For Jekyll & GitHub Pages

Ask AI for your Jekyll site

Add a page-search widget with Ask AI and a separate assistant to your Jekyll site. Readers can find pages or request a source-linked answer. Works on GitHub Pages.

Add Biel to Jekyll See the install code

14-day free trialNo credit card required

Biel.ai assistant

Assistant

Hi! How can I help you?

What is Biel?

Assistant

How to try Biel?

Assistant

Start your 14-day trial Request a demo

Assistant is typing…Assistant is typing…

Used by documentation and developer-experience teams

Install

Three ways to ship Biel on Jekyll

A floating Ask AI assistant via two include edits, a page-search field with an Ask AI handoff in the navbar include, or a hosted MCP endpoint Claude and Cursor can query directly. GitHub Pages compatible.

Full installation guide

Edit two `_includes`

The CDN install. Append the script tags to _includes/head.html and drop the assistant button into _includes/footer.html. Works on the default Minima theme, just-the-docs, and any theme that exposes head/footer includes.

→Floating Ask AI button on every page
→Five button positions, dark / light / default
→GitHub Pages compatible: no plugin required
→Zero gem dependencies

_includes/footer.html

<!-- 1. In _includes/head.html append: -->

<link rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.css">
<script type="module"
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.esm.js">
</script>

<!-- 2. In _includes/footer.html (or any include) drop in: -->

<biel-button
  project="<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>"
  header-title="Documentation AI"
  button-position="bottom-right"
  modal-position="bottom-right"
  button-style="dark">
    Ask AI
</biel-button>

<!-- 3. jekyll build (or jekyll serve for local) -->

Add a search button to the navbar include

Jekyll has no native search; most sites add Lunr (via jekyll-lunr-js-search, or bundled into a theme like just-the-docs). To add page search with an Ask AI handoff to the navbar, drop a <biel-search-button> into your header include.

→Drop-in search field in the navbar
→Works alongside an existing Lunr setup
→Page results with an Ask AI handoff
→Same include pattern as the assistant

_includes/header.html

<!-- 1. In _includes/head.html append: -->

<link rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.css">
<script type="module"
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.esm.js">
</script>

<!-- 2. In _includes/header.html, next to or in place of
        the existing search element: -->

<biel-search-button
  project="<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>"
  header-title="Documentation AI"
  button-style="rounded">
    Search
</biel-search-button>

Make your docs queryable by AI agents

Hosted MCP is available from $150/month. Enable it for your Biel project to give compatible AI tools access to the same indexed documentation. Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible assistants can search your Jekyll site directly. Configure once in mcp.json.

→Hosted MCP server, no self-hosting
→Same index as the assistant, one source of truth
→Works with Codex, Claude Code, and Cursor
→Private projects require a project-scoped API key

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "biel-ai": {
      "name": "Biel.ai",
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.biel.ai/v2/YOUR_PROJECT_SLUG/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Biel.ai vs Lunr on Jekyll

Jekyll has no built-in search. The de-facto default is Lunr: either via the jekyll-lunr-js-search plugin, or bundled into a theme like just-the-docs. Biel adds page search plus an Ask AI handoff to its assistant and works on plain GitHub Pages with no gem or plugin.

Dimension	Lunr	Biel.ai
Query type	Lunr-based keyword and prefix matching, run client-side. Returns a list of pages.	Semantic page results, with Ask AI for natural-language questions and source-linked answers.
GitHub Pages compatibility	GitHub Pages allows only a whitelisted set of plugins. Most search gems need a separate build step.	Pure CDN script. No gem, no plugin, no separate build. Drops into any GitHub Pages site.
Liquid and front matter	Lunr indexes the rendered HTML. It reads the result of Liquid, not the source. Front matter is invisible.	Indexes the rendered HTML the same way. Front matter is preserved as page-level metadata for citations.
Collections	Lunr indexes all collections by default. No way to scope per-collection without custom config.	Index the live site URL: collections, posts, pages, all included. Configure include / exclude per source if needed.
Multi-language	Lunr supports stemmers for around 14 languages with extra config.	Answers in 60+ languages, including languages your docs are not written in.
Analytics	Lunr does not log queries. No content-gap signal.	Unanswered questions, satisfaction trends, and a Content Gaps view that updates daily.
Install	gem install, plugin config, and an index template (or use a theme that bundles Lunr).	Two include files. Indexing time depends on site size.
Cost	Free.	Self-serve. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

Before you install

Does it work on GitHub Pages?

Yes. Add the CDN widget through your theme’s includes and rebuild. No GitHub Pages plugin is required.

Will it work with our theme?

Yes. Minima, just-the-docs, jekyll-theme-cayman, and custom themes are all supported. The widget is a floating button injected via two includes. It does not depend on theme internals.

Can it index our collections and posts?

Yes, if they appear at public URLs. Biel reads the published HTML and links answers to supporting pages.

Can we keep our existing Lunr search?

Yes. Keep Lunr for page lookup and add the Biel assistant separately. You can also add Biel Search, whose Ask AI action sends the current query to the assistant.

Can it use our translated docs?

Index the published URLs for each language you want to include. Readers can ask in 60+ languages, even if your docs are only in English. Use separate projects if answers must use one language only.

How long does the install take?

Edit the two includes, then rebuild the Jekyll site. Indexing time depends on the size of the site.

Make your Jekyll site answer questions

Try Biel with your docs Book a demo

14-day free trial · No credit card required

Use a different platform? See our integration pages for Docusaurus, MkDocs, Sphinx, Starlight, and Antora.

Ask AI for your Jekyll site

Three ways to ship Biel on Jekyll

Edit two _includes

Biel.ai vs Lunr on Jekyll

Before you install

Does it work on GitHub Pages?

Will it work with our theme?

Can it index our collections and posts?

Can we keep our existing Lunr search?

Can it use our translated docs?

How long does the install take?

Make your Jekyll site answer questions

Edit two `_includes`