Building a single file

The command yfm content processes a single md file and outputs the result to stdout (or writes it to a file). Unlike yfm build, it does not build a full page: for the html format, only the content is output — without a table of contents, header, or page wrapper.

The command is convenient when you need to quickly get preprocessed content of a single file — for example, to pass it to another tool, render a preview in an editor, or use it in your own pipeline.

Usage

# self-contained markdown in stdout
yfm content -i ./page.md -f md

# html fragment to a file
yfm content -i ./page.md -f html -o ./page.html

The full list of parameters can be displayed in the console with the command yfm content --help.

Output format

The format is set by the parameter --output-format (-f):

• md — preprocessed Markdown. Default for a single file.
• html — HTML content of the page (without a table of contents, header, or wrapper).

The same transformations are applied as in YFM → YFM build: visibility condition checks, variable substitution, SVG inlining, title insertion, and content from files.

Project root

Presets (presets.yaml), includes, links, and variables are searched relative to the project root:

• by default, the current working directory is considered the root;
• pass --config (-c) with a path to .yfm — the directory of this file will become the root.

Output streams

Warnings and errors are always written to stderr. On any build error, the process exits with a non-zero return code.

By default, the built content is output to stdout, framed with delimiter markers so it can be separated from accompanying output (version line, build timer):

<<<<<< YFM CONTENT START >>>>>>
...контент...
<<<<<< YFM CONTENT END >>>>>>

When using --output (-o), the result is written to a file "raw" — without markers.

The --raw mode

The --raw flag outputs only the content to stdout — without delimiter markers and without framework banners (version line, build timer, completion banner). This is convenient when the result needs to be directed straight to a file or another tool.

yfm content -i ./page.md -f md --raw > page.md

At the same time, diagnostics (warnings, errors) still go to stderr, and the exit code remains non-zero on error — so stdout contains only valid content.

Together with the -o flag, the --raw flag changes nothing: the file always receives "raw" content.

Watch mode

With the --watch (-w) parameter, the command tracks changes to the input file, its includes, and presets, and redraws the result on every save.

Parameters

The remaining parameters match those of build.