---
id: pelican
version: "4.12.0"
license: AGPLv3
license_treatment: agpl
maintenance: active
---

# pelican — Static site generator supporting Markdown and reStructuredText

License: agpl · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 99.5K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Pelican is a Python-based static site generator that reads content from text files—Markdown, reStructuredText, or HTML—and compiles them into a complete, static website. It handles the typical workflow of a content site: organizing articles chronologically, generating RSS and Atom feeds, applying themes via Jinja2 templates, and syntax-highlighting code blocks with Pygments. The output is pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that can be hosted anywhere without a database or application server.

The package is built for bloggers, documentation authors, and anyone who wants to version-control their content and host it simply. It includes features like multi-language support, theme customization, and a plugin system for extending functionality. Rebuild times are kept fast through caching and selective output writing, making the edit-preview cycle practical for iterative work.

Use it for:

- Build a personal blog or portfolio site from Markdown files, version-controlled in Git.
- Generate static documentation sites that can be hosted on any web server or CDN.
- Migrate content from WordPress or other platforms and maintain it as plain text.
- Create a multi-language site with separate content trees compiled to a single output.
- Publish an RSS feed alongside your site, automatically updated from your content.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Pelican is a static site generator that converts text files in Markdown, reStructuredText, or HTML into a complete, ready-to-serve website without requiring a database or server-side code.

Yes. Pelican is a mature, actively maintained static site generator with low installation friction and no known vulnerabilities. It is well-suited for anyone building a blog, documentation site, or portfolio that benefits from version control and simple hosting. The AGPLv3 license is not a barrier for typical personal or private use but should be reviewed if you plan to distribute modified versions.

## Install

pip install pelican
uv add pelican
poetry add pelican

## Installing pelican

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction; the package is actively maintained with a recent release and runs on modern Python versions (3.11–3.14). The dependency footprint is modest at 11 runtime packages, all commonly used libraries.

License in practice: Pelican is licensed under AGPLv3, which requires that any derivative work or network-accessible modifications be released under the same license. This is permissive for personal or private use but imposes copyleft obligations if you distribute or host modified versions.

Quickstart:

pip install pelican

from pelican import Pelican
from pelican.settings import DEFAULT_CONFIG

settings = DEFAULT_CONFIG.copy()
pelican = Pelican(settings)
pelican.run()

Requires Python 3.11 or later; content files must be in a recognized format (Markdown, reStructuredText, or HTML).

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package includes built-in theme templates or requires separate installation.
- Performance characteristics for sites with large numbers of articles or pages.
- Extent of plugin ecosystem and ease of writing custom plugins.

## Package facts

- License: AGPLv3 (agpl)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 99.5K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

static site generator, markdown to html site builder, blog generator python, static website generator, content to static html, reStructuredText site generator, python ssg, static-site-generator, content-management, markdown-support

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pelican) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pelican/)