Added VERSION file - updating version number will be easier

SHOW_HEADER_MENU=true        # Set false to remove nav menu from header
SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS=true # Set false to hide descriptions/excerpts on index
GENERATE_EXCERPT=true        # Set false to skip auto-generating excerpts
SHOW_READING_TIME=true       # Set false to hide reading time on posts

Updated README.md

Should close issue 53: #53

VERSION

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.41

config.sh

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
 # BSSG - Configuration File
-# Version 0.10
+# Version controlled via root VERSION file
 # Contains all configurable parameters for the static site generator
 # Developed by Stefano Marinelli (stefano@dragas.it)
 #
@@ -19,12 +19,19 @@ OUTPUT_DIR="output"
 TEMPLATES_DIR="templates"
 THEMES_DIR="themes"
 STATIC_DIR="static"
+DRAFTS_DIR="drafts" # Directory for drafts
 THEME="default"
+CACHE_DIR=".bssg_cache" # Default cache directory location (relative to BSSG root)
 
 # Build configuration
-CLEAN_OUTPUT=false
+CLEAN_OUTPUT=false # If true, BSSG will always perform a full rebuild
 REBUILD_AFTER_POST=true # Build site automatically after creating a new post (scripts/post.sh)
 REBUILD_AFTER_EDIT=true # Build site automatically after editing a post (scripts/edit.sh)
+PRECOMPRESS_ASSETS="false" # Options: "true", "false". If true, compress text assets (HTML, CSS, XML, JS) with gzip during build.
+BUILD_MODE="ram" # Options: "normal", "ram". "ram" preloads inputs and keeps build state in memory (writes only output artifacts).
+
+# Customization
+CUSTOM_CSS="" # Optional: Path to custom CSS file relative to output root (e.g., "/css/custom.css"). File should be placed in STATIC_DIR.
 
 # Site information
 SITE_TITLE="My new BSSG site"
@@ -32,6 +39,19 @@ SITE_DESCRIPTION="A complete SSG - written in bash"
 SITE_URL="http://localhost:8000"
 AUTHOR_NAME="Anonymous" 
 AUTHOR_EMAIL="anonymous@example.com"
+REL_ME_URL="" # Optional fediverse profile URL for <link rel="me"> verification, e.g. "https://mastodon.example/@john"
+# Optional additional rel="me" verification links. BSSG emits all unique values from
+# REL_ME_URL and REL_ME_URLS.
+# REL_ME_URLS=(
+#   "https://mastodon.example/@john"
+#   "https://another-fedi.example/@john"
+# )
+FEDIVERSE_CREATOR="" # Optional default fediverse:creator value for posts, e.g. "@you@example.social"
+# Optional per-author overrides matched against author_name exactly.
+# declare -A AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS=(
+#   ["Jane Smith"]="@jane@example.social"
+#   ["John Doe"]="@john@example.com"
+# )
 
 # Content configuration
 DATE_FORMAT="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z"
@@ -39,11 +59,27 @@ TIMEZONE="local"  # Options: "local", "GMT", or a specific timezone like "Americ
 SHOW_TIMEZONE="false" # Options: "true", "false". Whether to display the timezone in rendered dates.
 POSTS_PER_PAGE=10
 RSS_ITEM_LIMIT=15 # Number of items to include in the RSS feed.
+RSS_INCLUDE_FULL_CONTENT="false" # Options: "true", "false". Include full post content in RSS feed.
+RSS_FILENAME="rss.xml" # The filename for the main RSS feed (e.g., feed.xml, rss.xml)
+INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT="false" # Options: "true", "false". Show full post content on homepage instead of just description/excerpt.
 ENABLE_ARCHIVES=true  # Enable or disable archive pages
-URL_SLUG_FORMAT="Year/Month/Day/slug"  # Format for post URLs: Year/Month/Day/slug will create Year/Month/Day/slug/index.html
+ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES=false # Enable or disable author pages (default: false)
+ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS=false # Enable or disable author-specific RSS feeds (default: false)
+SHOW_AUTHORS_MENU_THRESHOLD=2 # Minimum authors to show menu (default: 2)
+URL_SLUG_FORMAT="Year/Month/Day/slug" # Format for post URLs. Available: Year, Month, Day, slug
+ENABLE_TAG_RSS=true # Enable or disable tag-specific RSS feed generation (default: true)
+
+# Display configuration
+SHOW_HEADER_MENU=true # Options: "true", "false". Show navigation menu in the header.
+SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS=true # Options: "true", "false". Show post descriptions/excerpts on the index page.
+GENERATE_EXCERPT=true # Options: "true", "false". Generate excerpt from content when no description is provided.
+SHOW_READING_TIME=true # Options: "true", "false". Show reading time on individual post pages.
+
+# Archive Page Configuration
+ARCHIVES_LIST_ALL_POSTS="false" # Options: "true", "false". If true, list all posts on the main archive page.
 
 # Page configuration
-PAGE_URL_FORMAT="pages/slug"  # Format for page URLs: pages/slug will create pages/slug/index.html
+PAGE_URL_FORMAT="slug" # Format for page URLs. Available: slug, filename (without ext)
 
 # Markdown processing configuration
 MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR="commonmark" # Options: "pandoc", "commonmark", or "markdown.pl"
@@ -51,6 +87,19 @@ MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR="commonmark" # Options: "pandoc", "commonmark", or "markdown.
 # Language Configuration
 SITE_LANG="en"  # Default language code (e.g., en, es, fr). See locales/ directory.
 
+# Related Posts Configuration
+ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS=true # Enable or disable related posts feature
+RELATED_POSTS_COUNT=3 # Number of related posts to show (default: 3)
+
+# Server Configuration (for 'bssg.sh server' command)
+# These are the defaults used by 'bssg.sh server' if not overridden by command-line options.
+BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT="8000"    # Default port for the local development server
+BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT="localhost" # Default host for the local development server
+
+# Deployment configuration
+DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD="false" # Options: "true", "false". Automatically deploy after a successful build.
+DEPLOY_SCRIPT=""           # Path to the deployment script to execute if DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD is true.
+
 # Terminal colors for output
 RED='\033[0;31m'
 GREEN='\033[0;32m'

locales/de.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Startseite"
 export MSG_TAGS="Tags"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Autoren"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archive"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Seiten"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Per RSS abonnieren"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Veröffentlicht am"
 export MSG_BY="von"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Beiträge von"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Beiträge mit dem Tag"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="Alle Tags"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Alle Autoren"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="Alle Seiten"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archive für"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Zurück zu"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d Min. Lesezeit"
 export MSG_MINUTE="Minute"
 export MSG_MINUTES="Minuten"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Aktualisiert am"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Nach oben"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Nach oben"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Ähnliche Beiträge"

locales/en.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Home"
 export MSG_TAGS="Tags"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Authors"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archives"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Pages"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Subscribe via RSS"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Published on"
 export MSG_BY="by"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Posts by"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Posts tagged with"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="All Tags"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="All Authors"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="All Pages"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archives for"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Back to"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min read"
 export MSG_MINUTE="minute"
 export MSG_MINUTES="minutes"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Updated on"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Back to Top"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Back to Top"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Related Posts"

locales/es.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Inicio"
 export MSG_TAGS="Etiquetas"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Autores"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archivos"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Páginas"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Suscribirse vía RSS"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Publicado el"
 export MSG_BY="por"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Entradas de"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Entradas etiquetadas con"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="Todas las etiquetas"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Todos los autores"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="Todas las páginas"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archivos de"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Volver a"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min de lectura"
 export MSG_MINUTE="minuto"
 export MSG_MINUTES="minutos"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Actualizado el"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Volver arriba"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Volver arriba"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Artículos relacionados"

locales/fr.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Accueil"
 export MSG_TAGS="Étiquettes"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Auteurs"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archives"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Pages"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="S'abonner via RSS"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Publié le"
 export MSG_BY="par"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Articles de"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Articles étiquetés avec"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="Toutes les étiquettes"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Tous les auteurs"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="Toutes les pages"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archives pour"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Retour à"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min de lecture"
 export MSG_MINUTE="minute"
 export MSG_MINUTES="minutes"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Mis à jour le"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Retour en haut"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Retour en haut"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Articles connexes"

locales/it.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Home"
 export MSG_TAGS="Tag"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Autori"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archivi"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Pagine"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Abbonati via RSS"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Pubblicato il"
 export MSG_BY="da"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Articoli di"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Articoli taggati con"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="Tutti i tag"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Tutti gli autori"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="Tutte le pagine"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archivi per"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Torna a"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min di lettura"
 export MSG_MINUTE="minuto"
 export MSG_MINUTES="minuti"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Aggiornato il"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Torna su"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Torna in cima"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Articoli correlati"

locales/ja.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="ホーム"
 export MSG_TAGS="タグ"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="著者"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="アーカイブ"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="ページ"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="RSSで購読する"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="公開日"
 export MSG_BY="作成者"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="の投稿"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="タグ付きの投稿"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="すべてのタグ"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="すべての著者"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="すべてのページ"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="のアーカイブ"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="に戻る"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="読了時間 %d分"
 export MSG_MINUTE="分"
 export MSG_MINUTES="分"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="更新日"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="トップに戻る"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="トップに戻る"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="関連記事"

locales/nl.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Dutch Locale for BSSG
+
+export MSG_HOME="Home"
+export MSG_TAGS="Tags"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Autheurs"
+export MSG_ARCHIVES="Archieven"
+export MSG_RSS="RSS"
+export MSG_PAGES="Paginas"
+export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Volg via RSS"
+export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Gepubliceerd op"
+export MSG_BY="door"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Posts door"
+export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Posts getagd met"
+export MSG_ALL_TAGS="All Tags"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Alle Authors"
+export MSG_ALL_PAGES="All Paginas"
+export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Archiven voor"
+export MSG_BACK_TO="Terug naar"
+export MSG_POSTS_FROM="Posts van"
+export MSG_OLDER_POSTS="Oudere Posts"
+export MSG_NEWER_POSTS="Nieuwere Posts"
+export MSG_PAGE_INFO_TEMPLATE="Pagina %d van %d"
+export MSG_PAGE_TITLE_PREFIX="Pagina"
+export MSG_RSS_FEED_TITLE="${SITE_TITLE} - RSS Feed"
+export MSG_RSS_FEED_DESCRIPTION="${SITE_DESCRIPTION}"
+export MSG_RSS_FEED="RSS Feed"
+export MSG_ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED="Alle rechten reserved."
+export MSG_GENERATED_WITH="Deze site was gegenereerd met"
+export MSG_LATEST_POSTS="Laatste Posts"
+export MSG_GENERATOR_DESCRIPTION="."
+export MSG_POSTS="posts"
+export MSG_READ_MORE="Lees meer"
+export MSG_MONTH_01="Januari"
+export MSG_MONTH_02="Februari"
+export MSG_MONTH_03="Maart"
+export MSG_MONTH_04="April"
+export MSG_MONTH_05="Mei"
+export MSG_MONTH_06="Juni"
+export MSG_MONTH_07="Juli"
+export MSG_MONTH_08="Augustus"
+export MSG_MONTH_09="September"
+export MSG_MONTH_10="October"
+export MSG_MONTH_11="November"
+export MSG_MONTH_12="December"
+export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min read"
+export MSG_MINUTE="minuut"
+export MSG_MINUTES="minuten"
+export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Bijgewerkt op"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Terug naar Boven"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Gerelateede Posts"

locales/pt.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="Início"
 export MSG_TAGS="Etiquetas"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="Autores"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="Arquivos"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="Páginas"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="Subscrever via RSS"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="Publicado em"
 export MSG_BY="por"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="Posts de"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="Posts etiquetados com"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="Todas as Etiquetas"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="Todos os Autores"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="Todas as Páginas"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="Arquivos de"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="Voltar para"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="%d min de leitura"
 export MSG_MINUTE="minuto"
 export MSG_MINUTES="minutos"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="Atualizado em"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Voltar ao topo"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="Voltar ao topo"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="Posts Relacionados"

locales/zh.sh

@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 
 export MSG_HOME="首页"
 export MSG_TAGS="标签"
+export MSG_AUTHORS="作者"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES="归档"
 export MSG_RSS="RSS"
 export MSG_PAGES="页面"
 export MSG_SUBSCRIBE_RSS="通过 RSS 订阅"
 export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON="发布于"
 export MSG_BY="作者"
+export MSG_POSTS_BY="的文章"
 export MSG_TAG_PAGE_TITLE="标签为 的文章"
 export MSG_ALL_TAGS="所有标签"
+export MSG_ALL_AUTHORS="所有作者"
 export MSG_ALL_PAGES="所有页面"
 export MSG_ARCHIVES_FOR="的归档"
 export MSG_BACK_TO="返回"
@@ -44,4 +47,5 @@ export MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE="阅读时间 %d 分钟"
 export MSG_MINUTE="分钟"
 export MSG_MINUTES="分钟"
 export MSG_UPDATED_ON="更新于"
-export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="返回顶部"
+export MSG_BACK_TO_TOP="返回顶部"
+export MSG_RELATED_POSTS="相关文章"

scripts/backup.sh

@@ -7,118 +7,207 @@
 # Project Homepage: https://bssg.dragas.net
 #
 
+# This script RELIES on environment variables set by config_loader.sh
+# It should be called via the main bssg.sh script.
+
 set -e
 
-# Load configuration
-CONFIG_FILE="config.sh"
-if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
-    source "$CONFIG_FILE"
+# Source utilities needed for logging (ensure they are available)
+# Determine the directory of the main bssg script if BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR is set
+SCRIPT_DIR="${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR:-$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )/..}"
+UTILS_SCRIPT="${SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/build/utils.sh"
+
+if [ -f "$UTILS_SCRIPT" ]; then
+    # shellcheck source=scripts/build/utils.sh
+    source "$UTILS_SCRIPT"
 else
-    echo "Error: Configuration file '$CONFIG_FILE' not found"
-    exit 1
+    # Minimal fallback if utils not found
+    RED='\033[0;31m'
+    GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+    YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
+    NC='\033[0m'
+    print_error() { echo -e "${RED}Error: $1${NC}" >&2; }
+    print_warning() { echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: $1${NC}"; }
+    print_success() { echo -e "${GREEN}Success: $1${NC}"; }
+    print_info() { echo -e "Info: $1"; }
+    print_error "Utilities script not found at '$UTILS_SCRIPT'. Using fallback logging."
 fi
 
-# Load local configuration overrides if they exist
-LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE="config.sh.local"
-if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
-    source "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
-fi
-
-# Terminal colors
-RED='\033[0;31m'
-GREEN='\033[0;32m'
-YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
-NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+# Check essential variables are set (they should be exported by config_loader.sh)
+: "${CONFIG_FILE:?Error: CONFIG_FILE environment variable not set. Run via bssg.sh}"
+: "${SRC_DIR:?Error: SRC_DIR environment variable not set. Run via bssg.sh}"
+: "${BACKUP_DIR:?Error: BACKUP_DIR environment variable not set. Run via bssg.sh}"
+: "${LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE:?Error: LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE environment variable not set. Run via bssg.sh}"
 
 # Create backup directory if it doesn't exist
-mkdir -p "backup"
+mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
 
-# Function to backup posts
-backup_posts() {
-    local timestamp=$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)
-    local backup_file="backup/bssg_backup_$timestamp.tar.gz"
-    
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Creating backup of all posts...${NC}"
-    
-    # Create tar archive with all .md and .html files in src directory
-    tar -czf "$backup_file" -C "$SRC_DIR" .
-    
-    # Also include the drafts directory if it exists
-    if [ -d "drafts" ]; then
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}Including drafts in backup...${NC}"
-        tar -rf "${backup_file%.gz}" -C "drafts" .
-        gzip -f "${backup_file%.gz}"
+# Function to backup site content and configuration
+create_backup() {
+    local timestamp
+    timestamp=$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)
+    local backup_filename="bssg_backup_$timestamp.tar.gz"
+    local backup_filepath="${BACKUP_DIR}/${backup_filename}"
+
+    print_info "Creating backup..."
+
+    # Prepare list of tar options (-C dir file)
+    local tar_opts=()
+
+    # Function to safely add item to tar options
+    add_item_to_backup() {
+        local item_path="$1"
+        local item_type="$2" # 'file' or 'dir'
+        
+        if [ "$item_type" == "file" ] && [ ! -f "$item_path" ]; then
+            print_warning "File '$item_path' not found, skipping."
+            return
+        elif [ "$item_type" == "dir" ] && [ ! -d "$item_path" ]; then
+            print_warning "Directory '$item_path' not found, skipping."
+            return
+        elif [ "$item_type" != "file" ] && [ "$item_type" != "dir" ]; then
+             print_error "Internal error: Invalid item type '$item_type' for $item_path"
+             return
+        fi
+        
+        local dir
+        local base
+        dir=$(dirname "$item_path")
+        base=$(basename "$item_path")
+        tar_opts+=("-C" "$dir" "$base")
+        print_info "Adding $item_type '$base' from '$dir' to backup."
+    }
+
+    # Add main config file
+    add_item_to_backup "$CONFIG_FILE" "file"
+
+    # Add local config file
+    add_item_to_backup "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE" "file"
+
+    # Add source directory
+    add_item_to_backup "$SRC_DIR" "dir"
+
+    # Add drafts directory (if defined)
+    if [ -n "${DRAFTS_DIR:-}" ]; then
+        add_item_to_backup "$DRAFTS_DIR" "dir"
+    fi
+
+    # Add pages directory (if defined)
+    # Check if it's the same as SRC_DIR to avoid adding twice
+    if [ -n "${PAGES_DIR:-}" ]; then
+        if [[ "$(cd "$SRC_DIR" && pwd)" != "$(cd "$PAGES_DIR" && pwd)" ]]; then
+             add_item_to_backup "$PAGES_DIR" "dir"
+        else
+             print_info "Pages directory '$PAGES_DIR' is same as source directory '$SRC_DIR', skipping duplicate add."
+        fi
     fi
     
-    # Also include the pages directory if it exists
-    if [ -d "pages" ]; then
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}Including pages in backup...${NC}"
-        tar -rf "${backup_file%.gz}" -C "pages" .
-        gzip -f "${backup_file%.gz}"
+    # Check if there are items to back up
+    # We check tar_opts length / 2 because each item adds two elements (-C and path)
+    if [ ${#tar_opts[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+        print_error "No items found to back up. Please check configuration and file/directory existence."
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Create the tar archive
+    print_info "Archiving items to $backup_filepath"
+    # The items added via -C will be relative to the archive root
+    tar -czf "$backup_filepath" "${tar_opts[@]}"
+
+    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+        print_success "Backup created: $backup_filepath"
+    else
+        print_error "Failed to create backup archive."
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Manage daily backup and cleanup
+    manage_backup_rotation "$backup_filepath"
+
+    print_success "Backup process completed."
+}
+
+# Function to manage daily backups and rotation
+manage_backup_rotation() {
+    local latest_backup_filepath="$1"
+    local today
+    today=$(date +%Y%m%d)
+    local daily_backup_filename="bssg_daily_$today.tar.gz"
+    local daily_backup_filepath="${BACKUP_DIR}/${daily_backup_filename}"
+
+    # Create a daily backup if it doesn't exist or if the latest is newer
+    if [ ! -f "$daily_backup_filepath" ] || [ "$latest_backup_filepath" -nt "$daily_backup_filepath" ]; then
+        cp "$latest_backup_filepath" "$daily_backup_filepath"
+        print_success "Daily backup created/updated: $daily_backup_filepath"
+    fi
+
+    # Keep only latest 10 timestamped backups (excluding daily backups)
+    print_info "Cleaning old timestamped backups (keeping latest 10)..."
+    
+    # Portable way to list, sort by time, skip 10 newest, and delete the rest
+    # Use null delimiter with ls/tail/xargs if available (safer), otherwise newline
+    local file_list
+    local count=0
+    
+    # Count the number of backups first to avoid errors with tail if less than 11
+    count=$(ls -1 "${BACKUP_DIR}"/bssg_backup_*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
+    
+    if [ "$count" -gt 10 ]; then
+        # List files sorted by modification time (newest first), get all except the first 10
+        # Use process substitution to avoid issues with subshells and xargs
+        # Use xargs -I {} rm -f "{}" for basic portability with spaces
+        ls -t "${BACKUP_DIR}"/bssg_backup_*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | tail -n +11 | xargs -I {} rm -f "{}"
+        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+            print_warning "Potentially failed to clean some old backups. Please check manually."
+        fi
+    else
+        print_info "Fewer than 11 timestamped backups found, no cleanup needed."
     fi
     
-    # Also include the config.sh.local file if it exists
-    if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}Including local configuration in backup...${NC}"
-        tar -rf "${backup_file%.gz}" "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
-        gzip -f "${backup_file%.gz}"
-    fi
-    
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Backup created: $backup_file${NC}"
-    
-    # Create a daily backup if it doesn't exist
-    local today=$(date +%Y%m%d)
-    local daily_backup="backup/bssg_daily_$today.tar.gz"
-    
-    if [ ! -f "$daily_backup" ]; then
-        cp "$backup_file" "$daily_backup"
-        echo -e "${GREEN}Daily backup created: $daily_backup${NC}"
-    fi
-    
-    # Keep only latest 10 backups
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Cleaning old backups...${NC}"
-    cd backup
-    ls -t bssg_backup_*.tar.gz | tail -n +11 | xargs rm -f 2>/dev/null || true
-    cd ..
-    
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Backup process completed.${NC}"
+    print_info "Backup cleanup finished."
 }
 
