Getting started with Astro in 2026

Astro has quietly become one of the best ways to build a content site. It defaults to zero JavaScript, supports Markdown, MDX and content collections out of the box, and renders well on every device.

Install

bun create astro@latest -- --template blog
cd my-blog
bun dev

That’s it — you have a working blog at localhost:4321.

The two files you actually edit

1. src/content.config.ts — the schema for your posts.
2. src/pages/ — your routes.

Almost everything else is wiring you only touch when you want to.

A minimal schema

import { defineCollection, z } from 'astro:content';

export const collections = {
  blog: defineCollection({
    schema: z.object({
      title: z.string(),
      pubDate: z.coerce.date(),
      description: z.string(),
    }),
  }),
};

Add a post to src/content/blog/ and Astro picks it up.

Why this stack is good in 2026

• Static output — your blog survives traffic spikes for free.
• View transitions and image optimization are first-party.
• MDX is there when you need a component inside a post, not pushed on you when you don’t.
• Sitemaps, RSS, hreflang — all one integration away.

If you mostly publish words and screenshots, you don’t need React. You need fast HTML.