For Jekyll & GitHub Pages

Ask AI for your Jekyll site

Add a page-search widget with Ask AI and a separate chatbot 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

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Biel.ai chatbot

Assistant

Hi! how can I help you?

Three ways to ship Biel on Jekyll

A floating Ask AI chatbot 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 chatbot 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 chatbot

_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

Every Biel project ships with a hosted MCP endpoint. Claude, Cursor, Cline, 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 chatbot, one source of truth
→Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Zed
→Auth via project token, scoped per-workspace

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 chatbot 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.	Keyword 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. Live in 15 minutes.
Cost	Free.	Self-serve. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

Things teams ask during evaluation

Does it work on GitHub Pages?

Yes. The widget is a CDN-loaded web component, so it works on plain GitHub Pages without enabling any plugin gems. Drop it into _includes/head.html and _includes/footer.html and the next deploy ships it.

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. Indexing happens against the rendered HTML, so collections, posts, and pages are read together. Front matter is preserved as page-level metadata for citations.

Can we keep our existing Lunr search?

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

What about translations and i18n?

Each language URL prefix is indexed as its own source. Citations resolve to the right localized URL. Readers can also ask in 60+ languages even if your docs only ship in English.

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

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