 # Function to list available backups
 list_backups() {
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Available backups:${NC}"
-    
-    if [ ! -d "backup" ] || [ -z "$(ls -A backup 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
-        echo -e "${RED}No backups found.${NC}"
-        exit 0
+    print_info "Available backups in ${BACKUP_DIR}:${NC}"
+
+    if [ ! -d "$BACKUP_DIR" ] || [ -z "$(ls -A "$BACKUP_DIR" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+        print_error "No backups found.${NC}"
+        return 0
     fi
-    
+
     echo -e "ID\tDate\t\tTime\t\tSize\t\tFile"
     echo -e "--\t----\t\t----\t\t----\t\t----"
-    
+
     local counter=1
-    ls -t backup/bssg_*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | while read -r file; do
+    # Use find to handle filenames safely
+    find "$BACKUP_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -name 'bssg_*.tar.gz' -printf '%T@ %p\n' | \
+        sort -nr | \
+        cut -d' ' -f2- | \
+        while IFS= read -r file; do
         if [ -f "$file" ]; then
-            local filename=$(basename "$file")
+            local filename
+            filename=$(basename "$file")
             local date_part=""
             local time_part=""
-            
+
+            # Match timestamped backup
             if [[ "$filename" =~ bssg_backup_([0-9]{8})([0-9]{6})\.tar\.gz ]]; then
-                # Regular backup format
                 date_part="${BASH_REMATCH[1]:0:4}-${BASH_REMATCH[1]:4:2}-${BASH_REMATCH[1]:6:2}"
                 time_part="${BASH_REMATCH[2]:0:2}:${BASH_REMATCH[2]:2:2}:${BASH_REMATCH[2]:4:2}"
+            # Match daily backup
             elif [[ "$filename" =~ bssg_daily_([0-9]{8})\.tar\.gz ]]; then
-                # Daily backup format
                 date_part="${BASH_REMATCH[1]:0:4}-${BASH_REMATCH[1]:4:2}-${BASH_REMATCH[1]:6:2}"
-                time_part="00:00:00"
+                time_part="Daily"
             else
-                # Unknown format, show filename
                 date_part="Unknown"
-                time_part="Unknown"
+                time_part="Format"
             fi
-            
-            local size=$(du -h "$file" | cut -f1)
-            echo -e "$counter\t$date_part\t$time_part\t$size\t\t$filename"
+
+            local size
+            size=$(du -h "$file" | cut -f1)
+            # Use printf for safer, more consistent formatting
+            printf "%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n" "$counter" "$date_part" "$time_part" "$size" "$filename"
             counter=$((counter + 1))
         fi
     done
@@ -127,22 +216,22 @@ list_backups() {
 # Main function
 main() {
     local command="backup"
-    
+
     # Parse arguments
     if [ -n "$1" ]; then
         command="$1"
         shift
     fi
-    
+
     case "$command" in
         backup|create)
-            backup_posts
+            create_backup
             ;;
         list)
             list_backups
             ;;
         *)
-            echo -e "${RED}Error: Unknown command '$command'${NC}"
+            print_error "Unknown command '$command'"
             echo -e "Usage: $0 [backup|create|list]"
             exit 1
             ;;

scripts/bssg.sh

@@ -9,37 +9,124 @@
 
 set -e
 
-# Load configuration
-CONFIG_FILE="config.sh"
-if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
-    source "$CONFIG_FILE"
+# --- Argument Parsing for --config --- START ---
+# We need to parse arguments early to catch --config before loading the config.
+# This allows the specified config file to override defaults.
+CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE=""
+declare -a OTHER_ARGS # Array to hold arguments not related to --config
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    key="$1"
+    case $key in
+        --config)
+        if [[ -z "$2" || "$2" == -* ]]; then # Check if value is missing or looks like another flag
+            echo -e "${RED}Error: --config option requires a path argument.${NC}" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE="$2"
+        shift # past argument
+        shift # past value
+        ;;
+        *)    # unknown option or command
+        OTHER_ARGS+=("$1") # save it in an array for later
+        shift # past argument
+        ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# Restore positional parameters from the filtered arguments
+set -- "${OTHER_ARGS[@]}"
+# --- Argument Parsing for --config --- END ---
+
+# --- Configuration Override Logic --- START ---
+# Priority: --config > BSSG_LCONF > Default (config.sh.local)
+FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE=""
+
+if [ -n "$CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+    # --config flag was used, prioritize it
+    FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE"
+    echo "Info: Using configuration file specified via --config: $FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE"
+elif [ -v BSSG_LCONF ] && [ -n "${BSSG_LCONF}" ]; then
+    # --config not used, check BSSG_LCONF environment variable
+    FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="${BSSG_LCONF}"
+    echo "Info: Using configuration file specified via BSSG_LCONF environment variable: $FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE"
+# else
+    # Neither --config nor BSSG_LCONF is set, config_loader.sh will check for default config.sh.local
+    # No message needed here, config_loader will print messages.
+fi
+# --- Configuration Override Logic --- END ---
+
+# Load configuration (DEPRECATED - Moved to config_loader.sh)
+# CONFIG_FILE="config.sh"
+# if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+#     source "$CONFIG_FILE"
+# else
+#     echo "Error: Configuration file '$CONFIG_FILE' not found"
+#     exit 1
+# fi
+
+# Load local configuration overrides if they exist (DEPRECATED - Moved to config_loader.sh)
+# LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE="config.sh.local"
+# if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+#     source "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
+#     echo "Local configuration loaded from $LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
+# fi
+
+# --- Centralized Configuration Loading --- START ---
+# Source the config loader script EARLY to set defaults, load configs, and expand paths.
+# It handles config.sh, config.sh.local, and site-specific configs sourced via core local file.
+# It also EXPORTS all necessary variables for subsequent scripts.
+# NOW passes the command-line config path, if provided.
+
+# Define path to config loader relative to this script
+BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"
+export BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR # Export the variable so sub-scripts inherit it
+CONFIG_LOADER_SCRIPT="${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/build/config_loader.sh"
+
+if [ -f "$CONFIG_LOADER_SCRIPT" ]; then
+    # Pass the determined configuration override path (or empty string) to the loader script
+    # The loader script will handle sourcing it appropriately.
+    # shellcheck source=scripts/build/config_loader.sh
+    source "$CONFIG_LOADER_SCRIPT" "$FINAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE"
+    echo "Central configuration loaded via config_loader.sh"
+    # Note: The echo message regarding the loaded local config is now handled within config_loader.sh
 else
-    echo "Error: Configuration file '$CONFIG_FILE' not found"
+    echo -e "${RED}Error: Config loader script not found at '$CONFIG_LOADER_SCRIPT'${NC}" >&2
     exit 1
 fi
+# --- Centralized Configuration Loading --- END ---
 
-# Load local configuration overrides if they exist
-LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE="config.sh.local"
-if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
-    source "$LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
-    echo "Local configuration loaded from $LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE"
+# Terminal colors (still needed here if config_loader doesn't export them, though it should)
+# These are now primarily set and exported by config_loader.sh based on config files.
+# The ':-' syntax provides a fallback if they somehow aren't set, using tput.
+if [[ -t 1 ]] && command -v tput > /dev/null 2>&1 && tput setaf 1 > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    RED="${RED:-$(tput setaf 1)}"
+    GREEN="${GREEN:-$(tput setaf 2)}"
+    YELLOW="${YELLOW:-$(tput setaf 3)}"
+    NC="${NC:-$(tput sgr0)}" # Reset color
+else
+    RED="${RED:-}"
+    GREEN="${GREEN:-}"
+    YELLOW="${YELLOW:-}"
+    NC="${NC:-}"
 fi
 
-# Terminal colors
-RED='\033[0;31m'
-GREEN='\033[0;32m'
-YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
-NC='\033[0m' # No Color
-
 # Make sure all scripts are executable
 chmod +x scripts/*.sh 2>/dev/null || true
 
 # Function to display help information
 show_help() {
-    echo "BSSG - Bash Static Site Generator (v0.10)"
-    echo "=================================="
+    echo "BSSG - Bash Static Site Generator (v${VERSION})"
+    echo "========================================="
     echo ""
-    echo "Usage: $0 command [options]"
+    echo "Usage: $0 [--config <path>] command [options]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Global Options:"
+    echo "  --config <path>            Specify a custom configuration file. Overrides BSSG_LCONF"
+    echo "                             and the default config.sh.local."
+    echo ""
+    echo "Environment Variables:"
+    echo "  BSSG_LCONF                 Path to a configuration file to use if --config is not set."
     echo ""
     echo "Commands:"
     echo "  post [-html] [draft_file]    Create a new post or continue editing a draft"
@@ -54,29 +141,86 @@ show_help() {
     echo "  tags [-n]                    List all tags"
     echo "                               Use -n to sort by number of posts"
     echo "  drafts                       List all draft posts"
-    echo "  backup                       Create a backup of all posts, pages, and config"
+    echo "  backup                       Create a backup of all posts, pages, drafts, and config"
     echo "  restore [backup_file|ID]     Restore from a backup (all content by default)"
-    echo "                               Options: --no-posts, --no-drafts, --no-pages, --no-config"
+    echo "                               Options: --no-content, --no-config"
     echo "  backups                      List all available backups"
-    echo "  build                        Build the site"
+    echo "  build [-f] [more...]    Build the site (use 'build --help' for all options)"
+    echo "  server [-h] [options]        Build & run local server (use 'server --help' for options)"
+    echo "                               Options: --port <PORT> (default from config: ${BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT:-8000})"
+    echo "                                        --host <HOST> (default from config: ${BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT:-localhost})"
+    echo "  init <target_directory>       Initialize a new site in the specified directory"
     echo "  help                         Show this help message"
     echo ""
     echo "For more information, refer to the README.md file."
 }
 
+# Function to display help specific to the build command
+show_build_help() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 build [options]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Build Options:"
+    echo "  --src DIR               Override Source directory (from config: ${SRC_DIR:-src})"
+    echo "  --pages DIR             Override Pages directory (from config: ${PAGES_DIR:-pages})"
+    echo "  --drafts DIR            Override Drafts directory (from config: ${DRAFTS_DIR:-drafts})"
+    echo "  --output DIR            Override Output directory (from config: ${OUTPUT_DIR:-output})"
+    echo "  --templates DIR         Override Templates directory (from config: ${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates})"
+    echo "  --themes-dir DIR        Override Themes parent directory (from config: ${THEMES_DIR:-themes})"
+    echo "  --theme NAME            Override Theme to use (from config: ${THEME:-default})"
+    echo "  --static DIR            Override Static directory (from config: ${STATIC_DIR:-static})"
+    echo "  --clean-output [bool]   Clean output directory before building (default from config: ${CLEAN_OUTPUT:-false})"
+    echo "  --force-rebuild, -f     Force rebuild of all files regardless of modification time"
+    echo "  --build-mode MODE       Build mode: normal or ram (default from config: ${BUILD_MODE:-normal})"
+    echo "  --site-title TITLE      Override Site title"
+    echo "  --site-url URL          Override Site URL"
+    echo "  --site-description DESC Override Site description"
+    echo "  --author-name NAME      Override Author name"
+    echo "  --author-email EMAIL    Override Author email"
+    echo "  --posts-per-page NUM    Override Posts per page (from config: ${POSTS_PER_PAGE:-10})"
+    echo "  --deploy                Force deployment after successful build (overrides config)"
+    echo "  --no-deploy             Prevent deployment after build (overrides config)"
+    echo "  --help                  Display this build-specific help message and exit"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Note: These options override settings from configuration files for this build run."
+}
+
+# Function to display help specific to the server command
+show_server_help() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 server [options]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Builds the site and starts a local development server."
+    echo "The SITE_URL will be temporarily overridden to match the server's address during the build."
+    echo ""
+    echo "Server Options:"
+    echo "  --port <PORT>           Specify the port for the server to listen on."
+    echo "                          (Default from config: ${BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT:-8000})"
+    echo "  --host <HOST>           Specify the host/IP address for the server."
+    echo "                          (Default from config: ${BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT:-localhost})"
+    echo "  --no-build              Skip the build step and start the server with existing"
+    echo "                          content in the output directory."
+    echo "  -h, --help              Display this help message and exit."
+    echo ""
+}
+
 # Main function
 main() {
+    # Arguments are already parsed and filtered by the time main() is called.
+    # Positional parameters ($1, $2, etc.) now contain only the command and its specific options.
+
     local command=""
-    
-    # No arguments provided
+
+    # No arguments provided (after potential --config filtering)
     if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
         show_help
         exit 0
     fi
-    
+
     command="$1"
-    shift
-    
+    shift # Consume the command itself
+
+    # expand variables such as POSTS_DIR, PAGES_DIR embedded in the command-line
+    set -- $(eval echo "$@")
+
     case "$command" in
         post)
             scripts/post.sh "$@"
@@ -110,9 +254,221 @@ main() {
             ;;
         build)
             # Call the new build orchestrator script in the build/ directory
-            # Pass along any additional arguments (e.g., --force-rebuild)
-            echo "Invoking new build process..."
-            scripts/build/main.sh "$@"
+            # Parse build-specific arguments first and export them as environment variables
+            echo "Parsing build-specific arguments..."
+            export CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="unset" # Reset deploy override for this build command
+
+            declare -a build_args=("$@") # Capture args passed to build
+            set -- "${build_args[@]}" # Set positional params for parsing
+
+            while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+                case "$1" in
+                    --src)
+                        export SRC_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --pages)
+                        export PAGES_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --drafts)
+                        export DRAFTS_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --output)
+                        export OUTPUT_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --templates)
+                        export TEMPLATES_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --themes-dir)
+                        export THEMES_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --theme)
+                        export THEME="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --static)
+                        export STATIC_DIR="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --clean-output)
+                        # Handle both flag style (--clean-output) and value style (--clean-output true/false)
+                        if [[ "$2" == "true" || "$2" == "false" ]]; then
+                            export CLEAN_OUTPUT="$2"
+                            shift 2
+                        else
+                            export CLEAN_OUTPUT=true
+                            shift 1
+                        fi
+                        ;;
+                    -f|--force-rebuild)
+                        export FORCE_REBUILD=true
+                        shift 1
+                        ;;
+                    --build-mode)
+                        if [[ -z "$2" || "$2" == -* ]]; then
+                            echo -e "${RED}Error: --build-mode requires a value (normal|ram).${NC}" >&2
+                            exit 1
+                        fi
+                        case "$2" in
+                            normal|ram)
+                                export BUILD_MODE="$2"
+                                ;;
+                            *)
+                                echo -e "${RED}Error: Invalid --build-mode '$2'. Use 'normal' or 'ram'.${NC}" >&2
+                                exit 1
+                                ;;
+                        esac
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --site-title)
+                        export SITE_TITLE="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --site-url)
+                        export SITE_URL="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --site-description)
+                        export SITE_DESCRIPTION="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --author-name)
+                        export AUTHOR_NAME="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --author-email)
+                        export AUTHOR_EMAIL="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --posts-per-page)
+                        export POSTS_PER_PAGE="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --deploy)
+                        export CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="true"
+                        shift 1
+                        ;;
+                    --no-deploy)
+                        export CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="false"
+                        shift 1
+                        ;;
+                    --help)
+                        show_build_help
+                        exit 0
+                        ;;
+                    *)
+                        echo -e "${RED}Error: Unknown build option: $1${NC}"
+                        show_build_help
+                        exit 1
+                        ;;
+                esac
+            done
+
+            echo "Invoking build process (scripts/build/main.sh)..."
+            # Execute the main build script. It will inherit the exported variables.
+            scripts/build/main.sh
+            ;;
+        server)
+            # Use defaults from config (via exported BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT, BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT),
+            # which can be overridden by CLI options --port and --host for this specific run.
+            SERVER_CMD_PORT="${BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT}"
+            SERVER_CMD_HOST="${BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT}"
+            PERFORM_BUILD=true
+            # SERVER_SCRIPT_ARGS=() # Not currently used to pass to server.sh itself beyond port/doc_root
+
+            # Parse server-specific arguments
+            TEMP_ARGS=("$@") # Work with a copy of arguments
+            set -- "${TEMP_ARGS[@]}" # Set positional parameters for server command parsing
+
+            while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+                case "$1" in
+                    -h | --help)
+                        show_server_help
+                        exit 0
+                        ;;
+                    --port)
+                        if [[ -z "$2" || "$2" == -* ]]; then
+                            echo -e "${RED}Error: --port option requires a numeric argument.${NC}" >&2
+                            exit 1
+                        fi
+                        SERVER_CMD_PORT="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --host)
+                        if [[ -z "$2" || "$2" == -* ]]; then
+                            echo -e "${RED}Error: --host option requires a hostname or IP argument.${NC}" >&2
+                            exit 1
+                        fi
+                        SERVER_CMD_HOST="$2"
+                        shift 2
+                        ;;
+                    --no-build)
+                        PERFORM_BUILD=false
+                        shift 1
+                        ;;
+                    *)
+                        # Collect unrecognized arguments if server.sh were to take more.
+                        # For now, they are ignored or could be passed to build if we design it that way.
+                        echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Unrecognized server option: $1${NC}"
+                        shift # Consume unrecognized option
+                        ;;
+                esac
+            done
+
+            # Ensure OUTPUT_DIR is loaded (it should be by config_loader.sh)
+            if [ -z "${OUTPUT_DIR}" ]; then
+                echo -e "${RED}Error: OUTPUT_DIR is not set. Configuration issue? Ensure config is loaded.${NC}" >&2
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            
+            # scripts/server.sh will resolve this path to absolute and check if it's a directory.
+            local effective_output_dir="${OUTPUT_DIR}"
+
+            if [ "$PERFORM_BUILD" = true ]; then
+                echo "Info: Server command will update SITE_URL to http://${SERVER_CMD_HOST}:${SERVER_CMD_PORT} for the build."
+                export SITE_URL="http://${SERVER_CMD_HOST}:${SERVER_CMD_PORT}" # Override SITE_URL for the build
+
+                echo "Info: Initiating build before starting server..."
+                if [ -f "${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/build/main.sh" ]; then
+                    # Call the main build script. It will pick up the exported SITE_URL.
+                    # We are not passing any server-specific arguments to the build script directly.
+                    # If build needs arguments, they should be passed via general bssg.sh build options
+                    # or configured in config files.
+                    "${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/build/main.sh"
+                    BUILD_EXIT_CODE=$?
+                    if [ $BUILD_EXIT_CODE -ne 0 ]; then
+                        echo -e "${RED}Error: Build failed with exit code $BUILD_EXIT_CODE. Server not started.${NC}" >&2
+                        exit $BUILD_EXIT_CODE
+                    fi
+                    echo -e "${GREEN}Build complete.${NC}"
+                else
+                    echo -e "${RED}Error: Build script (${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/build/main.sh) not found.${NC}" >&2
+                    exit 1
+                fi
+            else
+                echo "Info: Skipping build step due to --no-build flag."
+            fi
+
+            echo "Info: Starting server on http://${SERVER_CMD_HOST}:${SERVER_CMD_PORT}"
+            echo "Info: Serving files from ${effective_output_dir}"
+            # The server script (scripts/server.sh) takes PORT as $1 and WWW_ROOT as $2.
+            # WWW_ROOT should be the $OUTPUT_DIR from config.
+            # scripts/server.sh will perform its own validation for the output directory existence and type.
+            "${BSSG_SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/server.sh" "$SERVER_CMD_PORT" "$effective_output_dir"
+            ;;
+        init)
+            # Check if directory argument is provided
+            if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+                echo -e "${RED}Error: Target directory argument is required for the init command.${NC}"
+                echo -e "Usage: $0 init <target_directory>"
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            scripts/init.sh "$1"
             ;;
         help)
             show_help
@@ -126,4 +482,5 @@ main() {
 }
 
 # Run the main function
+# Pass the filtered arguments (command and its options) to main
 main "$@" 

scripts/build/assets.sh

@@ -39,9 +39,9 @@ create_css() {
     mkdir -p "${css_dir}"
     
     # Check if theme directory exists
-    local theme_dir="themes/${theme}"
+    local theme_dir="${THEMES_DIR}/${theme}"
     if [ ! -d "$theme_dir" ]; then
-        echo -e "${RED}Error: Theme directory '$theme_dir' not found.${NC}"
+        echo -e "${RED}Error: Theme directory '$theme_dir' (using THEMES_DIR='${THEMES_DIR}') not found.${NC}"
         # Decide if this is fatal. For now, just warn and skip CSS copy.
         return 1 # Return error code
     fi

scripts/build/cache.sh

@@ -4,15 +4,9 @@
 # Functions for handling build cache and rebuild checks.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:-\\033[0;31m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# GREEN='${GREEN:-\\033[0;32m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:-\\033[0;33m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# NC='${NC:-\\033[0m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-
 # Define cache paths (should match exported config, but useful here too)
-CACHE_DIR=".bssg_cache"
-CONFIG_HASH_FILE="$CACHE_DIR/config_hash.md5"
+# CACHE_DIR=".bssg_cache" # Redundant: CACHE_DIR is now set and exported by config_loader.sh
+CONFIG_HASH_FILE="${CACHE_DIR}/config_hash.md5" # Use variable directly
 # Add other cache-related paths if directly used by functions below
 # (Example: $CACHE_DIR/theme.txt, $CACHE_DIR/file_index.txt, etc. are used)
 
