited compared with broader static-site platforms.
- Projects require PHP and Node.js tooling through Composer and Vite.
Jigsaw fact sheet, pricing and score →
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