@@ -26,7 +20,9 @@ create_config_hash() {
     # IMPORTANT: Requires BSSG_CONFIG_VARS to be exported from config_loader.sh
     local config_string=""
     local var_name
-    local config_vars_array=($BSSG_CONFIG_VARS) 
+    local config_vars_array
+    # Read exported vars into an array
+    read -r -a config_vars_array <<< "$BSSG_CONFIG_VARS"
     for var_name in "${config_vars_array[@]}"; do
         # Use printf -v to append safely, ensuring literal newlines
         printf -v config_string '%s%s=%s\n' "$config_string" "$var_name" "${!var_name}"
@@ -63,7 +59,9 @@ config_has_changed() {
     # IMPORTANT: Requires BSSG_CONFIG_VARS to be exported from config_loader.sh
     local config_string=""
     local var_name
-    local config_vars_array=($BSSG_CONFIG_VARS)
+    local config_vars_array
+    # Read exported vars into an array
+    read -r -a config_vars_array <<< "$BSSG_CONFIG_VARS"
     for var_name in "${config_vars_array[@]}"; do
         # Use printf -v to append safely, ensuring literal newlines
         printf -v config_string '%s%s=%s\n' "$config_string" "$var_name" "${!var_name}"
@@ -93,20 +91,22 @@ config_has_changed() {
 # other implicit theme-related changes that weren't previously tracked.
 # For now, it assumes `config_has_changed` correctly reflects all non-theme changes.
 only_theme_changed() {
+    local theme_cache_file="${CACHE_DIR}/theme.txt"
     # If no hash file exists, more than just theme has changed
-    if [ ! -f "$CONFIG_HASH_FILE" ] || [ ! -f "$CACHE_DIR/theme.txt" ]; then
+    if [ ! -f "$CONFIG_HASH_FILE" ] || [ ! -f "$theme_cache_file" ]; then
         return 1  # False, more than theme has changed
     fi
 
     # Read the stored theme
-    local stored_theme=$(cat "$CACHE_DIR/theme.txt")
+    local stored_theme
+    stored_theme=$(cat "$theme_cache_file")
 
     # Compare current theme with stored theme
     if [ "$THEME" != "$stored_theme" ]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Theme has changed from $stored_theme to $THEME${NC}"
 
         # Store the current theme for next time
-        echo "$THEME" > "$CACHE_DIR/theme.txt"
+        echo "$THEME" > "$theme_cache_file"
 
         # Check if any other config has changed
         if ! config_has_changed; then
@@ -124,7 +124,6 @@ clean_stale_cache() {
     if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = true ]; then # Check exported FORCE_REBUILD
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Force rebuild enabled, deleting entire cache...${NC}"
         rm -rf "$CACHE_DIR"
-        mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIR"
         mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIR/meta"
         mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIR/content"
         echo -e "${GREEN}Cache deleted!${NC}"
@@ -172,17 +171,25 @@ clean_stale_cache() {
     if [ "$posts_removed" = true ]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Posts were removed, forcing regeneration of index, tags, archives, sitemap, and RSS feed${NC}"
         # Remove marker files to force regeneration
-        rm -f "$CACHE_DIR/tags_index.txt"
-        rm -f "$CACHE_DIR/archive_index.txt"
-        rm -f "$CACHE_DIR/index_marker"
+        rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/tags_index.txt"
+        rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/archive_index.txt"
+        rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/index_marker"
+        # Remove the tags flag file as well
+        rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/has_tags.flag"
         # IMPORTANT: Requires OUTPUT_DIR to be exported/available
         rm -f "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/sitemap.xml"
-        rm -f "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/rss.xml"
+        rm -f "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}"
         rm -f "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/index.html"
 
         # Also remove tag and archive pages to force their regeneration
         find "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/tags" -name "*.html" -type f -delete 2>/dev/null || true
         find "${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/archives" -name "*.html" -type f -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+        
+        # Clean related posts cache when posts are removed
+        if [ -d "${CACHE_DIR}/related_posts" ]; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Cleaning related posts cache due to post removal...${NC}"
+            rm -rf "${CACHE_DIR}/related_posts"
+        fi
     fi
 
     echo -e "${GREEN}Cache cleaned!${NC}"
@@ -206,66 +213,17 @@ common_rebuild_check() {
         return 0  # Rebuild needed
     fi
 
-    # Check if templates have changed
-    # IMPORTANT: Requires TEMPLATES_DIR, LOCALE_DIR, SITE_LANG to be exported/available
-    # Assumes get_file_mtime is sourced from utils.sh
-    local template_dir="${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates}"
-    # Adjust template paths based on theme existence if necessary
-    if [ -d "$template_dir/${THEME:-default}" ]; then
-        template_dir="$template_dir/${THEME:-default}"
-    fi
-    local header_template="$template_dir/header.html"
-    local footer_template="$template_dir/footer.html"
-
-    # Also check the active locale file
-    local active_locale_file=""
-    if [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh" ]; then
-        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh"
-    elif [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh" ]; then
-        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh"
-    fi
-
+    # Check if output file exists. If not, rebuild needed.
+    # Moved this basic check here for clarity.
     if [ ! -f "$output_file_to_check" ]; then 
         # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Output file '$output_file_to_check' missing, returning 0" >&2
-        return 0
-    fi
-    
-    if [ -f "$output_file_to_check" ]; then
-        # IMPORTANT: Assumes get_file_mtime is sourced/available
-        local output_time
-        output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_file_to_check")
-        local header_time
-        header_time=$(get_file_mtime "$header_template")
-        local footer_time
-        footer_time=$(get_file_mtime "$footer_template")
-        local locale_time
-        locale_time=$(get_file_mtime "$active_locale_file")
-
-        # DEBUG: Print timestamps for comparison
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Checking $output_file_to_check" >&2
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE:   Output Time:  $output_time" >&2
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE:   Header Time:  $header_time ($header_template)" >&2
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE:   Footer Time:  $footer_time ($footer_template)" >&2
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE:   Locale Time:  $locale_time ($active_locale_file)" >&2
-
-        # Force rebuild if any template or the locale file is newer than the output
-        if (( header_time > output_time )) || (( footer_time > output_time )) || (( locale_time > output_time )); then
-            # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Template/locale newer than output, returning 0" >&2
-            # If locale file changed, print a message
-            if (( locale_time > output_time )); then
-                echo -e "${YELLOW}Locale file change detected, forcing rebuild for '$output_file_to_check'${NC}"
-            fi
-            return 0  # Rebuild needed
-        fi
-
-        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Output file exists and is newer than templates/locale, returning 2" >&2
-        # Return this info to the calling function
-        return 2  # Valid output file exists, continue with specific checks
+        return 0 # Rebuild needed
     fi
 
-    # Fallback - should not be reached if ! -f check is above
-    # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Fallback, output file missing? returning 0" >&2 
-    return 0  # No output file, rebuild needed
+    # Removed template/locale checks here. They are done in file_needs_rebuild now.
+
+    # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: common_rebuild_check returning 1 (passed common checks)" >&2 
+    return 1 # Common checks passed (config ok, not forced, output exists)
 }
 
 # Check if a rebuild is needed based on file timestamps and templates
@@ -274,7 +232,7 @@ file_needs_rebuild() {
     local output_file="$2"
     # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: file_needs_rebuild check for Input='$input_file' Output='$output_file'" >&2
 
-    # Call the common rebuild check function
+    # Call the common rebuild check function (checks force, config, output existence)
     common_rebuild_check "$output_file"
     local common_result=$?
     # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: common_rebuild_check returned $common_result for '$output_file'" >&2
@@ -284,16 +242,26 @@ file_needs_rebuild() {
         return 0  # Rebuild needed
     fi
 
-    # At this point, output_file exists and is newer than templates/locale
-    # Now check if output is newer than input
+    # At this point: Not forced, config OK, output file exists.
+    # Now check against pre-calculated max template/locale time and input file time.
+
     # IMPORTANT: Assumes get_file_mtime is sourced from utils.sh
-    local input_time
-    input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$input_file")
+    # IMPORTANT: Requires BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME to be exported from main.sh
     local output_time
     output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_file")
 
-    # Rebuild if input file is newer than output file
+    # Check if templates/locale are newer than output
+    # Default to 0 if variable is unset (should not happen if main.sh ran)
+    if (( ${BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME:-0} > output_time )); then
+        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Templates/locale newer than output ($BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME > $output_time), returning 0" >&2
+        return 0 # Rebuild needed
+    fi
+
+    # Check if input file is newer than output file
+    local input_time
+    input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$input_file")
     if (( input_time > output_time )); then
+        # echo "DEBUG_CACHE: Input newer than output ($input_time > $output_time), returning 0" >&2
         return 0  # Rebuild needed
     fi
 
@@ -361,7 +329,7 @@ indexes_need_rebuild() {
              newest_meta_time=$(find "$meta_cache_dir" -type f -printf '%T@\n' 2>/dev/null | sort -nr | head -n 1)
              newest_meta_time=${newest_meta_time:-0} # Handle empty dir
              # Convert float timestamp to integer
-             newest_meta_time=$(printf "%.0f" "$newest_meta_time")
+             newest_meta_time=${newest_meta_time%.*} # Truncate to integer
         else
              # Fallback for non-GNU find (less efficient)
              local meta_files

scripts/build/cli.sh

@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@
 
 # Parse command line arguments
 parse_args() {
+    # Initialize deploy override flag
+    CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="unset"
+
     while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
         case "$1" in
             --config)
@@ -71,6 +74,14 @@ parse_args() {
                 SRC_DIR="$2"
                 shift 2
                 ;;
+            --pages)
+                PAGES_DIR="$2"
+                shift 2
+                ;;
+            --drafts)
+                DRAFTS_DIR="$2"
+                shift 2
+                ;;
             --output)
                 OUTPUT_DIR="$2"
                 shift 2
@@ -79,6 +90,10 @@ parse_args() {
                 TEMPLATES_DIR="$2"
                 shift 2
                 ;;
+            --themes-dir)
+                THEMES_DIR="$2"
+                shift 2
+                ;;
             --theme)
                 THEME="$2"
                 shift 2
@@ -135,6 +150,14 @@ parse_args() {
                 fi
                 shift 2
                 ;;
+            --deploy)
+                CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="true"
+                shift 1
+                ;;
+            --no-deploy)
+                CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE="false"
+                shift 1
+                ;;
             --help)
                 show_help
                 exit 0
@@ -157,8 +180,11 @@ show_help() {
     echo "Options:"
     echo "  --config FILE           Configuration file (default: config.sh)"
     echo "  --src DIR               Source directory containing markdown files (default: src)"
+    echo "  --pages DIR             Pages directory containing markdown/html files (default: pages)"
+    echo "  --drafts DIR            Drafts directory (default: drafts)"
     echo "  --output DIR            Output directory for the generated site (default: output)"
     echo "  --templates DIR         Templates directory (default: templates)"
+    echo "  --themes-dir DIR        Themes parent directory (default: themes)"
     echo "  --theme NAME            Theme to use (default: default)"
     echo "  --static DIR            Static directory (default: static)"
     echo "  --clean-output          Clean output directory before building (default: false)"
@@ -170,5 +196,7 @@ show_help() {
     echo "  --author-email EMAIL    Author email (default: anonymous@example.com)"
     echo "  --posts-per-page NUM    Posts per page (default: 10)"
     echo "  --local-config FILE     Load local configuration file directly"
+    echo "  --deploy                Force deployment after successful build (overrides config)"
+    echo "  --no-deploy             Prevent deployment after build (overrides config)"
     echo "  --help                  Display this help message and exit"
 } 

scripts/build/config_loader.sh

@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@
 # Sets default variables, loads user config and locale files, and exports them.
 #
 
-# --- Default Configuration Variables ---
+# Capture the command-line config file path, if provided by the main script.
+CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE="$1"
+shift || true # Shift arguments even if only one was passed (or none)
+
+# --- Default Configuration Variables --- START ---
 # Use :- syntax to only set defaults if the variable is unset or null.
 # This allows values set by CLI parsing (before this script is sourced) to persist.
 CONFIG_FILE="${CONFIG_FILE:-config.sh}"
@@ -13,19 +17,29 @@ OUTPUT_DIR="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}"
 TEMPLATES_DIR="${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates}"
 THEMES_DIR="${THEMES_DIR:-themes}"
 STATIC_DIR="${STATIC_DIR:-static}"
+CACHE_DIR="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}" # Default cache directory
 THEME="${THEME:-default}"
 SITE_TITLE="${SITE_TITLE:-My Journal}"
 SITE_DESCRIPTION="${SITE_DESCRIPTION:-A personal journal and introspective newspaper}"
 SITE_URL="${SITE_URL:-http://localhost}"
 AUTHOR_NAME="${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}"
 AUTHOR_EMAIL="${AUTHOR_EMAIL:-anonymous@example.com}"
+REL_ME_URL="${REL_ME_URL:-}"
+REL_ME_URLS_SERIALIZED="${REL_ME_URLS_SERIALIZED:-}"
+FEDIVERSE_CREATOR="${FEDIVERSE_CREATOR:-}"
+AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED="${AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED:-}"
+SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG="${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG:-}"
 DATE_FORMAT="${DATE_FORMAT:-%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S}"
 TIMEZONE="${TIMEZONE:-local}"
 SHOW_TIMEZONE="${SHOW_TIMEZONE:-false}"
 POSTS_PER_PAGE="${POSTS_PER_PAGE:-10}"
 RSS_ITEM_LIMIT="${RSS_ITEM_LIMIT:-15}" # Default RSS item limit
+RSS_INCLUDE_FULL_CONTENT="${RSS_INCLUDE_FULL_CONTENT:-false}" # Default RSS full content
+RSS_FILENAME="${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}" # Default RSS filename
+INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT="${INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT:-false}" # Default: show excerpt on homepage
 CLEAN_OUTPUT="${CLEAN_OUTPUT:-false}"
 FORCE_REBUILD="${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}"
+BUILD_MODE="${BUILD_MODE:-normal}" # Build mode: normal or ram
 SITE_LANG="${SITE_LANG:-en}"
 LOCALE_DIR="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}"
 PAGES_DIR="${PAGES_DIR:-pages}"
@@ -34,6 +48,85 @@ MARKDOWN_PL_PATH="${MARKDOWN_PL_PATH:-}"
 ENABLE_ARCHIVES="${ENABLE_ARCHIVES:-true}"
 URL_SLUG_FORMAT="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
 PAGE_URL_FORMAT="${PAGE_URL_FORMAT:-slug}"
+ENABLE_TAG_RSS="${ENABLE_TAG_RSS:-false}" # Generate RSS feed for each tag
+ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES="${ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES:-true}" # Generate author index pages
+ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS="${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" # Generate RSS feed for each author
+SHOW_AUTHORS_MENU_THRESHOLD="${SHOW_AUTHORS_MENU_THRESHOLD:-2}" # Minimum authors to show menu
+
+# Related Posts Configuration Defaults
+ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS="${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" # Enable or disable related posts feature
+RELATED_POSTS_COUNT="${RELATED_POSTS_COUNT:-3}" # Number of related posts to show
+
+# Display Configuration Defaults
+SHOW_HEADER_MENU="${SHOW_HEADER_MENU:-true}"
+SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS="${SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS:-true}"
+GENERATE_EXCERPT="${GENERATE_EXCERPT:-true}"
+SHOW_READING_TIME="${SHOW_READING_TIME:-true}"
+
+# --- Backup Directory --- Added ---
+BACKUP_DIR="${BACKUP_DIR:-backup}" # Default backup location
+
+# --- Server Defaults --- Added for 'bssg.sh server' ---
+BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT="${BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT:-8000}"
+BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT="${BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT:-localhost}"
+
+# Customization Defaults
+CUSTOM_CSS="${CUSTOM_CSS:-}" # Default to empty string
+
+# Define default colors here so utils.sh can use them if not overridden by config
+if [[ -t 1 ]] && command -v tput > /dev/null 2>&1 && tput setaf 1 > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    RED="${RED:-$(tput setaf 1)}"
+    GREEN="${GREEN:-$(tput setaf 2)}"
+    YELLOW="${YELLOW:-$(tput setaf 3)}"
+    BLUE="${BLUE:-$(tput setaf 4)}"
+    NC="${NC:-$(tput sgr0)}"
+else
+    RED="${RED:-}"
+    GREEN="${GREEN:-}"
+    YELLOW="${YELLOW:-}"
+    BLUE="${BLUE:-}"
+    NC="${NC:-}"
+fi
+# --- Default Configuration Variables --- END ---
+
+
+# --- Source Utilities --- START ---
+# Source utility functions (like print_info, print_error) needed by this script.
+# Determine the directory of this script
+CONFIG_LOADER_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"
+UTILS_SCRIPT="${CONFIG_LOADER_DIR}/utils.sh"
+
+if [ -f "$UTILS_SCRIPT" ]; then
+    # shellcheck source=utils.sh
+    source "$UTILS_SCRIPT"
+    if ! declare -F print_success > /dev/null; then
+        echo "Error: Failed to source utils.sh correctly - 'print_success' function not found." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+else
+    # Define basic color functions as fallback if utils.sh is missing
+    # Needed for messages printed *before* utils.sh is sourced, or if it fails.
+    if [[ -t 1 ]] && [[ -z $NO_COLOR ]]; then
+        RED='\033[0;31m'
+        GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+        YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
+        NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+    else
+        RED=""
+        GREEN=""
+        YELLOW=""
+        NC=""
+    fi
+    print_error() { echo -e "${RED}Error: $1${NC}" >&2; }
+    print_warning() { echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: $1${NC}"; }
+    print_success() { echo -e "${GREEN}$1${NC}"; }
+    print_info() { echo "Info: $1"; }
+    # Print the critical error and exit
+    print_error "Utilities script not found at '$UTILS_SCRIPT'. Required by config_loader.sh."
+    exit 1
+fi
+# --- Source Utilities --- END ---
+
 
 # --- Configuration and Locale Sourcing Logic --- START ---
 # Load main configuration file (using variable potentially set by CLI)
@@ -41,56 +134,41 @@ PAGE_URL_FORMAT="${PAGE_URL_FORMAT:-slug}"
 if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090,SC1091
     source "$CONFIG_FILE"
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Configuration loaded from $CONFIG_FILE${NC}"
+    print_success "Default configuration loaded from $CONFIG_FILE"
 else
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Configuration file '$CONFIG_FILE' not found, using defaults.${NC}"
+    print_warning "Default configuration file '$CONFIG_FILE' not found, using defaults."
 fi
 
-# Check for local override config file (relative to the main config file)
-LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="${CONFIG_FILE}.local"
-if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE" ]; then
-    # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090,SC1091
-    source "$LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE"
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Local configuration loaded from ${LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE}${NC}"
+# Now, handle the override configuration file
+# Prioritize the --config command line argument if provided
+if [ -n "$CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+    if [ -f "$CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+        # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090,SC1091
+        source "$CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE"
+        print_success "Command-line configuration loaded from ${CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE}"
+    else
+        print_error "Specified configuration file '${CMD_LINE_CONFIG_FILE}' not found."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+else
+    # If --config was not used, check for the default local override file
+    LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="${CONFIG_FILE}.local"
+    if [ -f "$LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE" ]; then
+        # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090,SC1091
+        source "$LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE"
+        print_success "Local configuration loaded from ${LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE}"
+    # else
+        # No local config file found, which is normal. No message needed.
+    fi
 fi
 
-# --- Handle Random Theme --- START ---
-# NOTE: This logic was moved to main.sh to run AFTER CLI argument parsing
-# Check if theme is set to random after loading configs
-# if [[ "${THEME:-default}" == "random" ]]; then
-#     echo -e "${YELLOW}Theme set to random, selecting a random theme...${NC}"
-#     # Find available themes (directories in THEMES_DIR)
-#     local available_themes=()
-#     if [ -d "${THEMES_DIR:-themes}" ]; then
-#         for d in "${THEMES_DIR:-themes}"/*; do
-#             if [ -d "$d" ]; then
-#                 local theme_name=$(basename "$d")
-#                 # Exclude "random" itself if it exists as a directory
-#                 if [[ "$theme_name" != "random" ]]; then
-#                     available_themes+=("$theme_name")
-#                 fi
-#             fi
-#         done
-#     fi
-#     
-#     local num_themes=${#available_themes[@]}
-#     if [ "$num_themes" -gt 0 ]; then
-#         # Select a random theme index
-#         local random_index=$(( RANDOM % num_themes ))
-#         THEME="${available_themes[$random_index]}"
-#         echo -e "${GREEN}Randomly selected theme: $THEME${NC}"
-#     else
-#         echo -e "${RED}Error: No themes found in '$THEMES_DIR' to select randomly. Defaulting to 'default'.${NC}"
-#         THEME="default"
-#     fi
-# fi
-# --- Handle Random Theme --- END ---
+
 
 # ---- Start Locale Loading ----
 # Function to print error messages in red (specific to locale loading)
-print_error() {
-    echo -e "${RED}Error: $1${NC}" >&2
-}
+# print_error() {
+#     echo -e "${RED}Error: $1${NC}" >&2
+# }
 
 # Set the path for the locale file based on SITE_LANG
 LOCALE_FILE="${LOCALE_DIR}/${SITE_LANG}.sh"
@@ -98,12 +176,12 @@ DEFAULT_LOCALE_FILE="${LOCALE_DIR}/en.sh"
 
 # Check if the specific locale file exists
 if [ -f "$LOCALE_FILE" ]; then
-    echo "Loading locale: ${SITE_LANG} from ${LOCALE_FILE}"
+    print_info "Loading locale: ${SITE_LANG} from ${LOCALE_FILE}"
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090
     . "$LOCALE_FILE"
 elif [ -f "$DEFAULT_LOCALE_FILE" ]; then
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Locale file '${LOCALE_FILE}' not found. Defaulting to English.${NC}"
-    echo "Loading locale: en from ${DEFAULT_LOCALE_FILE}"
+    print_warning "Locale file '${LOCALE_FILE}' not found. Defaulting to English."
+    print_info "Loading locale: en from ${DEFAULT_LOCALE_FILE}"
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null disable=SC1090
     . "$DEFAULT_LOCALE_FILE"
 else
@@ -115,6 +193,115 @@ fi
 # --- Configuration and Locale Sourcing Logic --- END ---
 
 
+# --- Define Local Config File Path --- START ---
+# Define this *after* main config and local override sourcing, in case CONFIG_FILE was changed.
+# Note: LOCAL_CONFIG_OVERRIDE used during sourcing might differ if CONFIG_FILE changed mid-script,
+# but we export the path based on the *final* CONFIG_FILE value.
+LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE="${CONFIG_FILE}.local"
+export LOCAL_CONFIG_FILE # Export it for other scripts
+# --- Define Local Config File Path --- END ---
+
+
+# --- Expand Tilde in Path Variables --- START ---
+# After all configs are sourced, expand ~ in relevant paths before exporting.
+# This ensures scripts use the resolved paths, even if config stores portable '~'.
+print_info "Expanding tilde (~) in configuration paths..."
+PATHS_TO_EXPAND=("SRC_DIR" "PAGES_DIR" "DRAFTS_DIR" "OUTPUT_DIR" "TEMPLATES_DIR" "THEMES_DIR" "STATIC_DIR" "BACKUP_DIR" "CACHE_DIR") # Added CACHE_DIR
+for var_name in "${PATHS_TO_EXPAND[@]}"; do
+    # Get the current value using indirect reference
+    current_value="${!var_name}"
+    expanded_value=""
+    
+    # Check if it starts with ~ or ~/ 
+    if [[ "$current_value" == "~" ]]; then
+        expanded_value="$HOME"
+    elif [[ "$current_value" == "~/"* ]]; then
+        # Replace ~/ with $HOME/
+        expanded_value="$HOME/${current_value#\~/}"
+    fi
+    
+    # If expansion occurred, update the variable in the current shell using printf -v
+    if [ -n "$expanded_value" ]; then
+        printf -v "$var_name" '%s' "$expanded_value"
+        # echo "Expanded $var_name to: ${!var_name}" # Debugging
+    fi
+done
+# --- Expand Tilde in Path Variables --- END ---
+
+
+# --- Derived Configuration --- START ---
+serialize_author_fediverse_creators() {
+    local serialized=""
+    local author_name
+
+    if ! declare -p AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        printf '%s' "$serialized"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "$(declare -p AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS 2>/dev/null)" != "declare -A"* ]]; then
+        print_warning "AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS is set but is not an associative array. Ignoring it."
+        printf '%s' "$serialized"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    while IFS= read -r author_name; do
+        serialized+="${author_name}"$'\t'"${AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS[$author_name]}"$'\n'
+    done < <(printf '%s\n' "${!AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS[@]}" | LC_ALL=C sort)
+
+    printf '%s' "$serialized"
+}
+
+serialize_rel_me_urls() {
+    local serialized=""
+    local rel_me_url=""
+
+    rel_me_url=$(printf '%s' "$REL_ME_URL" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
+    if [ -n "$rel_me_url" ]; then
+        serialized+="${rel_me_url}"$'\n'
+    fi
+
+    if declare -p REL_ME_URLS >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        local rel_me_decl
+        rel_me_decl="$(declare -p REL_ME_URLS 2>/dev/null)"
+        if [[ "$rel_me_decl" == "declare -a"* ]]; then
+            local rel_me_entry
+            for rel_me_entry in "${REL_ME_URLS[@]}"; do
+                rel_me_entry=$(printf '%s' "$rel_me_entry" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
+                if [ -n "$rel_me_entry" ]; then
+                    serialized+="${rel_me_entry}"$'\n'
+                fi
+            done
+        else
+            print_warning "REL_ME_URLS is set but is not a standard array. Ignoring it."
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ -z "$serialized" ]; then
+        printf '%s' ""
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    printf '%s' "$serialized" | awk 'NF && !seen[$0]++'
+}
+
+REL_ME_URLS_SERIALIZED="$(serialize_rel_me_urls)"
+AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED="$(serialize_author_fediverse_creators)"
+SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG="$(build_fediverse_creator_meta_tag "${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}" "")"
+# --- Derived Configuration --- END ---
+
+
+# --- Read Version from root VERSION file --- START ---
+# BSSG root is two levels up from config_loader.sh (scripts/build -> scripts -> root)
+BSSG_ROOT="$( cd "${CONFIG_LOADER_DIR}/../.." &> /dev/null && pwd )"
+if [ -f "${BSSG_ROOT}/VERSION" ]; then
+    VERSION="$(cat "${BSSG_ROOT}/VERSION")"
+else
+    VERSION="dev"
+fi
+export VERSION
+# --- Read Version from root VERSION file --- END ---
+
 # --- Export All Variables --- START ---
 
 # Define the list of configuration variables relevant for hashing/exporting
@@ -122,11 +309,23 @@ fi
 # and that should trigger a cache rebuild if changed.
 BSSG_CONFIG_VARS_ARRAY=(
     CONFIG_FILE SRC_DIR OUTPUT_DIR TEMPLATES_DIR THEMES_DIR STATIC_DIR THEME
-    SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION SITE_URL AUTHOR_NAME AUTHOR_EMAIL
-    DATE_FORMAT TIMEZONE SHOW_TIMEZONE POSTS_PER_PAGE RSS_ITEM_LIMIT CLEAN_OUTPUT
-    FORCE_REBUILD SITE_LANG LOCALE_DIR PAGES_DIR MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR
+    SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION SITE_URL AUTHOR_NAME AUTHOR_EMAIL REL_ME_URL REL_ME_URLS_SERIALIZED
+    FEDIVERSE_CREATOR AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG
+    DATE_FORMAT TIMEZONE SHOW_TIMEZONE POSTS_PER_PAGE RSS_ITEM_LIMIT RSS_INCLUDE_FULL_CONTENT RSS_FILENAME
+    INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT
+    CLEAN_OUTPUT FORCE_REBUILD BUILD_MODE SITE_LANG LOCALE_DIR PAGES_DIR MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR
     MARKDOWN_PL_PATH ENABLE_ARCHIVES URL_SLUG_FORMAT PAGE_URL_FORMAT
+    DRAFTS_DIR REBUILD_AFTER_POST REBUILD_AFTER_EDIT
+    CUSTOM_CSS
+    ENABLE_TAG_RSS ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS SHOW_AUTHORS_MENU_THRESHOLD
+    BACKUP_DIR CACHE_DIR
+    DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD DEPLOY_SCRIPT
+    ARCHIVES_LIST_ALL_POSTS
+    ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS RELATED_POSTS_COUNT
+    PRECOMPRESS_ASSETS
+    SHOW_HEADER_MENU SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS GENERATE_EXCERPT SHOW_READING_TIME
     # Add any other custom config variables here if needed
+    BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT # Server defaults
 )
 
 # Convert array to space-separated string for export
@@ -134,7 +333,7 @@ BSSG_CONFIG_VARS="${BSSG_CONFIG_VARS_ARRAY[@]}"
 export BSSG_CONFIG_VARS
 
 # Export all config variables individually as well, for direct use by scripts
-# This might seem redundant, but ensures compatibility if scripts expect individual vars
+# The values exported here will be the potentially tilde-expanded ones.
 export CONFIG_FILE
 export SRC_DIR
 export OUTPUT_DIR
@@ -147,13 +346,22 @@ export SITE_DESCRIPTION
 export SITE_URL
 export AUTHOR_NAME
 export AUTHOR_EMAIL
+export REL_ME_URL
+export REL_ME_URLS_SERIALIZED
+export FEDIVERSE_CREATOR
+export AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED
+export SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG
 export DATE_FORMAT
 export TIMEZONE
 export SHOW_TIMEZONE
 export POSTS_PER_PAGE
 export RSS_ITEM_LIMIT
+export RSS_INCLUDE_FULL_CONTENT
+export RSS_FILENAME
+export INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT
 export CLEAN_OUTPUT
 export FORCE_REBUILD
+export BUILD_MODE
 export SITE_LANG
 export LOCALE_DIR
 export PAGES_DIR
@@ -162,6 +370,33 @@ export MARKDOWN_PL_PATH
 export ENABLE_ARCHIVES
 export URL_SLUG_FORMAT
 export PAGE_URL_FORMAT
+export DRAFTS_DIR
+export REBUILD_AFTER_POST
+export REBUILD_AFTER_EDIT
+export CUSTOM_CSS
+export ENABLE_TAG_RSS
+export ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES
+export ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS
+export SHOW_AUTHORS_MENU_THRESHOLD
+export BACKUP_DIR
+export CACHE_DIR
+export DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD
+export DEPLOY_SCRIPT
+export ARCHIVES_LIST_ALL_POSTS
+export ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS
+export RELATED_POSTS_COUNT
+export PRECOMPRESS_ASSETS
+export SHOW_HEADER_MENU
+export SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS
+export GENERATE_EXCERPT
+export SHOW_READING_TIME
+
+# Server defaults export
+export BSSG_SERVER_PORT_DEFAULT
+export BSSG_SERVER_HOST_DEFAULT
+
+# Export colors too, as they might be customized in config and needed by scripts
+export RED GREEN YELLOW BLUE NC
 
 # Export ALL MSG_* locale variables explicitly
 # These are generally NOT included in BSSG_CONFIG_VARS as they don't affect the config hash directly,
@@ -181,4 +416,9 @@ export MSG_MONTH_09 MSG_MONTH_10 MSG_MONTH_11 MSG_MONTH_12
 
 # Fallback using compgen (use with caution, might export unintended vars)
 # compgen -v MSG_ | while read -r var; do export "$var"; done
-# --- Export All Variables --- END --- 
+# --- Export All Variables --- END --- 
+
+# --- Final Path Adjustments (after all sourcing) --- START ---
+# Ensure relevant directory paths are exported if not already absolute.
+# ... existing code ...
+# --- Final Path Adjustments (after all sourcing) --- END --- 

scripts/build/content.sh

@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@
 # Functions for parsing metadata, generating excerpts, and converting markdown.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:-\033[0;31m}'
-# GREEN='${GREEN:-\033[0;32m}'
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:-\033[0;33m}'
-# NC='${NC:-\033[0m}'
-
 # Source Utilities if needed by functions below
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from content.sh"; exit 1; }
@@ -20,10 +14,35 @@ source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.s
 parse_metadata() {
     local file="$1"
     local field="$2"
+    local value=""
+
+    # Ignore empty or directory inputs so callers can safely scan optional lists.
+    if [[ -z "$file" || -d "$file" ]]; then
+        echo "$value"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # RAM mode: parse directly from preloaded content to avoid disk/cache I/O.
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$file"; then
+        local file_content frontmatter
+        file_content=$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")
+        frontmatter=$(printf '%s\n' "$file_content" | awk '
+            BEGIN { in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0; }
+            /^---$/ {
+                if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+                if (in_fm) { exit; }
+            }
+            in_fm { print; }
+        ')
+        if [ -n "$frontmatter" ]; then
+            value=$(printf '%s\n' "$frontmatter" | grep -m 1 "^$field:[[:space:]]*" | cut -d ':' -f 2- | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
+        fi
+        echo "$value"
+        return 0
+    fi
 
     # IMPORTANT: Assumes CACHE_DIR is exported/available
     local cache_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/meta/$(basename "$file")"
-    local value=""
 
     # Get locks for cache access
     # IMPORTANT: Assumes lock_file/unlock_file are sourced/available
@@ -74,11 +93,20 @@ parse_metadata() {
 # Extract metadata from markdown file (builds cache)
 extract_metadata() {
     local file="$1"
+    if [[ -z "$file" || -d "$file" ]]; then
+        echo "ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
     local metadata_cache_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/meta/$(basename "$file")"
     local frontmatter_changes_marker="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/frontmatter_changes_marker"
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$file"; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+    fi
 
     # Check if file exists
-    if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
         echo "ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND"
         return 1
     fi
@@ -87,7 +115,7 @@ extract_metadata() {
     local frontmatter_changed=false
 
     # Check if cache exists and is newer than the source file
-    if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = false ] && [ -f "$metadata_cache_file" ] && [ "$metadata_cache_file" -nt "$file" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = false ] && [ -f "$metadata_cache_file" ] && [ "$metadata_cache_file" -nt "$file" ]; then
         # Read from cache file (optimized - read once)
         echo "$(cat "$metadata_cache_file")"
         return 0
@@ -97,88 +125,107 @@ extract_metadata() {
     fi
 
     # If we're here, we need to parse the file
-    local title="" date="" lastmod="" tags="" slug="" image="" image_caption="" description=""
+    local title="" date="" lastmod="" tags="" slug="" image="" image_caption="" description="" author_name="" author_email=""
 
     # Check file type and parse accordingly
     if [[ "$file" == *.html ]]; then
         # Parse <meta> tags for HTML files
         # Use grep -m 1 for efficiency, handle missing tags gracefully
         # Note: This is basic parsing, assumes simple meta tag structure.
-        title=$(grep -m 1 -o '<title>[^<]*</title>' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed -e 's/<title>//' -e 's/<\/title>//')
-        date=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="date" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        lastmod=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="lastmod" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        tags=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="tags" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        slug=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="slug" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        image=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="image" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        image_caption=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="image_caption" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
-        description=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="description" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+        local html_source=""
+        if $ram_mode_active; then
+            html_source=$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")
+            title=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o '<title>[^<]*</title>' 2>/dev/null | sed -e 's/<title>//' -e 's/<\/title>//')
+            date=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="date" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            lastmod=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="lastmod" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            tags=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="tags" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            slug=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="slug" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            image=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="image" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            image_caption=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="image_caption" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            description=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="description" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            author_name=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="author_name" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            author_email=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="author_email" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+        else
+            title=$(grep -m 1 -o '<title>[^<]*</title>' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed -e 's/<title>//' -e 's/<\/title>//')
+            date=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="date" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            lastmod=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="lastmod" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            tags=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="tags" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            slug=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="slug" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            image=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="image" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            image_caption=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="image_caption" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            description=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="description" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            author_name=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="author_name" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+            author_email=$(grep -m 1 -o 'name="author_email" content="[^"]*"' "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+        fi
         # Note: Excerpt generation (fallback for description) might not work well for HTML
 
     elif [[ "$file" == *.md ]]; then
         # Parse YAML frontmatter for Markdown files
-        local in_frontmatter=false
-        local found_frontmatter=false
-        {
-            while IFS= read -r line; do
-                # Trim leading/trailing whitespace from line
-                line=$(echo "$line" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
+        # Use a shared awk parser for both disk and RAM paths.
+        local parsed_data
+        local awk_frontmatter_parser
+        awk_frontmatter_parser=$(cat <<'EOF'
+        BEGIN {
+            in_fm = 0;
+            found_fm = 0;
+            # Define default empty values
+            vars["title"] = ""; vars["date"] = ""; vars["lastmod"] = "";
+            vars["tags"] = ""; vars["slug"] = ""; vars["image"] = "";
+            vars["image_caption"] = ""; vars["description"] = "";
+            vars["author_name"] = ""; vars["author_email"] = "";
+        }
+        /^---$/ {
+            if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+            if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; exit; } # Exit awk early after frontmatter
+        }
+        in_fm {
+            # Match key: value, trim whitespace
+            local key value
+            if (match($0, /^([^:]+):[[:space:]]*(.*[^[:space:]])[[:space:]]*$/)) {
+                key = substr($0, RSTART, RLENGTH);
+                # Extract key part
+                match(key, /^[^:]+/);
+                key_str = substr(key, RSTART, RLENGTH);
+                # Extract value part
+                match(key, /:[[:space:]]*(.*)$/);
+                value = substr(key, RSTART + 1, RLENGTH -1 ); # +1/-1 to skip the :
+                # Trim spaces from key and value
+                gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", key_str);
+                gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", value);
+                key = tolower(key_str);
 
-                if [[ "$line" == "---" ]]; then
-                    if ! $in_frontmatter && ! $found_frontmatter; then
-                        in_frontmatter=true
-                        found_frontmatter=true
-                        continue
-                    elif $in_frontmatter; then
-                        in_frontmatter=false
-                        # Stop reading after frontmatter is closed
-                        break
-                    fi
-                fi
+                # Handle quoted strings (optional, basic handling)
+                if ( (match(value, /^"(.*)"$/) || match(value, /^\'(.*)\'$/)) && length(value) > 1 ) {
+                   value = substr(value, 2, length(value)-2);
+                }
+                vars[key] = value;
+            }
+        }
+        END {
+            # Print values in specific order
+            print vars["title"] "|" vars["date"] "|" vars["lastmod"] "|" \
+                  vars["tags"] "|" vars["slug"] "|" vars["image"] "|" \
+                  vars["image_caption"] "|" vars["description"] "|" \
+                  vars["author_name"] "|" vars["author_email"];
+        }
+EOF
+        )
 
-                if $in_frontmatter; then
-                    # Parse each frontmatter field (case-insensitive key matching)
-                    local key value
-                    if [[ "$line" =~ ^([^:]+):[[:space:]]*(.*)$ ]]; then
-                        key=$(echo "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
-                        value="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+        if $ram_mode_active; then
+            parsed_data=$(printf '%s\n' "$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")" | awk "$awk_frontmatter_parser")
+        else
+            parsed_data=$(awk "$awk_frontmatter_parser" "$file")
+        fi
+        
+        IFS='|' read -r title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$parsed_data"
 
-                        case "$key" in
-                            title)
-                                title="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            date)
-                                date="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            lastmod)
-                                lastmod="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            tags)
-                                tags="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            slug)
-                                slug="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            image)
-                                image="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            image_caption)
-                                image_caption="$value"
-                                ;;
-                            description)
-                                description="$value"
-                                ;;
-                        esac
-                    fi
-                fi
-            done
-        } < "$file"
     else
         echo "Warning: Unknown file type '$file' for metadata extraction." >&2
     fi
 
     # Fallbacks for missing metadata
     if [ -z "$title" ]; then
-        title=$(basename "$file" | sed 's/\\.[^.]*$//')
+        title=$(basename "$file" | sed 's/\\\\.[^.]*$//')
     fi
     if [ -z "$date" ]; then
         local file_mtime=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
@@ -188,19 +235,33 @@ extract_metadata() {
     if [ -z "$lastmod" ]; then
         lastmod="$date"
     fi
-    if [ -z "$slug" ]; then
+       if [ -z "$slug" ]; then
         slug=$(generate_slug "$title")
+    else
+        slug=$(generate_slug "$slug")
     fi
-    if [ -z "$description" ]; then
+    if [ -z "$description" ] && [ "${GENERATE_EXCERPT:-true}" = "true" ]; then
         # Generate excerpt only if description is missing
+        # The excerpt is already sanitized and HTML-escaped plain text
+        echo "[DEBUG] Generating excerpt for $file" >&2
         description=$(generate_excerpt "$file")
     fi
+    
+    # Apply fallback logic for author fields
+    if [ -z "$author_name" ]; then
+        author_name="${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}"
+    fi
+    if [ -z "$author_email" ] && [ -n "$author_name" ] && [ "$author_name" = "${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}" ]; then
+        # Only use default email if using default name
+        author_email="${AUTHOR_EMAIL:-anonymous@example.com}"
+    fi
+    # If author_name is specified but author_email is empty, leave email empty
 
     # Construct the metadata string for comparison and caching
-    local new_metadata="$title|$date|$lastmod|$tags|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description"
+    local new_metadata="$title|$date|$lastmod|$tags|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description|$author_name|$author_email"
 
     # Check if there was a previous metadata file and compare
-    if [ -f "$metadata_cache_file" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ -f "$metadata_cache_file" ]; then
         local old_metadata=$(cat "$metadata_cache_file")
         if [ "$old_metadata" != "$new_metadata" ]; then
             frontmatter_changed=true
@@ -208,13 +269,15 @@ extract_metadata() {
     fi
 
     # Store all metadata in one write operation
-    lock_file "$metadata_cache_file"
-    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$metadata_cache_file")"
-    echo "$new_metadata" > "$metadata_cache_file"
-    unlock_file "$metadata_cache_file"
+    if ! $ram_mode_active; then
+        lock_file "$metadata_cache_file"
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$metadata_cache_file")"
+        echo "$new_metadata" > "$metadata_cache_file"
+        unlock_file "$metadata_cache_file"
+    fi
 
     # If frontmatter has changed, update the marker file's timestamp
-    if $frontmatter_changed; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && $frontmatter_changed; then
         touch "$frontmatter_changes_marker"
     fi
 
@@ -227,75 +290,86 @@ generate_excerpt() {
     local file="$1"
     local max_length="${2:-160}"  # Default to 160 characters
 
-    # Extract content after frontmatter
-    local start_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$file" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1)
-    local end_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$file" | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d: -f1)
-
-    local content=""
-    if [[ -z "$start_line" || -z "$end_line" || ! $start_line -lt $end_line ]]; then
-        # No valid frontmatter, use the beginning of the file
-        content=$(head -n 50 "$file")
+    local raw_content_stream
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$file"; then
+        # Remove frontmatter directly from preloaded content
+        raw_content_stream=$(printf '%s\n' "$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")" | awk '
+            BEGIN { in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0; }
+            /^---$/ {
+                if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+                if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; next; }
+            }
+            { if (!in_fm) print; }
+        ')
     else
         # Extract content after frontmatter
-        content=$(tail -n +$((end_line + 1)) "$file" | head -n 50)
+        local start_line end_line
+        start_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$file" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1)
+        end_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$file" | head -n 2 | tail -1 | cut -d: -f1)
+
+        if [[ -n "$start_line" && -n "$end_line" && $start_line -lt $end_line ]]; then
+            # Stream content after frontmatter
+            raw_content_stream=$(tail -n +$((end_line + 1)) "$file")
+        else
+            # No valid frontmatter, stream the whole file
+            raw_content_stream=$(cat "$file")
+        fi
     fi
 
-    # Comprehensive markdown sanitization
+    # Sanitize and extract the first non-empty paragraph/line
+    # Apply sanitization steps sequentially
+    local sanitized_content
+    sanitized_content=$(echo "$raw_content_stream" | \
+        # Remove code blocks (``` and indented)
+        awk '/^```/{flag=!flag;next} !flag;' | grep -v '^```' | \
+        grep -v '^    ' | \
+        # Remove images, links, headings, hr, blockquotes
+        sed -E 's/!\[([^]]*)\]\([^)]*\)//g' | \
+        sed -E 's/\[([^]]+)\]\(([^)]+)\)/\1/g' | \
+        sed 's/^#\{1,6\} //' | \
+        grep -v '^---\+$' | \
+        grep -v '^\*\*\*\+$' | \
+        grep -v '^___\+$' | \
+        sed 's/^> //' | \
+        # Remove list markers
+        sed -E 's/^\* |^- |^[0-9]+\. //' | \
+        # Remove inline markdown: bold, italics, strikethrough, code
+        sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\1/g; s/__([^_]+)__/\1/g' | \
+        sed -E 's/\*([^*]+)\*/\1/g; s/_([^_]+)_/\1/g' | \
+        sed -E 's/~~([^~]+)~~/\1/g' | \
+        sed -E 's/`([^`]+)`/\1/g' | \
+        # Remove HTML tags
+        sed -E 's/<[^>]*>//g' | \
+        # Escape basic HTML entities (ampersand, less than, greater than)
+        sed 's/&/\&amp;/g; s/</\&lt;/g; s/>/\&gt;/g' | \
+        # Remove extra blank lines
+        awk 'NF {p=1} p' | \
+        # Get the first non-empty line (first paragraph)
+        awk 'NF {print; exit}' 
+    )
 
-    # 1. Remove code blocks (both ```code``` and indented)
-    content=$(echo "$content" | awk '/^```/{flag=!flag;next} !flag;' | grep -v '^```')
-    content=$(echo "$content" | grep -v '^    ')
-
-    # Process line by line to handle multiline patterns better
-    content=$(echo "$content" | while IFS= read -r line; do
-        # 2. Remove images ![alt](url)
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/!\[([^]]*)\]\([^)]*\)//g')
-
-        # 3. Replace links [text](url) with just text
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/\[([^]]*)\]\([^)]*\)/\1/g')
-
-        # 4. Remove HTML tags
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/<[^>]*>//g')
-
-        # 5. Remove headers (# Header)
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/^#+ +//g')
-
-        # 6. Remove emphasis/code markers (*, _, `)
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/(\*\*|__|\*|_|`)([^\*`_]+)(\1)/\2/g')
-
-        # 7. Remove blockquotes (> text)
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/^> +//g')
-
-        # 8. Remove list markers (*, +, -, 1.)
-        line=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/^([*+-]|[0-9]+\.) +//g')
-
-        # 9. Remove horizontal rules (---, ___, ***)
-        if ! echo "$line" | grep -qE '^[[:space:]]*([-*_])([[:space:]]*\1){2,}[[:space:]]*$'; then
-            echo "$line"
-        fi
-    done)
-
-    # 10. Normalize whitespace and remove extra line breaks
-    content=$(echo "$content" | tr '\n' ' ' | tr -s '[:space:]' ' ' | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
-
-    # 11. Escape HTML special characters (basic set)
-    content=$(echo "$content" | sed 's/&/\&amp;/g; s/</\&lt;/g; s/>/\&gt;/g; s/"/\&quot;/g; s/\x27/\&apos;/g')
-
-    # Truncate to approximately max_length chars at word boundary
-    local truncated
-    if [ ${#content} -gt $max_length ]; then
-        truncated=$(echo "$content" | cut -c 1-$max_length)
-        # Remove trailing partial word
-        truncated=${truncated% * }
-        # Add ellipsis if truncation occurred
-        if [ "$truncated" != "$content" ]; then
-            truncated="${truncated}..."
-        fi
+    # Truncate to max length using dd for portability
+    local excerpt
+    if [ -z "$sanitized_content" ]; then
+        excerpt=""
     else
-        truncated="$content"
+        # Use dd: bs=1 reads byte by byte, count limits the total bytes
+        # 2>/dev/null suppresses dd's status messages
+        excerpt=$(echo "$sanitized_content" | dd bs=1 count="$max_length" 2>/dev/null)
     fi
 
-    echo "$truncated"
+    # Add ellipsis if truncated
+    if [ ${#sanitized_content} -gt $max_length ]; then
+        excerpt+="..."
+    fi
+    
+    # Ensure description is not empty after all this
+    if [ -z "$excerpt" ]; then
+        # Fallback: use the filename if excerpt is still empty
+        excerpt=$(basename "$file" | sed 's/\.[^.]*$//')
+    fi
+
+    echo "$excerpt"
 }
 
 # Convert provided markdown content string to HTML
@@ -319,26 +393,19 @@ convert_markdown_to_html() {
     elif [ "$MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR" = "markdown.pl" ]; then
         # Preprocess content to handle fenced code blocks for markdown.pl
         local preprocessed_content="$content"
-        local temp_file
-        temp_file=$(mktemp)
-        # Use printf to avoid issues with content starting with -
-        printf '%s' "$preprocessed_content" > "$temp_file"
-
         # Handle fenced code blocks (``` and ~~~) -> indented
         # Requires awk
         if command -v awk &> /dev/null; then
-            preprocessed_content=$(awk '
+            preprocessed_content=$(printf '%s' "$preprocessed_content" | awk '
                 BEGIN { in_code = 0; }
                 /^```[a-zA-Z0-9]*$/ || /^~~~[a-zA-Z0-9]*$/ { if (!in_code) { in_code = 1; print ""; next; } }
                 /^```$/ || /^~~~$/ { if (in_code) { in_code = 0; print ""; next; } }
                 { if (in_code) { print "    " $0; } else { print $0; } }
-            ' "$temp_file")
-            rm "$temp_file"
+            ')
         else
             echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: awk not found, markdown.pl fenced code block conversion skipped.${NC}" >&2
             # Content remains as original if awk fails
-             preprocessed_content=$(cat "$temp_file")
-             rm "$temp_file"
+            preprocessed_content="$content"
         fi
 
         # Ensure MARKDOWN_PL_PATH is set and executable
@@ -361,4 +428,4 @@ convert_markdown_to_html() {
     return 0
 }
 
-# --- Content Functions --- END --- 
+# --- Content Functions --- END --- 

scripts/build/deps.sh

@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@
 # Checks for required tools and sets up environment variables.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:-\\033[0;31m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# GREEN='${GREEN:-\\033[0;32m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:-\\033[0;33m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# NC='${NC:-\\033[0m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-
 # Portable md5sum wrapper
 portable_md5sum() {
     if command -v md5sum > /dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -19,7 +13,9 @@ portable_md5sum() {
         # OpenBSD/NetBSD: md5 command without -r or -q
         # Output format: "MD5 (filename) = hash" -> Need "hash  filename"
         if [ $# -eq 0 ] || [ "$1" = "-" ]; then
-            md5 | awk '{print $4 "  -"}' # Handle stdin
+            # Handle stdin: OpenBSD md5 outputs just the hash directly.
+            # Read the hash (field 1) and append "  -" to match md5sum format.
+            md5 | awk '{print $1 "  -"}'
         else
             # Handle files: MD5 (file) = hash -> hash  file
             md5 "$@" | awk '{print $4 "  " $2}' | sed 's/[()]//g'
@@ -97,7 +93,10 @@ check_dependencies() {
     done
 
     # Check for GNU parallel
-    if command -v parallel > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if [[ "$(uname)" == "NetBSD" ]]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Parallel processing is unreliable on NetBSD. Using sequential processing.${NC}"
+        export HAS_PARALLEL=false
+    elif command -v parallel > /dev/null 2>&1 && { read -r _version < <(parallel -V 2>/dev/null ) && [[ "${_version:0:3}" = "GNU" ]]; }; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}GNU parallel found! Using parallel processing.${NC}"
         export HAS_PARALLEL=true
     else
@@ -143,4 +142,8 @@ check_directories() {
 # Export functions
 export -f check_dependencies
 export -f check_directories
-export -f portable_md5sum 
+export -f portable_md5sum
+
+# Define and export the MD5 command variable to use the portable function
+MD5_CMD="portable_md5sum"
+export MD5_CMD 

scripts/build/generate_authors.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,682 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# BSSG - Author Page Generation
+# Handles the creation of individual author pages and the main author index.
+#
+
+# Source dependencies
+# shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from generate_authors.sh"; exit 1; }
+# shellcheck source=cache.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "$0")/cache.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source cache.sh from generate_authors.sh"; exit 1; }
+# Source the feed generator script for the reusable RSS function
+# shellcheck source=generate_feeds.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "$0")/generate_feeds.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source generate_feeds.sh from generate_authors.sh"; exit 1; }
+
+_generate_author_pages_ram() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Processing author pages${NC}${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:+" and RSS feeds"}...${NC}"
+
+    local authors_index_data
+    authors_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "authors_index")
+    local main_authors_index_output="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/index.html"
+
+    mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR/authors"
+
+    if [ -z "$authors_index_data" ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}No authors found in RAM index. Skipping author page generation.${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    declare -A author_posts_by_slug=()
+    declare -A author_name_by_slug=()
+    declare -A author_email_by_slug=()
+    local line author author_slug author_email
+    while IFS= read -r line; do
+        [ -z "$line" ] && continue
+        IFS='|' read -r author author_slug author_email _ <<< "$line"
+        [ -z "$author" ] && continue
+        [ -z "$author_slug" ] && continue
+        if [[ -z "${author_name_by_slug[$author_slug]+_}" ]]; then
+            author_name_by_slug["$author_slug"]="$author"
+            author_email_by_slug["$author_slug"]="$author_email"
+        fi
+        author_posts_by_slug["$author_slug"]+="$line"$'\n'
+    done <<< "$authors_index_data"
+
+    local author_slug_key
+    for author_slug_key in $(printf '%s\n' "${!author_name_by_slug[@]}" | sort); do
+        author="${author_name_by_slug[$author_slug_key]}"
+        local author_data="${author_posts_by_slug[$author_slug_key]}"
+        local author_page_html_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/$author_slug_key/index.html"
+        local author_rss_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/$author_slug_key/${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}"
+        local author_page_rel_url="/authors/${author_slug_key}/"
+        local author_rss_rel_url="/authors/${author_slug_key}/${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}"
+        local post_count
+        post_count=$(printf '%s\n' "$author_data" | awk 'NF { c++ } END { print c+0 }')
+
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$author_page_html_file")"
+
+        local author_page_content=""
+        author_page_content+="<h1>${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author</h1>"$'\n'
+        if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+            author_page_content+="<p><a href=\"$author_rss_rel_url\">${MSG_RSS_FEED:-RSS Feed}</a></p>"$'\n'
+        fi
+        author_page_content+="<div class=\"posts-list\">"$'\n'
+
+        while IFS='|' read -r author_name_inner author_slug_inner author_email_inner post_title post_date post_lastmod post_filename post_slug post_image post_image_caption post_description; do
+            [ -z "$post_title" ] && continue
+
+            local post_url
+            if [ -n "$post_date" ] && [[ "$post_date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                local year month day url_path
+                year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+                url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
+                url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"
+                url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}"
+                url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"
+                url_path="${url_path//slug/$post_slug}"
+                post_url="/$(echo "$url_path" | sed 's|^/||; s|/*$|/|')"
+            else
+                post_url="/$(echo "$post_slug" | sed 's|^/||; s|/*$|/|')"
+            fi
+            post_url="${BASE_URL}${post_url}"
+            local formatted_date
+            formatted_date=$(format_date "$post_date")
+
+            author_page_content+="<article>"$'\n'
+            author_page_content+="  <h2><a href=\"$post_url\">$post_title</a></h2>"$'\n'
+            author_page_content+="  <div class=\"meta\">"$'\n'
+            author_page_content+="    <time datetime=\"$post_date\">$formatted_date</time>"$'\n'
+            author_page_content+="  </div>"$'\n'
+            if [ -n "$post_description" ]; then
+                author_page_content+="  <p class=\"summary\">$post_description</p>"$'\n'
+            fi
+            if [ -n "$post_image" ]; then
+                author_page_content+="  <div class=\"author-image\">"$'\n'
+                author_page_content+="    <img src=\"$post_image\" alt=\"$post_image_caption\" loading=\"lazy\">"$'\n'
+                author_page_content+="  </div>"$'\n'
+            fi
+            author_page_content+="</article>"$'\n'
+        done < <(printf '%s\n' "$author_data" | awk 'NF' | sort -t'|' -k5,5r)
+
+        author_page_content+="</div>"$'\n'
+
+        local page_title="${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author"
+        local page_description="${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author - $post_count ${MSG_POSTS:-posts}"
+        local header_content="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
+        local footer_content="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_title\}\}/"$page_title"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"$author_page_rel_url"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{canonical\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
+        header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/}
+        if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+            local author_rss_link="<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application/rss+xml\" title=\"$author RSS Feed\" href=\"$SITE_URL$author_rss_rel_url\">"
+            header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/$author_rss_link}
+        fi
+        local schema_json
+        schema_json="{\"@context\": \"https://schema.org\",\"@type\": \"CollectionPage\",\"name\": \"$page_title\",\"description\": \"$page_description\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL$author_page_rel_url\",\"isPartOf\": {\"@type\": \"WebSite\",\"name\": \"$SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL\"}}"
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"<script type=\"application/ld+json\">$schema_json</script>"}
+
+        local current_year
+        current_year=$(date +%Y)
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/"$current_year"}
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/"$AUTHOR_NAME"}
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{all_rights_reserved\}\}/"${MSG_ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED:-All rights reserved.}"}
+
+        {
+            echo "$header_content"
+            echo "$author_page_content"
+            echo "$footer_content"
+        } > "$author_page_html_file"
+
+        if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+            local author_post_data
+            author_post_data=$(printf '%s\n' "$author_data" | awk 'NF' | sort -t'|' -k5,5r | awk -F'|' '{
+                author_name = $1
+                author_email = $3
+                title = $4
+                date = $5
+                lastmod = $6
+                filename = $7
+                post_slug = $8
+                image = $9
+                image_caption = $10
+                description = $11
+                printf "%s|%s|%s|%s|%s||%s|%s|%s|%s|%s|%s\n", filename, filename, title, date, lastmod, post_slug, image, image_caption, description, author_name, author_email
+            }')
+            _generate_rss_feed "$author_rss_file" "$SITE_TITLE - ${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author" "${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author" "$author_page_rel_url" "$author_rss_rel_url" "$author_post_data"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    local page_title="${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors}"
+    local page_description="${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors} - $SITE_DESCRIPTION"
+    local header_content="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
+    local footer_content="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
+    local main_content=""
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_title\}\}/"$page_title"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"/authors/"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+    header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/}
+    local schema_json
+    schema_json="{\"@context\": \"https://schema.org\",\"@type\": \"CollectionPage\",\"name\": \"$page_title\",\"description\": \"List of all authors on $SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL/authors/\",\"isPartOf\": {\"@type\": \"WebSite\",\"name\": \"$SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL\"}}"
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"<script type=\"application/ld+json\">$schema_json</script>"}
+    local current_year
+    current_year=$(date +%Y)
+    footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/"$current_year"}
+    footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/"$AUTHOR_NAME"}
+    footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{all_rights_reserved\}\}/"${MSG_ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED:-All rights reserved.}"}
+
+    main_content+="<h1>${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors}</h1>"$'\n'
+    main_content+="<div class=\"tags-list\">"$'\n'
+    for author_slug_key in $(printf '%s\n' "${!author_name_by_slug[@]}" | sort); do
+        author="${author_name_by_slug[$author_slug_key]}"
+        local post_count
+        post_count=$(printf '%s\n' "${author_posts_by_slug[$author_slug_key]}" | awk 'NF { c++ } END { print c+0 }')
+        if [ "$post_count" -gt 0 ]; then
+            main_content+="    <a href=\"$BASE_URL/authors/$author_slug_key/\">$author <span class=\"tag-count\">($post_count)</span></a>"$'\n'
+        fi
+    done
+    main_content+="</div>"$'\n'
+
+    {
+        echo "$header_content"
+        echo "$main_content"
+        echo "$footer_content"
+    } > "$main_authors_index_output"
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Author pages processed!${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Generated author list pages.${NC}"
+}
+
+# Generate author pages
+generate_author_pages() {
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        _generate_author_pages_ram
+        return $?
+    fi
+
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Processing author pages${NC}${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:+" and RSS feeds"}...${NC}"
+
+    local authors_index_file="$CACHE_DIR/authors_index.txt"
+    local main_authors_index_output="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/index.html"
+    local modified_authors_list_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/modified_authors.list"
+
+    # Check if the authors index file exists (needed for listing authors)
+    if [ ! -f "$authors_index_file" ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Authors index file not found at $authors_index_file. Skipping author page generation.${NC}"
+        # If the index doesn't exist, no authors were found in posts.
+        # Ensure the main output directory exists but is empty.
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$main_authors_index_output")"
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Author pages processed! (No authors found)${NC}"
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Generated author list pages. (No authors found)${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # --- Calculate Latest Common Dependency Time --- START ---
+    # Get mtimes of config hash, templates, and locale file
+    local latest_common_dep_time=0
+    local config_hash_time=$(get_file_mtime "$CONFIG_HASH_FILE")
+    latest_common_dep_time=$(( config_hash_time > latest_common_dep_time ? config_hash_time : latest_common_dep_time ))
+
+    local template_dir="${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates}"
+    if [ -d "$template_dir/${THEME:-default}" ]; then
+        template_dir="$template_dir/${THEME:-default}"
+    fi
+    local header_template="$template_dir/header.html"
+    local footer_template="$template_dir/footer.html"
+    local header_time=$(get_file_mtime "$header_template")
+    local footer_time=$(get_file_mtime "$footer_template")
+    latest_common_dep_time=$(( header_time > latest_common_dep_time ? header_time : latest_common_dep_time ))
+    latest_common_dep_time=$(( footer_time > latest_common_dep_time ? footer_time : latest_common_dep_time ))
+
+    local active_locale_file=""
+    if [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh" ]; then
+        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh"
+    elif [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh" ]; then
+        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh"
+    fi
+    local locale_time=$(get_file_mtime "$active_locale_file")
+    latest_common_dep_time=$(( locale_time > latest_common_dep_time ? locale_time : latest_common_dep_time ))
+    # --- Calculate Latest Common Dependency Time --- END ---
+
+    # --- Simplified Global Check --- START ---
+    # Decide if we need to proceed with any author generation steps at all.
+    local proceed_with_generation=false
+    local force_rebuild_status="${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}"
+
+    if [ "$force_rebuild_status" = true ]; then
+        proceed_with_generation=true
+        echo "Force rebuild enabled, proceeding with author generation." >&2 # Debug
+    elif [ "$latest_common_dep_time" -gt 0 ] && { [ ! -f "$main_authors_index_output" ] || (( $(get_file_mtime "$main_authors_index_output") < latest_common_dep_time )); }; then
+        # Common dependencies are newer than the main output (or main output missing)
+        proceed_with_generation=true
+        echo "Common dependencies changed, proceeding with author generation." >&2 # Debug
+    elif [ -s "$modified_authors_list_file" ]; then
+        # Modified authors list exists and is not empty
+        proceed_with_generation=true
+        echo "Modified authors detected, proceeding with author generation." >&2 # Debug
+    elif [ ! -f "$main_authors_index_output" ]; then
+        # Fallback: if main output is missing, we should generate it
+         proceed_with_generation=true
+         echo "Main authors index missing, proceeding with author generation." >&2 # Debug
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$proceed_with_generation" = false ]; then
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Authors index, author pages${NC}${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:+, and author RSS feeds} appear up to date based on common dependencies and modified posts, skipping.${NC}"
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Author pages processed!${NC}" # Keep consistent final message
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Generated author list pages.${NC}" # Keep consistent final message
+        return 0
+    fi
+    # --- Simplified Global Check --- END ---
+
+    # --- Proceed with Generation ---
+
+    # Get unique authors (Author|Slug pairs)
+    local unique_authors_lines=$(awk -F'|' '{print $1 "|" $2}' "$authors_index_file" | sort | uniq)
+    local author_count=$(echo "$unique_authors_lines" | grep -v '^$' | wc -l)
+    echo -e "Checking ${GREEN}$author_count${NC} author pages${NC}${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:+/feeds} for changes (based on common deps & modified authors)" # Updated message
+
+    # --- Pre-group posts by author slug --- START ---
+    local author_data_dir="$CACHE_DIR/author_data"
+    rm -rf "$author_data_dir" # Clean previous data
+    mkdir -p "$author_data_dir"
+    echo -e "Pre-grouping posts by author into ${BLUE}$author_data_dir${NC}..."
+    if awk -F'|' -v author_dir="$author_data_dir" '
+        NF >= 2 { # Ensure at least author and slug fields exist
+            author_slug = $2;
+            if (author_slug != "") {
+                # Sanitize slug just in case for filename safety? (basic: remove /)
+                gsub(/\//, "_", author_slug);
+                output_file = author_dir "/" author_slug ".tmp";
+                print $0 >> output_file; # Append the whole line
+                close(output_file); # Close file handle to avoid too many open files
+            } else {
+                print "Warning: Skipping line with empty author slug in authors_index: " $0 > "/dev/stderr";
+            }
+        }
+    ' "$authors_index_file"; then
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Pre-grouping complete.${NC}"
+    else
+        echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to pre-group author data using awk.${NC}" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    # --- Pre-group posts by author slug --- END ---
+
+    # Define a modified file_needs_rebuild function for parallel use
+    parallel_file_needs_rebuild() {
+        local output_file="$1"
+        local latest_dep_time="$2" # This should be latest_common_dep_time
+
+        # Rebuild if output file doesn't exist
+        if [ ! -f "$output_file" ]; then
+            return 0 # Rebuild needed
+        fi
+
+        local output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_file")
+
+        # Rebuild if output is older than the latest relevant *common* dependency
+        if (( output_time < latest_dep_time )); then
+            return 0 # Rebuild needed
+        fi
+
+        return 1 # No rebuild needed
+    }
+
+    # Define a function to process a single author
+    process_author() {
+        local author_line="$1"
+        local author_data_dir="$2"
+        local latest_common_dep_time_for_author="$3"
+        local modified_authors_file="$4" # Accept filename instead of hash
+
+        # --- Load modified authors from file ---
+        declare -A modified_authors_hash
+        if [ -f "$modified_authors_file" ]; then
+            local mod_author_local
+            while IFS= read -r mod_author_local || [[ -n "$mod_author_local" ]]; do
+                if [ -n "$mod_author_local" ]; then # Ensure not empty line
+                    modified_authors_hash["$mod_author_local"]=1
+                fi
+            done < "$modified_authors_file"
+        fi
+
+        local author author_slug
+        IFS='|' read -r author author_slug <<< "$author_line"
+
+        if [ -n "$author" ]; then
+            local author_page_html_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/$author_slug/index.html"
+            local author_rss_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/authors/$author_slug/${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}"
+            local author_page_rel_url="/authors/${author_slug}/"
+            local author_rss_rel_url="/authors/${author_slug}/${RSS_FILENAME:-rss.xml}"
+            local rebuild_html=false
+            local rebuild_rss=false
+
+            # --- Force rebuild flags if author was modified ---
+            local author_was_modified=false
+            if [ -n "${modified_authors_hash[$author]}" ]; then
+                author_was_modified=true
+                rebuild_html=true # Force rebuild if author was modified
+                if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+                     rebuild_rss=true # Force rebuild if author was modified
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            # --- Check if HTML rebuild is needed ---
+            if [ "$rebuild_html" = false ]; then
+                if parallel_file_needs_rebuild "$author_page_html_file" "$latest_common_dep_time_for_author"; then
+                    rebuild_html=true
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            # --- Check if RSS rebuild is needed ---
+            if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ] && [ "$rebuild_rss" = false ]; then
+                if parallel_file_needs_rebuild "$author_rss_file" "$latest_common_dep_time_for_author"; then
+                    rebuild_rss=true
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            # --- Skip if no rebuilds needed ---
+            if [ "$rebuild_html" = false ] && { [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = false ] || [ "$rebuild_rss" = false ]; }; then
+                echo "Author '$author' pages are up to date, skipping."
+                return 0
+            fi
+
+            # --- Load author posts data ---
+            local author_data_file="$author_data_dir/${author_slug}.tmp"
+            if [ ! -f "$author_data_file" ]; then
+                echo "Warning: No posts found for author '$author' (expected file: $author_data_file)" >&2
+                return 0
+            fi
+
+            # Count posts for this author
+            local post_count=$(wc -l < "$author_data_file")
+
+            echo "Processing author '$author' ($post_count posts)..."
+
+            # --- Generate Author HTML Page ---
+            if [ "$rebuild_html" = true ]; then
+                mkdir -p "$(dirname "$author_page_html_file")"
+
+                # Generate author page content
+                local author_page_content=""
+                author_page_content+="<h1>${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author</h1>"$'\n'
+                
+                # Add RSS link if enabled
+                if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+                    author_page_content+="<p><a href=\"$author_rss_rel_url\">${MSG_RSS_FEED:-RSS Feed}</a></p>"$'\n'
+                fi
+
+                # Add posts list
+                author_page_content+="<div class=\"posts-list\">"$'\n'
+
+                # Sort posts by date (newest first) and generate HTML
+                local posts_html=""
+                while IFS='|' read -r author_name author_slug_inner author_email post_title post_date post_lastmod post_filename post_slug post_image post_image_caption post_description; do
+                    # Construct post URL using URL_SLUG_FORMAT (same logic as generate_posts.sh)
+                    local post_url=""
+                    if [ -n "$post_date" ]; then
+                        local year month day
+                        if [[ "$post_date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                            year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                            month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                            day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+                        else
+                             year=$(date +%Y); month=$(date +%m); day=$(date +%d) # Fallback
+                        fi
+                        local url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
+                        url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"; url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}"; 
+                        url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$post_slug}"
+                        # Ensure relative post_url starts with / and ends with /
+                        post_url="/$(echo "$url_path" | sed 's|^/||; s|/*$|/|')"
+                    else
+                        # Fallback for posts without date
+                        post_url="/$(echo "$post_slug" | sed 's|^/||; s|/*$|/|')"
+                    fi
+                    # Convert to full URL with BASE_URL
+                    post_url="$BASE_URL$post_url"
+                    local formatted_date=$(format_date "$post_date")
+                    
+                    posts_html+="<article>"$'\n'
+                    posts_html+="  <h2><a href=\"$post_url\">$post_title</a></h2>"$'\n'
+                    posts_html+="  <div class=\"meta\">"$'\n'
+                    posts_html+="    <time datetime=\"$post_date\">$formatted_date</time>"$'\n'
+                    posts_html+="  </div>"$'\n'
+                    
+                    if [ -n "$post_description" ]; then
+                        posts_html+="  <p class=\"summary\">$post_description</p>"$'\n'
+                    fi
+                    
+                    if [ -n "$post_image" ]; then
+                        posts_html+="  <div class=\"author-image\">"$'\n'
+                        posts_html+="    <img src=\"$post_image\" alt=\"$post_image_caption\" loading=\"lazy\">"$'\n'
+                        posts_html+="  </div>"$'\n'
+                    fi
+                    
+                    posts_html+="</article>"$'\n'
+                done < <(sort -t'|' -k5,5r "$author_data_file")
+                
+                author_page_content+="$posts_html"
+
+                author_page_content+="</div>"$'\n'
+
+                # Generate full HTML page
+                local page_title="${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author"
+                local page_description="${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author - $post_count ${MSG_POSTS:-posts}"
+                
+                # Process templates with placeholder replacement
+                local header_content="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
+                local footer_content="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
+
+                # Replace placeholders in the header (following tags generator pattern)
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_title\}\}/"$page_title"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"$author_page_rel_url"}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+
+                # Remove unprocessed image placeholders
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+
+                # Remove the placeholder for the tag-specific RSS feed link
+                header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/}
+
+                # Add author RSS link if enabled
+                if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ]; then
+                    local author_rss_link="<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application/rss+xml\" title=\"$author RSS Feed\" href=\"$SITE_URL$author_rss_rel_url\">"
+                    header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/$author_rss_link}
+                fi
+
+                # Schema.org structured data
+                local schema_json="{\"@context\": \"https://schema.org\",\"@type\": \"CollectionPage\",\"name\": \"$page_title\",\"description\": \"$page_description\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL$author_page_rel_url\",\"isPartOf\": {\"@type\": \"WebSite\",\"name\": \"$SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL\"}}"
+                header_content=${header_content//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"<script type=\"application/ld+json\">$schema_json</script>"}
+
+                # Replace placeholders in the footer
+                local current_year=$(date +%Y)
+                footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/"$current_year"}
+                footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/"$AUTHOR_NAME"}
+                footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{all_rights_reserved\}\}/"${MSG_ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED:-All rights reserved.}"}
+
+                # Create the full HTML page
+                {
+                    echo "$header_content"
+                    echo "$author_page_content"
+                    echo "$footer_content"
+                } > "$author_page_html_file"
+
+                echo "Generated author page: $author_page_html_file"
+            fi
+
+            # --- Generate Author RSS Feed ---
+            if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_RSS:-false}" = true ] && [ "$rebuild_rss" = true ]; then
+                mkdir -p "$(dirname "$author_rss_file")"
+                
+                # Generate RSS feed for this author
+                local rss_title="$SITE_TITLE - ${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author"
+                local rss_description="${MSG_POSTS_BY:-Posts by} $author"
+                local feed_link_rel="$author_page_rel_url"
+                local feed_atom_link_rel="$author_rss_rel_url"
+                
+                # Read and format author post data for RSS generation
+                local author_post_data=""
+                if [ -f "$author_data_file" ]; then
+                    # Transform author data format to RSS format and sort by date (newest first)
+                    # Author format: Author|Slug|Email|Title|Date|LastMod|Filename|PostSlug|Image|ImageCaption|Description
+                    # RSS format:    file|filename|title|date|lastmod|tags|slug|image|image_caption|description|author_name|author_email
+                    author_post_data=$(sort -t'|' -k5,5r "$author_data_file" | awk -F'|' '{
+                        # Map fields from author format to RSS format
+                        author_name = $1
+                        author_slug = $2
+                        author_email = $3
+                        title = $4
+                        date = $5
+                        lastmod = $6
+                        filename = $7
+                        post_slug = $8
+                        image = $9
+                        image_caption = $10
+                        description = $11
+                        
+                        # RSS format: file|filename|title|date|lastmod|tags|slug|image|image_caption|description|author_name|author_email
+                        printf "%s|%s|%s|%s|%s||%s|%s|%s|%s|%s|%s\n", filename, filename, title, date, lastmod, post_slug, image, image_caption, description, author_name, author_email
+                    }')
+                fi
+                
+                # Check if _generate_rss_feed function exists
+                if ! command -v _generate_rss_feed > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+                    echo -e "${RED}Error: _generate_rss_feed function not found. Ensure generate_feeds.sh is sourced correctly.${NC}" >&2
+                else
+                    _generate_rss_feed "$author_rss_file" "$rss_title" "$rss_description" "$feed_link_rel" "$feed_atom_link_rel" "$author_post_data"
+                    echo "Generated author RSS feed: $author_rss_file"
+                fi
+            fi
+        fi
+    }
+
+    # Export the function for potential parallel use
+    export -f process_author parallel_file_needs_rebuild
+
+    # Process each unique author
+    echo "$unique_authors_lines" | while IFS= read -r author_line || [[ -n "$author_line" ]]; do
+        if [ -n "$author_line" ]; then
+            process_author "$author_line" "$author_data_dir" "$latest_common_dep_time" "$modified_authors_list_file"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    # --- Generate Main Authors Index Page ---
+    if [ "${AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD:-false}" = true ] || [ ! -f "$main_authors_index_output" ] || (( $(get_file_mtime "$main_authors_index_output") < latest_common_dep_time )); then
+        echo "Generating main authors index page..."
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$main_authors_index_output")"
+
+        # Count posts per author and generate the main index
+        local authors_with_counts=""
+        echo "$unique_authors_lines" | while IFS= read -r author_line || [[ -n "$author_line" ]]; do
+            if [ -n "$author_line" ]; then
+                local author author_slug
+                IFS='|' read -r author author_slug <<< "$author_line"
+                local author_data_file="$author_data_dir/${author_slug}.tmp"
+                if [ -f "$author_data_file" ]; then
+                    local post_count=$(wc -l < "$author_data_file")
+                    echo "$author|$author_slug|$post_count"
+                fi
+            fi
+        done | sort > "${CACHE_DIR}/authors_with_counts.tmp"
+
+        # Generate main authors index HTML
+        local main_content=""
+        main_content+="<h1>${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors}</h1>"$'\n'
+        main_content+="<div class=\"tags-list\">"$'\n' # Reuse tags styling
+
+        while IFS='|' read -r author author_slug post_count; do
+            if [ -n "$author" ] && [ "$post_count" -gt 0 ]; then
+                main_content+="    <a href=\"$BASE_URL/authors/$author_slug/\">$author <span class=\"tag-count\">($post_count)</span></a>"$'\n'
+            fi
+        done < "${CACHE_DIR}/authors_with_counts.tmp"
+
+        main_content+="</div>"$'\n'
+
+        # Generate full HTML page for main authors index
+        local page_title="${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors}"
+        local page_description="${MSG_ALL_AUTHORS:-All Authors} - $SITE_DESCRIPTION"
+        local authors_index_rel_url="/authors/"
+        
+        # Process templates with placeholder replacement (following tags generator pattern)
+        local header_content="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
+        local footer_content="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
+
+        # Replace placeholders in the header
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_title\}\}/"$page_title"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$page_description"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"$authors_index_rel_url"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+
+        # Remove unprocessed image placeholders
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{canonical\}\}/}
+header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
+
+        # Remove the placeholder for the tag-specific RSS feed link in the main authors index
+        header_content=${header_content//<!-- bssg:tag_rss_link -->/}
+
+        # Schema.org structured data
+        local schema_json="{\"@context\": \"https://schema.org\",\"@type\": \"CollectionPage\",\"name\": \"$page_title\",\"description\": \"List of all authors on $SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL/authors/\",\"isPartOf\": {\"@type\": \"WebSite\",\"name\": \"$SITE_TITLE\",\"url\": \"$SITE_URL\"}}"
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"<script type=\"application/ld+json\">$schema_json</script>"}
+
+        # Replace placeholders in the footer
+        local current_year=$(date +%Y)
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/"$current_year"}
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/"$AUTHOR_NAME"}
+        footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{all_rights_reserved\}\}/"${MSG_ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED:-All rights reserved.}"}
+
+        {
+            echo "$header_content"
+            echo "$main_content"
+            echo "$footer_content"
+        } > "$main_authors_index_output"
+
+        echo "Generated main authors index: $main_authors_index_output"
+        
+        # Clean up temporary file
+        rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/authors_with_counts.tmp"
+    else
+        echo "Main authors index is up to date, skipping..."
+    fi
+
+    # Clean up author data directory
+    rm -rf "$author_data_dir"
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Author pages processed!${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Generated author list pages.${NC}"
+} 

scripts/build/generate_index.sh

@@ -10,8 +10,301 @@ source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.s
 # shellcheck source=cache.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/cache.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source cache.sh from generate_index.sh"; exit 1; }
 
+_generate_index_ram() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Generating index pages...${NC}"
+
+    local file_index_data
+    file_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "file_index")
+    if [ -z "$file_index_data" ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}No posts found in RAM file index. Skipping index generation.${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    local total_posts_orig
+    total_posts_orig=$(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF { c++ } END { print c+0 }')
+    local total_pages=$(( (total_posts_orig + POSTS_PER_PAGE - 1) / POSTS_PER_PAGE ))
+    [ "$total_pages" -eq 0 ] && total_pages=1
+
+    mapfile -t file_index_lines < <(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF')
+    echo -e "Generating ${GREEN}$total_pages${NC} index pages for ${GREEN}$total_posts_orig${NC} posts"
+
+    local current_page
+    for (( current_page = 1; current_page <= total_pages; current_page++ )); do
+        local output_file
+        if [ "$current_page" -eq 1 ]; then
+            output_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/index.html"
+        else
+            output_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/page/$current_page/index.html"
+            mkdir -p "$(dirname "$output_file")"
+        fi
+
+        local page_header="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
+        if [ "$current_page" -eq 1 ]; then
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_title\}\}/"${MSG_HOME:-"Home"}"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_url\}\}/"/"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+            local home_schema
+            home_schema=$(cat <<EOF
+<script type="application/ld+json">
+{
+  "@context": "https://schema.org",
+  "@type": "WebSite",
+  "name": "$SITE_TITLE",
+  "description": "$SITE_DESCRIPTION",
+  "url": "$SITE_URL/",
+  "potentialAction": {
+    "@type": "SearchAction",
+    "target": "$SITE_URL/search?q={search_term_string}",
+    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
+  },
+  "publisher": {
+    "@type": "Organization",
+    "name": "$SITE_TITLE",
+    "url": "$SITE_URL"
+  }
+}
+</script>
+EOF
+)
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"$home_schema"}
+        else
+            local pag_title
+            pag_title=$(printf "${MSG_PAGINATION_TITLE:-"%s - Page %d"}" "$SITE_TITLE" "$current_page")
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_title\}\}/"$SITE_TITLE"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_title\}\}/"$pag_title"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
+            local paginated_rel_url="/page/$current_page/"
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_url\}\}/"$paginated_rel_url"}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
+            local collection_schema
+            collection_schema=$(cat <<EOF
+<script type="application/ld+json">
+{
+  "@context": "https://schema.org",
+  "@type": "CollectionPage",
+  "name": "$pag_title",
+  "description": "$SITE_DESCRIPTION",
+  "url": "$SITE_URL${paginated_rel_url}",
+  "isPartOf": {
+    "@type": "WebSite",
+    "name": "$SITE_TITLE",
+    "url": "$SITE_URL"
+  }
+}
+</script>
+EOF
+)
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"$collection_schema"}
+        fi
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_image\}\}/""}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/""}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{canonical\}\}/}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
+
+        local page_footer="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
+        page_footer=${page_footer//\{\{current_year\}\}/$(date +%Y)}
+        page_footer=${page_footer//\{\{author_name\}\}/"$AUTHOR_NAME"}
+
+        cat > "$output_file" <<EOF
+$page_header
+EOF
+
+        local index_file="${PAGES_DIR}/index.md"
+        local has_custom_index=false
+        if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$index_file"; then
+            has_custom_index=true
+        elif [ -f "$index_file" ]; then
+            has_custom_index=true
+        fi
+
+        if [ "$current_page" -eq 1 ] && [ "$has_custom_index" = true ]; then
+            local content="" html_content="" in_frontmatter=false found_frontmatter=false source_stream=""
+            if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && ram_mode_has_file "$index_file"; then
+                source_stream=$(ram_mode_get_content "$index_file")
+            else
+                source_stream=$(cat "$index_file")
+            fi
+            while IFS= read -r line; do
+                if [[ "$line" == "---" ]]; then
+                    if ! $in_frontmatter && ! $found_frontmatter; then
+                        in_frontmatter=true
+                        found_frontmatter=true
+                        continue
+                    elif $in_frontmatter; then
+                        in_frontmatter=false
+                        continue
+                    fi
+                fi
+                if ! $in_frontmatter && $found_frontmatter; then
+                    content+="$line"$'\n'
+                fi
+            done <<< "$source_stream"
+            if ! $found_frontmatter; then
+                content="$source_stream"
+            fi
+            html_content=$(convert_markdown_to_html "$content")
+            echo "$html_content" >> "$output_file"
+            cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+$page_footer
+EOF
+            continue
+        fi
+
+        if [ "$total_posts_orig" -gt 0 ]; then
+            cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+<h1>${MSG_LATEST_POSTS:-"Latest Posts"}</h1>
+<div class="posts-list">
+EOF
+            local start_index=$(( (current_page - 1) * POSTS_PER_PAGE ))
+            local end_index=$(( start_index + POSTS_PER_PAGE - 1 ))
+            local i
+            for (( i = start_index; i <= end_index && i < total_posts_orig; i++ )); do
+                local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+                IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "${file_index_lines[$i]}"
+                [ -z "$file" ] && continue
+                [ -z "$title" ] && continue
+                [ -z "$date" ] && continue
+
+                local post_year post_month post_day
+                if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                    post_year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                    post_month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                    post_day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+                else
+                    post_year=$(date +%Y); post_month=$(date +%m); post_day=$(date +%d)
+                fi
+                local formatted_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT//Year/$post_year}"
+                formatted_path="${formatted_path//Month/$post_month}"
+                formatted_path="${formatted_path//Day/$post_day}"
+                formatted_path="${formatted_path//slug/$slug}"
+                local post_link="/$formatted_path/"
+
+                local display_date_format="$DATE_FORMAT"
+                if [ "${SHOW_TIMEZONE:-false}" = false ]; then
+                    display_date_format=$(echo "$display_date_format" | sed -e 's/%[zZ]//g' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//')
+                fi
+                local formatted_date
+                formatted_date=$(format_date "$date" "$display_date_format")
+
+                cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+    <article>
+        <h2><a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">$title</a></h2>
+        <div class="meta">${MSG_PUBLISHED_ON:-"Published on"} $formatted_date${author_name:+" ${MSG_BY:-"by"} ${author_name:-$AUTHOR_NAME}"}</div>
+EOF
+
+                if [ -n "$image" ]; then
+                    local image_url="$image"
+                    if [[ "$image" == /* ]]; then
+                        image_url="${SITE_URL}${image}"
+                    fi
+                    cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+        <div class="featured-image index-image">
+            <a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">
+                <img src="$image_url" alt="${image_caption:-$title}" title="${image_caption:-$title}" loading="lazy" />
+            </a>
+        </div>
+EOF
+                fi
+
+                if [ "${INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+                    local post_content="" html_content=""
+                    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && ram_mode_has_file "$file"; then
+                        local source_stream
+                        source_stream=$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")
+                        post_content=$(printf '%s\n' "$source_stream" | awk '
+                            BEGIN { in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0; }
+                            /^---$/ {
+                                if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+                                if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; next; }
+                            }
+                            { if (!in_fm) print; }
+                        ')
+                    fi
+                    if [ -n "$post_content" ]; then
+                        if [[ "$file" == *.md ]]; then
+                            html_content=$(convert_markdown_to_html "$post_content")
+                        else
+                            html_content="$post_content"
+                        fi
+                    fi
+                    if [ -n "$html_content" ]; then
+                        cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+        <div class="post-content">
+            $html_content
+        </div>
+EOF
+                    fi
+                elif [ "${SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS:-true}" = "true" ] && [ -n "$description" ]; then
+                    cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+        <div class="summary">
+            $description
+        </div>
+EOF
+                fi
+
+                cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+
+    </article>
+EOF
+            done
+
+            cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+</div> <!-- .posts-list -->
+EOF
+
+            if [ "$total_pages" -gt 1 ]; then
+                cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+
+<!-- Pagination -->
+<div class="pagination">
+EOF
+                if [ "$current_page" -gt 1 ]; then
+                    local prev_page=$((current_page - 1))
+                    local prev_url="/"
+                    if [ $prev_page -ne 1 ]; then
+                        prev_url="/page/$prev_page/"
+                    fi
+                    cat >> "$output_file" <<PAG_EOF
+    <a href="$(fix_url "$prev_url")" class="prev">&laquo; ${MSG_NEWER_POSTS:-Newer}</a>
+PAG_EOF
+                fi
+                cat >> "$output_file" <<PAG_EOF
+    <span class="page-info">$(printf "${MSG_PAGE_INFO_TEMPLATE:-Page %d of %d}" "$current_page" "$total_pages")</span>
+PAG_EOF
+                if [ "$current_page" -lt "$total_pages" ]; then
+                    local next_page=$((current_page + 1))
+                    cat >> "$output_file" <<PAG_EOF
+    <a href="$(fix_url "/page/$next_page/")" class="next">${MSG_OLDER_POSTS:-Older} &raquo;</a>
+PAG_EOF
+                fi
+                cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+</div>
+EOF
+            fi
+        fi
+
+        cat >> "$output_file" <<EOF
+$page_footer
+EOF
+    done
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Index pages processed!${NC}"
+}
+
 # Generate main index page (homepage) and paginated pages
 generate_index() {
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        _generate_index_ram
+        return $?
+    fi
+
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Generating index pages...${NC}"
     
     # Check if rebuild is needed (using function from cache.sh)
@@ -30,7 +323,8 @@ generate_index() {
     fi
     
     # Count total posts
-    local total_posts=$(wc -l < "$file_index")
+    local total_posts_orig=$(wc -l < "$file_index")
+    local total_posts=$total_posts_orig
     local total_pages=$(( (total_posts + POSTS_PER_PAGE - 1) / POSTS_PER_PAGE ))
     
     # Ensure total_pages is at least 1 even if total_posts is 0
@@ -50,10 +344,11 @@ generate_index() {
         local -i current_page="$1"
         local -i total_pages="$2"
         local file_index="$3"
+        local -i total_posts_orig="$4"
         # Template content is accessed via exported global variables
         
         local output_file
-        if [ $current_page -eq 1 ]; then
+        if [ "$current_page" -eq 1 ]; then
             output_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/index.html"
         else
             output_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/page/$current_page/index.html"
@@ -73,7 +368,7 @@ generate_index() {
             # For the homepage
             page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_title\}\}/"${MSG_HOME:-"Home"}"}
             page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
-            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_url\}\}/""}
+            page_header=${page_header//\{\{page_url\}\}/"/"}
             page_header=${page_header//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
             
             # Create WebSite schema for homepage
@@ -141,6 +436,10 @@ EOF
         page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$SITE_DESCRIPTION"}
         page_header=${page_header//\{\{og_image\}\}/""}
         page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/""}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{canonical\}\}/}
+        page_header=${page_header//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
         
         # Replace placeholders in the footer
         local page_footer="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
@@ -150,163 +449,236 @@ EOF
         # Create the index page
         cat > "$output_file" << EOF
 $page_header
+EOF
+
+        # If there is an index.md, use that
+        if [ -f "${PAGES_DIR}/index.md" ]; then
+            local input_file="${PAGES_DIR}/index.md"
+            local title=$(parse_metadata "$input_file" "title")
+            local start_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$input_file" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1)
+            local end_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$input_file" | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d: -f1)
+
+            # Extract content after the second --- line
+            content=$(tail -n +$((end_line + 1)) $input_file)
+
+            html_content=$(convert_markdown_to_html "$content")
+            echo "$html_content" >> $output_file
+
+            echo -e "${GREEN}Used custom index.md with title '$title' as the sole homepage content.${NC}"
+
+            # Append footer and finish for the homepage
+            cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+$page_footer
+EOF
+            # echo -e "Generated custom index page ${GREEN}$current_page${NC}" # Optional: Specific message
+            return 0 # Successfully generated custom index page, skip post listing
+        else
+            # No index.md found, proceed with standard "Latest Posts" logic
+            
+            # Only add "Latest Posts" section if there are actually posts
+            if [ "$total_posts_orig" -gt 0 ]; then
+                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
 <h1>${MSG_LATEST_POSTS:-"Latest Posts"}</h1>
 <div class="posts-list">
 EOF
-        
-        # Calculate start and end indices
-        local start_index=$(( (current_page - 1) * POSTS_PER_PAGE + 1 ))
-        local end_index=$(( current_page * POSTS_PER_PAGE ))
-        
-        # Add posts to the index page
-        # Use awk for line processing and indexing
-        awk -v start="$start_index" -v end="$end_index" 'NR >= start && NR <= end { print }' "$file_index" | while IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description; do
             
-            # Skip if essential fields are empty
-            if [ -z "$file" ] || [ -z "$title" ] || [ -z "$date" ]; then
-                continue
-            fi
-            
-            # Create slug-based URL path
-            local post_year post_month post_day
-            if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
-                post_year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
-                post_month=$(awk -v m="$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))" 'BEGIN { printf "%02d", m }')
-                post_day=$(awk -v d="$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))" 'BEGIN { printf "%02d", d }')
-            else
-                post_year=$(date +%Y)
-                post_month=$(date +%m)
-                post_day=$(date +%d)
-            fi
-            
-            local formatted_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT//Year/$post_year}"
-            formatted_path="${formatted_path//Month/$post_month}"
-            formatted_path="${formatted_path//Day/$post_day}"
-            formatted_path="${formatted_path//slug/$slug}"
-            
-            # Format date based on SHOW_TIMEZONE
-            local display_date_format="$DATE_FORMAT"
-            if [ "${SHOW_TIMEZONE:-false}" = false ]; then
-                # Remove timezone format specifiers (%z or %Z) if they exist
-                display_date_format=$(echo "$display_date_format" | sed -e 's/%[zZ]//g' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//')
-            fi
-            local formatted_date=$(format_date "$date" "$display_date_format")
-            
-            # Ensure post link has trailing slash
-            local post_link="/$formatted_path/"
-            
-            # Add post to index
-            cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-    <article>
-        <h3><a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">$title</a></h3>
-        <div class="meta">${MSG_PUBLISHED_ON:-"Published on"} $formatted_date${AUTHOR_NAME:+" ${MSG_BY:-"by"} $AUTHOR_NAME"}</div>
+                # Calculate start and end indices
+                local start_index=$(( (current_page - 1) * POSTS_PER_PAGE + 1 ))
+                local end_index=$(( current_page * POSTS_PER_PAGE ))
+                
+                # Add posts to the index page
+                awk -v start="$start_index" -v end="$end_index" 'NR >= start && NR <= end { print }' "$file_index" | while IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email; do
+                    # ... (rest of the post item generation logic remains the same) ...
+                    if [ -z "$file" ] || [ -z "$title" ] || [ -z "$date" ]; then
+                        continue
+                    fi
+                    local post_year post_month post_day
+                    if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                        post_year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                        post_month=$(awk -v m="$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))" 'BEGIN { printf "%02d", m }')
+                        post_day=$(awk -v d="$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))" 'BEGIN { printf "%02d", d }')
+                    else
+                        post_year=$(date +%Y); post_month=$(date +%m); post_day=$(date +%d)
+                    fi
+                    local formatted_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT//Year/$post_year}"
+                    formatted_path="${formatted_path//Month/$post_month}"
+                    formatted_path="${formatted_path//Day/$post_day}"
+                    formatted_path="${formatted_path//slug/$slug}"
+                    local display_date_format="$DATE_FORMAT"
+                    if [ "${SHOW_TIMEZONE:-false}" = false ]; then
+                        display_date_format=$(echo "$display_date_format" | sed -e 's/%[zZ]//g' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//')
+                    fi
+                    local formatted_date=$(format_date "$date" "$display_date_format")
+                    local post_link="/$formatted_path/"
+                    cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+            <article>
+                <h2><a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">$title</a></h2>
+                <div class="meta">${MSG_PUBLISHED_ON:-"Published on"} $formatted_date${author_name:+" ${MSG_BY:-"by"} ${author_name:-$AUTHOR_NAME}"}</div>
+EOF
+                    if [ -n "$image" ]; then
+                        local image_url="$image"
+                        if [[ "$image" == /* ]]; then image_url="${SITE_URL}${image}"; fi
+                        cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+                <div class="featured-image index-image">
+                    <a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">
+                        <img src="$image_url" alt="${image_caption:-$title}" title="${image_caption:-$title}" />
+                    </a>
+                </div>
+EOF
+                    fi
+                    # Show either full content or just description based on config
+                    if [ "${INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+                        # Show full post content
+                        local post_content=""
+                        local content_cache_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/content/$(basename "$file")"
+
+                        # Try RAM preload first
+                        if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$file"; then
+                            local source_stream
+                            source_stream=$(ram_mode_get_content "$file")
+                            post_content=$(printf '%s\n' "$source_stream" | awk '
+                                BEGIN { in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0; }
+                                /^---$/ {
+                                    if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+                                    if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; next; }
+                                }
+                                { if (!in_fm) print; }
+                            ')
+                        # Try to get content from cache first
+                        elif [ -f "$content_cache_file" ]; then
+                            post_content=$(cat "$content_cache_file")
+                        else
+                            # Extract content from source file if cache doesn't exist
+                            local in_frontmatter=false
+                            local found_frontmatter=false
+                            {
+                                while IFS= read -r line; do
+                                    if [[ "$line" == "---" ]]; then
+                                        if ! $in_frontmatter && ! $found_frontmatter; then
+                                            in_frontmatter=true
+                                            found_frontmatter=true
+                                            continue
+                                        elif $in_frontmatter; then
+                                            in_frontmatter=false
+                                            continue
+                                        fi
+                                    fi
+                                    if ! $in_frontmatter && $found_frontmatter; then
+                                        post_content+="$line"$'\n'
+                                    fi
+                                done
+                            } < "$file"
+
+                            # If no frontmatter was found, use the whole file
+                            if ! $found_frontmatter; then
+                                post_content=$(cat "$file")
+                            fi
+                        fi
+
+                        # Convert to HTML if it's a markdown file
+                        local html_content=""
+                        if [[ "$file" == *.md ]]; then
+                            html_content=$(convert_markdown_to_html "$post_content")
+                        elif [[ "$file" == *.html ]]; then
+                            # For HTML files, content is already HTML
+                            html_content=$(sed -n '/<body.*>/,/<\/body>/p' "$file" | sed '1d;$d')
+                            # If body extraction failed, use content as-is
+                            if [ -z "$html_content" ]; then
+                                html_content="$post_content"
+                            fi
+                        else
+                            html_content="$post_content"
+                        fi
+
+                        if [ -n "$html_content" ]; then
+                            cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+                <div class="post-content">
+                    $html_content
+                </div>
+EOF
+                        fi
+                    elif [ "${SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS:-true}" = "true" ] && [ -n "$description" ]; then
+                        # Show just the description/excerpt (default behavior)
+                        cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+                <div class="summary">
+                    $description
+                </div>
+EOF
+                    fi
+                    cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+
+            </article>
+EOF
+                done # End of while loop reading posts
+
+                # Close the posts list div
+                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+</div> <!-- .posts-list -->
 EOF
 
-            # Add featured image
-            if [ -n "$image" ]; then
-                local image_url="$image"
-                if [[ "$image" == /* ]]; then
-                     image_url="${SITE_URL}${image}"
-                fi
-                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-        <div class="featured-image index-image">
-            <a href="$(fix_url "$post_link")">
-                <img src="$image_url" alt="${image_caption:-$title}" title="${image_caption:-$title}" />
-            </a>
-        </div>
-EOF
-            fi
-            
-            # Add description
-            if [ -n "$description" ]; then
-                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-        <div class="summary">
-            <p>$description</p>
-        </div>
-EOF
-            fi
-            
-            # Add tags
-            if [ -n "$tags" ]; then
-                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-<div class="tags">
-EOF
-                local tag_slug
-                local OLD_IFS="$IFS"
-                IFS=','
-                for tag in $tags; do
-                    tag=$(echo "$tag" | awk '{$1=$1};1')
-                    tag_slug=$(generate_slug "$tag")
-                    # Ensure tag link has trailing slash
-                    echo "            <a href=\"$(fix_url "/tags/$tag_slug/")\" class=\"tag\">$tag</a>" >> "$output_file"
-                done
-                IFS="$OLD_IFS"
-                cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-</div>
-EOF
-            fi
-            
-            cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-    </article>
-EOF
-        done
-        
-        # Close the posts list
-        cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
-</div>
+                # Pagination logic (Only needed if there were posts)
+                if [ "$total_pages" -gt 1 ]; then
+                    cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
 
 <!-- Pagination -->
 <div class="pagination">
 EOF
-        
-        # Add pagination links
-        if [ $current_page -gt 1 ]; then
-            local prev_page=$((current_page - 1))
-            local prev_url
-            if [ $prev_page -eq 1 ]; then
-                prev_url="/"
-            else
-                prev_url="/page/$prev_page/"
-            fi
-            echo "    <a href=\"$(fix_url "$prev_url")\" class=\"prev\">&laquo; ${MSG_NEWER_POSTS:-Newer}</a>" >> "$output_file"
-        fi
-        
-        # Add page info element
-        if [ $total_pages -gt 1 ]; then
-            echo "    <span class=\"page-info\">$(printf "${MSG_PAGE_INFO_TEMPLATE:-Page %d of %d}" "$current_page" "$total_pages")</span>" >> "$output_file"
-        fi
-        
-        if [ $current_page -lt $total_pages ]; then
-            local next_page=$((current_page + 1))
-            # Ensure next page link has trailing slash
-            echo "    <a href=\"$(fix_url "/page/$next_page/")\" class=\"next\">${MSG_OLDER_POSTS:-Older} &raquo;</a>" >> "$output_file"
-        fi
-        
-        # Close pagination and add footer
-        cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
+                    if [ "$current_page" -gt 1 ]; then
+                        local prev_page=$((current_page - 1))
+                        local prev_url="/"
+                        if [ $prev_page -ne 1 ]; then prev_url="/page/$prev_page/"; fi
+                        cat >> "$output_file" << PAG_EOF
+    <a href="$(fix_url "$prev_url")" class="prev">&laquo; ${MSG_NEWER_POSTS:-Newer}</a>
+PAG_EOF
+                    fi
+                    cat >> "$output_file" << PAG_EOF
+    <span class="page-info">$(printf "${MSG_PAGE_INFO_TEMPLATE:-Page %d of %d}" "$current_page" "$total_pages")</span>
+PAG_EOF
+                    if [ "$current_page" -lt "$total_pages" ]; then
+                        local next_page=$((current_page + 1))
+                        cat >> "$output_file" << PAG_EOF
+    <a href="$(fix_url "/page/$next_page/")" class="next">${MSG_OLDER_POSTS:-Older} &raquo;</a>
+PAG_EOF
+                    fi
+                    cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
 </div>
+EOF
+                fi # End pagination check
+            else
+                 # No index.md and no posts - display a message or leave blank?
+                 # Currently implies a blank content area between header/footer.
+                 echo "No posts found and no custom index.md; homepage will be mostly empty."
+            fi # End of if total_posts_orig > 0
+
+            # Add footer (always needed in the 'else' case)
+            cat >> "$output_file" << EOF
 $page_footer
 EOF
+        fi # End of if [ -f "${PAGES_DIR}/index.md" ] ... else ...
+
+        # This message will now only be reached if index.md was NOT used.
         echo -e "Generated index page ${GREEN}$current_page${NC} of ${GREEN}$total_pages${NC}"
     }
     
     # Use GNU parallel if available and beneficial
-    if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ] && [ $total_pages -gt 2 ]; then
+    if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ] && [ "$total_pages" -gt 2 ] ; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}Using GNU parallel to process index pages${NC}"
-        local cores=1
-        if command -v nproc > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(nproc); 
-        elif command -v sysctl > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu 2>/dev/null || echo 1); fi
-        
-        local jobs=$(( cores > 1 ? cores -1 : 1 ))
-        if [ $jobs -gt $total_pages ]; then jobs=$total_pages; fi
+        local cores
+        cores=$(get_parallel_jobs)
+
+        # Use all detected cores
+        local jobs=$cores
 
         # Export required functions and variables
         export OUTPUT_DIR URL_SLUG_FORMAT POSTS_PER_PAGE CACHE_DIR
         export SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION AUTHOR_NAME DATE_FORMAT SITE_URL
         export FORCE_REBUILD HEADER_TEMPLATE FOOTER_TEMPLATE SHOW_TIMEZONE
-        export MSG_LATEST_POSTS MSG_HOME MSG_PAGINATION_TITLE MSG_PUBLISHED_ON MSG_BY 
+        export INDEX_SHOW_FULL_CONTENT
+        export SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS
+        export MSG_LATEST_POSTS MSG_HOME MSG_PAGINATION_TITLE MSG_PUBLISHED_ON MSG_BY
         export MSG_NEWER_POSTS MSG_OLDER_POSTS MSG_PAGE_INFO_TEMPLATE
-        export -f process_index_page file_needs_rebuild get_file_mtime format_date generate_slug fix_url
+        # Note: total_posts_orig is NOT exported, passed as argument now
+        export -f process_index_page file_needs_rebuild get_file_mtime format_date generate_slug fix_url convert_markdown_to_html
         
         # Ensure templates are exported
         if [ -z "$HEADER_TEMPLATE" ] || [ -z "$FOOTER_TEMPLATE" ]; then
@@ -314,14 +686,14 @@ EOF
              return 1
         fi
         
-        # Process pages in parallel
-        seq 1 $total_pages | parallel --jobs $jobs process_index_page {} $total_pages "$file_index" || { echo -e "${RED}Parallel index page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+        # Process pages in parallel, passing total_posts_orig as the 4th argument
+        seq 1 $total_pages | parallel --jobs $jobs --will-cite process_index_page {} $total_pages "$file_index" $total_posts_orig || { echo -e "${RED}Parallel index page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
     else
         # Sequential implementation
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Using sequential processing${NC}"
         local current_page=1
-        while [ $current_page -le $total_pages ]; do
-            process_index_page $current_page $total_pages "$file_index"
+        while [ "$current_page" -le "$total_pages" ]; do
+            process_index_page $current_page $total_pages "$file_index" $total_posts_orig
             current_page=$((current_page + 1))
         done
     fi
@@ -330,4 +702,4 @@ EOF
 }
 
 # Make the function available for sourcing
-export -f generate_index 
+export -f generate_index 

scripts/build/generate_pages.sh

@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@
 # Functions for converting markdown/HTML pages.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:- [0;31m}'   # Removed - Incorrect & should be inherited from main export
-# GREEN='${GREEN:- [0;32m}' # Removed - Incorrect & should be inherited from main export
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:- [0;33m}' # Removed - Incorrect & should be inherited from main export
-# NC='${NC:- [0m}'         # Removed - Incorrect & should be inherited from main export
-
 # Source dependencies
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from generate_pages.sh"; exit 1; }
@@ -30,9 +24,13 @@ convert_page() {
 
     # IMPORTANT: Assumes CACHE_DIR, FORCE_REBUILD, PAGES_DIR, SITE_TITLE, SITE_DESCRIPTION, SITE_URL, AUTHOR_NAME are exported/available
     local output_html_file="$output_base_path/index.html"
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$input_file"; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+    fi
 
     # Check if the source file exists
-    if [ ! -f "$input_file" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ ! -f "$input_file" ]; then
         echo -e "${RED}Error: Source page '$input_file' not found${NC}" >&2
         return 1
     fi
@@ -51,21 +49,31 @@ convert_page() {
 
     if [[ "$input_file" == *.html ]]; then
         # For HTML files, extract content between <body> tags (simple approach)
-        html_content=$(sed -n '/<body>/,/<\/body>/p' "$input_file" | sed '1d;$d')
+        local html_source=""
+        if $ram_mode_active; then
+            html_source=$(ram_mode_get_content "$input_file")
+        else
+            html_source=$(cat "$input_file")
+        fi
+        html_content=$(printf '%s\n' "$html_source" | sed -n '/<body>/,/<\/body>/p' | sed '1d;$d')
         # We might not have raw content for reading time easily here
          content=$(echo "$html_content" | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g') # Basic text extraction for reading time
     else
         # For markdown files, extract content after frontmatter
-        local start_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$input_file" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1)
-        local end_line=$(grep -n "^---$" "$input_file" | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d: -f1)
-
-        if [[ -z "$start_line" || -z "$end_line" || ! $start_line -lt $end_line ]]; then
-            # No valid frontmatter found, use the whole file
-            content=$(cat "$input_file")
+        local source_stream=""
+        if $ram_mode_active; then
+            source_stream=$(ram_mode_get_content "$input_file")
         else
-            # Extract content after the second --- line
-            content=$(tail -n +$((end_line + 1)) "$input_file")
+            source_stream=$(cat "$input_file")
         fi
+        content=$(printf '%s\n' "$source_stream" | awk '
+            BEGIN { in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0; }
+            /^---$/ {
+                if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+                if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; next; }
+            }
+            { if (!in_fm) print; }
+        ')
 
         # --- MODIFIED PART --- START ---
         # Convert markdown content to HTML using the function from content.sh
@@ -117,6 +125,12 @@ convert_page() {
     # Handle image placeholders (remove for pages as they don't have featured images)
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+    # Add canonical link
+    local canonical_tag="<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"${SITE_URL}${page_rel_url}\">"
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{canonical\}\}/"$canonical_tag"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
 
     # Assemble the final HTML
     local final_html="${header_content}"
@@ -184,10 +198,13 @@ process_all_pages() {
         return 0
     fi
 
-    echo -e "Checking ${GREEN}${#page_files[@]}${NC} pages for changes"
-
     # Use mapfile -t to read sorted files into array (newline-separated, trailing newline stripped)
-    mapfile -t page_files < <(find "${PAGES_DIR:-pages}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" | sort)
+    local page_files=()
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_list_page_files > /dev/null; then
+        mapfile -t page_files < <(ram_mode_list_page_files)
+    else
+        mapfile -t page_files < <(find "${PAGES_DIR:-pages}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" | sort)
+    fi
 
     local num_pages=${#page_files[@]}
     if [ "$num_pages" -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -196,14 +213,40 @@ process_all_pages() {
     fi
     echo -e "Found ${GREEN}$num_pages${NC} potential pages."
 
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+    fi
+
+    # RAM mode keeps source content only in-process (bash arrays).
+    # GNU parallel spawns fresh shells that cannot access those arrays.
+    if $ram_mode_active; then
+        if [ "$num_pages" -gt 1 ]; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Using shell parallel workers for $num_pages RAM-mode pages${NC}"
+            local cores
+            cores=$(get_parallel_jobs)
+
+            {
+                local file quoted_file
+                for file in "${page_files[@]}"; do
+                    [[ -z "$file" ]] && continue
+                    printf -v quoted_file '%q' "$file"
+                    echo "process_single_page_file $quoted_file"
+                done
+            } | run_parallel "$cores"
+        else
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Using sequential processing for RAM-mode pages${NC}"
+            if [[ -n "${page_files[0]}" ]]; then
+                process_single_page_file "${page_files[0]}"
+            fi
+        fi
     # Use GNU parallel if available, otherwise fallback
     # IMPORTANT: Assumes HAS_PARALLEL is exported/available
-    if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
+    elif [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}Using GNU parallel to generate pages${NC}"
         # Determine number of cores
-        local cores=1
-        if command -v nproc > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(nproc); 
-        elif command -v sysctl > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu 2>/dev/null || echo 1); fi
+        local cores
+        cores=$(get_parallel_jobs)
         
         # Export functions needed by the parallel process and its children
         export -f convert_page process_single_page_file
@@ -216,12 +259,13 @@ process_all_pages() {
         export CONFIG_HASH_FILE # Export path to hash file
 
         # Process page files in parallel using newline separation
-        printf '%s\n' "${page_files[@]}" | parallel --jobs "$cores" process_single_page_file {}
+        printf '%s\n' "${page_files[@]}" | parallel --jobs "$cores" --will-cite process_single_page_file {}
     else
         # Fallback to sequential processing
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Using sequential processing for pages${NC}"
         local file
         for file in "${page_files[@]}"; do
+            [[ -z "$file" ]] && continue
             process_single_page_file "$file"
         done
     fi
@@ -229,4 +273,4 @@ process_all_pages() {
     echo -e "${GREEN}Static page processing complete!${NC}"
 }
 
-# --- Page Generation Functions --- END --- 
+# --- Page Generation Functions --- END --- 

scripts/build/generate_posts.sh

@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@
 # Functions for converting markdown posts to HTML.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:-\\033[0;31m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# GREEN='${GREEN:-\\033[0;32m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:-\\033[0;33m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# NC='${NC:-\\033[0m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-
 # Source dependencies
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from generate_posts.sh"; exit 1; }
@@ -17,9 +11,68 @@ source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.s
 source "$(dirname "$0")/content.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source content.sh from generate_posts.sh"; exit 1; }
 # shellcheck source=cache.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/cache.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source cache.sh from generate_posts.sh"; exit 1; } # For file_needs_rebuild checks etc.
+# shellcheck source=related_posts.sh disable=SC1091
+source "$(dirname "$0")/related_posts.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source related_posts.sh from generate_posts.sh"; exit 1; } # For related posts functionality
 
 # --- Post Generation Functions --- START ---
 
+declare -gA BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE=()
+
+format_iso8601_post_date() {
+    local input_dt="$1"
+    local iso_dt=""
+
+    if [ -z "$input_dt" ]; then
+        echo ""
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local cache_key="${TIMEZONE:-local}|${input_dt}"
+    if [[ "$(declare -p BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE 2>/dev/null || true)" != "declare -A"* ]]; then
+        unset BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE 2>/dev/null || true
+        declare -gA BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE=()
+    fi
+    if [[ -n "${BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE[$cache_key]+_}" ]]; then
+        echo "${BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE[$cache_key]}"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Handle "now" separately
+    if [ "$input_dt" = "now" ]; then
+        iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
+    else
+        # Try parsing different formats based on OS
+        if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]] || [[ "$OSTYPE" == *"bsd"* ]]; then
+            # Format 1: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZZZ (e.g., +0200)
+            iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
+            # Format 2: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
+            [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
+            # Format 3: YYYY-MM-DD (assume T00:00:00)
+            [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT00:00:00%z" 2>/dev/null)
+            # Format 4: RFC 2822 subset (e.g., 07 Sep 2023 08:10:00 +0200)
+            [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %z" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
+        else
+            # GNU date -d handles many formats.
+            iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -d "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Normalize timezone from +0000 to Z and +hhmm to +hh:mm.
+    if [ -n "$iso_dt" ] && [[ "$iso_dt" =~ ([+-][0-9]{2})([0-9]{2})$ ]]; then
+        local tz_offset="${BASH_REMATCH[0]}"
+        local tz_hh="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+        local tz_mm="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+        if [ "$tz_hh" = "+00" ] && [ "$tz_mm" = "00" ]; then
+            iso_dt="${iso_dt%$tz_offset}Z"
+        else
+            iso_dt="${iso_dt%$tz_offset}${tz_hh}:${tz_mm}"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    BSSG_POST_ISO8601_CACHE["$cache_key"]="$iso_dt"
+    echo "$iso_dt"
+}
+
 # Convert markdown to HTML
 convert_markdown() {
     local input_file="$1"
@@ -32,76 +85,107 @@ convert_markdown() {
     local image="$8"
     local image_caption="$9"
     local description="${10}"
+    local author_name="${11}"
+    local author_email="${12}"
+    local skip_rebuild_check="${13:-false}"
     
     local content_cache_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/content/$(basename "$input_file")"
     local output_html_file="$output_base_path/index.html"
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_has_file > /dev/null && ram_mode_has_file "$input_file"; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+    fi
 
     # Check if the source file exists
-    if [ ! -f "$input_file" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ ! -f "$input_file" ]; then
         echo -e "${RED}Error: Source file '$input_file' not found${NC}" >&2
         return 1
     fi
 
-    # Skip if output file is newer than input file and no force rebuild
-    if ! file_needs_rebuild "$input_file" "$output_html_file"; then
-        echo -e "Skipping unchanged file: ${YELLOW}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}"
-        return 0
+    # Skip if output file is newer than input file and no force rebuild.
+    # When callers already prefiltered rebuild candidates, this check can be skipped.
+    if [ "$skip_rebuild_check" != true ]; then
+        if ! file_needs_rebuild "$input_file" "$output_html_file"; then
+            echo -e "Skipping unchanged file: ${YELLOW}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}"
+            return 0
+        fi
     fi
 
-    echo -e "Processing post: ${GREEN}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}"
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ] || [ "${RAM_MODE_VERBOSE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        echo -e "Processing post: ${GREEN}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}"
+    fi
 
-    # Try to get content from cache or file
+    # Extract body content (without frontmatter) in one awk pass.
+    # This is materially faster than line-by-line bash parsing on large markdown files.
     local content=""
-    if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = false ] && [ -f "$content_cache_file" ] && [ "$content_cache_file" -nt "$input_file" ]; then
-        content=$(cat "$content_cache_file")
+    local source_stream=""
+    local fediverse_creator_override=""
+    if $ram_mode_active; then
+        source_stream=$(ram_mode_get_content "$input_file")
     else
-        # Extract content from source file
-        local in_frontmatter=false
-        local found_frontmatter=false
-        {
-            while IFS= read -r line; do
-                if [[ "$line" == "---" ]]; then
-                    if ! $in_frontmatter && ! $found_frontmatter; then
-                        in_frontmatter=true
-                        found_frontmatter=true
-                        continue
-                    elif $in_frontmatter; then
-                        in_frontmatter=false
-                        continue # Skip the closing --- line itself
-                    fi
-                fi
-                if ! $in_frontmatter && $found_frontmatter; then
-                    content+="$line"$'\n'
-                fi
-            done
-        } < "$input_file"
-        
-        # If no frontmatter was found, use the whole file as content
-        if ! $found_frontmatter; then
-            content=$(cat "$input_file")
+        source_stream=$(cat "$input_file")
+    fi
+    if [[ "$input_file" == *.html ]]; then
+        fediverse_creator_override=$(printf '%s\n' "$source_stream" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="fediverse_creator" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
+        if [ -z "$fediverse_creator_override" ]; then
+            fediverse_creator_override=$(printf '%s\n' "$source_stream" | grep -m 1 -o 'name="fediverse:creator" content="[^"]*"' 2>/dev/null | sed 's/.*content="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
         fi
-        
-        # Cache the content
-        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$content_cache_file")"
+    else
+        fediverse_creator_override=$(parse_metadata "$input_file" "fediverse_creator")
+    fi
+    content=$(printf '%s' "$source_stream" | awk '
+        NR == 1 {
+            if ($0 == "---") {
+                has_frontmatter = 1
+                in_frontmatter = 1
+                next
+            }
+        }
+
+        {
+            if (has_frontmatter) {
+                if (in_frontmatter) {
+                    if ($0 == "---") {
+                        in_frontmatter = 0
+                    }
+                    next
+                }
+                print
+            } else {
+                print
+            }
+        }
+    ')
+    
+    # Cache the markdown content *without frontmatter* for potential use in RSS full content
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ -n "$CACHE_DIR" ] && [ -d "${CACHE_DIR}/content" ]; then
+        # Write the $content variable (which has frontmatter removed) to the cache file
+        lock_file "$content_cache_file"
         printf '%s' "$content" > "$content_cache_file"
+        unlock_file "$content_cache_file"
     fi
 
     # Calculate reading time
-    local reading_time
-    reading_time=$(calculate_reading_time "$content")
+    local reading_time=0
+    if [ "${SHOW_READING_TIME:-true}" = "true" ]; then
+        reading_time=$(calculate_reading_time "$content")
+    fi
 
-    # Convert markdown content to HTML
+    # Convert markdown content to HTML (No HTML caching here anymore)
     local html_content
     if [[ "$input_file" == *.html ]]; then
         # For HTML files, extract content between <body> tags (simple approach)
         # Assumes content is already HTML
         html_content=$(sed -n '/<body.*>/,/<\/body>/p' "$input_file" | sed '1d;$d')
-        echo -e "Extracted body content from HTML file: ${GREEN}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}"
+        # echo -e "Extracted body content from HTML file: ${GREEN}$(basename "$input_file")${NC}" # Can be verbose
     elif [[ "$input_file" == *.md ]]; then
-        # Original Markdown conversion
+        # Original Markdown conversion using the raw content we extracted/cached
+        # This now uses the content *without* frontmatter
         html_content=$(convert_markdown_to_html "$content")
         if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
             echo -e "${RED}Markdown conversion failed for '$input_file', skipping html generation.${NC}" >&2
+            # Optionally delete the output file if it exists from a previous run?
+            # rm -f "$output_html_file"
             return 1
         fi
     else
@@ -119,7 +203,7 @@ convert_markdown() {
             [[ -z "$tag" ]] && continue
             local tag_slug=$(echo "$tag" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed -e 's/ /-/g' -e 's/[^a-z0-9-]//g')
             if [[ -n "$tag_slug" ]]; then # Ensure tag slug is not empty
-                tags_html+=$(printf ' <a href="%s/tags/%s/" class="tag">%s</a>' "${SITE_URL:-}" "$tag_slug" "$tag")
+                tags_html+=" <a href=\"${SITE_URL:-}/tags/${tag_slug}/\" class=\"tag\">${tag}</a>"
             fi
         done
         tags_html+="</div>"
@@ -169,68 +253,34 @@ convert_markdown() {
     meta_desc=$(echo "${description:-$SITE_DESCRIPTION}" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_description\}\}/"$meta_desc"}
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_description\}\}/"$meta_desc"}
+    local display_author_name="${author_name:-${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}}"
+    local fediverse_creator_meta_tag=""
+    fediverse_creator_meta_tag=$(build_fediverse_creator_meta_tag "$display_author_name" "$fediverse_creator_override")
+    if [[ "$header_content" == *"{{fediverse_creator_meta}}"* ]]; then
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"$fediverse_creator_meta_tag"}
+    elif [ -n "$fediverse_creator_meta_tag" ]; then
+        if [[ "$header_content" == *"</head>"* ]]; then
+            header_content=${header_content/<\/head>/$'\n'"$fediverse_creator_meta_tag"$'\n''</head>'}
+        else
+            header_content+=$'\n'"$fediverse_creator_meta_tag"
+        fi
+    fi
 
     # Generate Schema.org JSON-LD for articles
     local schema_json_ld=""
+    local iso_date=""
+    local iso_lastmod_date=""
     if [ -n "$date" ]; then
-        local iso_date iso_lastmod_date
-
-        # Function to format date to ISO 8601 with corrected timezone
-        format_iso8601() {
-            local input_dt="$1"
-            local iso_dt=""
-            if [ -z "$input_dt" ]; then echo ""; return; fi
-
-            # Handle "now" separately
-            if [ "$input_dt" = "now" ]; then
-                iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
-            else
-                # Try parsing different formats based on OS
-                # Add LC_ALL=C for consistent parsing
-                if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]] || [[ "$OSTYPE" == *"bsd"* ]]; then
-                    # macOS/BSD: Try formats one by one with date -j -f
-                    # Format 1: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZZZ (e.g., +0200)
-                    iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
-                    # Format 2: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
-                    [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
-                    # Format 3: YYYY-MM-DD (assume T00:00:00)
-                    [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT00:00:00%z" 2>/dev/null)
-                    # Format 4: RFC 2822 subset (e.g., 07 Sep 2023 08:10:00 +0200)
-                    [ -z "$iso_dt" ] && iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -j -f "%d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %z" "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
-                else # Linux
-                    # GNU date -d is more flexible and handles many formats automatically
-                    iso_dt=$(LC_ALL=C date -d "$input_dt" +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" 2>/dev/null)
-                fi
-            fi
-
-            # If parsing succeeded, fix timezone format
-            if [ -n "$iso_dt" ]; then
-                 # Fix timezone format from +0000 to +00:00 or Z
-                 if [[ "$iso_dt" =~ ([+-][0-9]{2})([0-9]{2})$ ]]; then
-                     local tz_offset="${BASH_REMATCH[0]}"
-                     local tz_hh="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
-                     local tz_mm="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
-                     if [ "$tz_hh" == "+00" ] && [ "$tz_mm" == "00" ]; then
-                         iso_dt="${iso_dt%$tz_offset}Z"
-                     else
-                         iso_dt="${iso_dt%$tz_offset}${tz_hh}:${tz_mm}"
-                     fi
-                 fi
-                 echo "$iso_dt"
-            else
-                echo "" # Return empty if formatting failed
-            fi
-        }
-
-        iso_date=$(format_iso8601 "$date")
+        iso_date=$(format_iso8601_post_date "$date")
         # Use date as fallback for lastmod, then format
-        iso_lastmod_date=$(format_iso8601 "${lastmod:-$date}")
+        iso_lastmod_date=$(format_iso8601_post_date "${lastmod:-$date}")
         # If lastmod still empty, use iso_date as fallback
         [ -z "$iso_lastmod_date" ] && iso_lastmod_date="$iso_date"
 
         # Fallback to build time if both are empty (should be rare)
         if [ -z "$iso_date" ]; then
-            local now_iso=$(format_iso8601 "now")
+            local now_iso
+            now_iso=$(format_iso8601_post_date "now")
             iso_date="$now_iso"
             iso_lastmod_date="$now_iso"
         fi
@@ -240,13 +290,17 @@ convert_markdown() {
              image_url=$(fix_url "$image")
         fi
 
-        # Create JSON-LD
-        schema_json_ld=$(printf '<script type="application/ld+json">\n{\n  "@context": "https://schema.org",\n  "@type": "Article",\n  "headline": "%s",\n  "datePublished": "%s",\n  "dateModified": "%s",\n  "author": {\n    "@type": "Person",\n    "name": "%s",\n    "email": "%s"\n  },\n  "publisher": {\n    "@type": "Organization",\n    "name": "%s",\n    "logo": {\n      "@type": "ImageObject",\n      "url": "%s/logo.png"\n    }\n  },\n  "description": "%s",\n  "mainEntityOfPage": {\n    "@type": "WebPage",\n    "@id": "%s%s"\n  }%s\n}\n</script>' \
+        # Create JSON-LD using post-specific author info
+        local post_author_name="${author_name:-${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}}"
+        
+        local author_json
+        author_json=$(printf '{\n    "@type": "Person",\n    "name": "%s"\n  }' "$post_author_name")
+        
+        schema_json_ld=$(printf '<script type="application/ld+json">\n{\n  "@context": "https://schema.org",\n  "@type": "BlogPosting",\n  "headline": "%s",\n  "datePublished": "%s",\n  "dateModified": "%s",\n  "author": %s,\n  "publisher": {\n    "@type": "Organization",\n    "name": "%s",\n    "logo": {\n      "@type": "ImageObject",\n      "url": "%s/logo.png"\n    }\n  },\n  "description": "%s",\n  "mainEntityOfPage": {\n    "@type": "WebPage",\n    "@id": "%s%s"\n  }%s\n}\n</script>' \
           "$(echo "$title" | sed 's/"/\"/g')" \
           "$iso_date" \
           "$iso_lastmod_date" \
-          "${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}" \
-          "${AUTHOR_EMAIL:-anonymous@example.com}" \
+          "$author_json" \
           "$SITE_TITLE" \
           "$SITE_URL" \
           "$(echo "$meta_desc" | sed 's/"/\"/g')" \
@@ -265,9 +319,22 @@ convert_markdown() {
         local twitter_image_tag="<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"$image_url\">"
         header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/"$og_image_tag"}
         header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/"$twitter_image_tag"}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary_large_image"}
     else
         header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/}
         header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/}
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+    fi
+
+    # Handle canonical link
+    local canonical_tag="<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"${SITE_URL}${page_url}\">"
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{canonical\}\}/"$canonical_tag"}
+
+    # Handle featured image preload for LCP optimization
+    if [ -n "$image_url" ]; then
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/"<link rel=\"preload\" as=\"image\" href=\"$image_url\">"}
+    else
+        header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
     fi
 
     # Construct meta div (date, reading time, lastmod)
@@ -280,29 +347,75 @@ convert_markdown() {
 
     local formatted_date=$(format_date "$date" "$display_date_format")
     local formatted_lastmod=$(format_date "$lastmod" "$display_date_format")
-    local post_meta_reading_time
-    post_meta_reading_time=$(printf "${MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE:-%d min read}" "$reading_time")
-    local post_meta="<div class=\"page-meta\">${MSG_PUBLISHED_ON:-Published on}: $formatted_date"
-    if [ "$formatted_date" != "$formatted_lastmod" ]; then
-        post_meta+=" &bull; ${MSG_UPDATED_ON:-Updated on}: $formatted_lastmod"
+    local post_meta="<div class=\"page-meta\">"
+    post_meta+="<p class=\"meta\">"
+    post_meta+="${MSG_PUBLISHED_ON:-Published on}: <time datetime=\"$iso_date\">$formatted_date</time> ${MSG_BY:-by} <strong>$display_author_name</strong>"
+    post_meta+="</p>"
+    if [ "${SHOW_READING_TIME:-true}" = "true" ]; then
+        local post_meta_reading_time
+        post_meta_reading_time=$(printf "${MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE:-%d min read}" "$reading_time")
+        if [ "$formatted_date" != "$formatted_lastmod" ]; then
+            post_meta+="<p class=\"meta reading-time\">"
+            post_meta+="${MSG_UPDATED_ON:-Updated on}: <time datetime=\"$iso_lastmod_date\">$formatted_lastmod</time> &bull; $post_meta_reading_time"
+            post_meta+="</p>"
+        else
+            post_meta+="<p class=\"meta reading-time\">$post_meta_reading_time</p>"
+        fi
+    elif [ "$formatted_date" != "$formatted_lastmod" ]; then
+        post_meta+="<p class=\"meta\">"
+        post_meta+="${MSG_UPDATED_ON:-Updated on}: <time datetime=\"$iso_lastmod_date\">$formatted_lastmod</time>"
+        post_meta+="</p>"
     fi
-    post_meta+=" &bull; $post_meta_reading_time</div>"
+    post_meta+="</div>"
     
     # Construct featured image HTML
     local image_html=""
     if [ -n "$image" ]; then
         local alt_text="${image_caption:-$title}"
-        image_html="<div class=\"featured-image\"><img src=\"$(fix_url "$image")\" alt=\"$alt_text\"><div class=\"image-caption\">${image_caption:-$title}</div></div>"
+        image_html="<div class=\"featured-image\"><img src=\"$(fix_url "$image")\" alt=\"$alt_text\" fetchpriority=\"high\"><div class=\"image-caption\">${image_caption:-$title}</div></div>"
+    fi
+    
+    # Generate related posts if enabled and tags exist
+    local related_posts_html=""
+    if [ "${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" = true ] && [ -n "$tags" ]; then
+        # RAM fast path: direct map lookup avoids per-post command-substitution/function overhead.
+        if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && \
+           [ "${BSSG_RAM_RELATED_POSTS_READY:-false}" = true ] && \
+           [ "${BSSG_RAM_RELATED_POSTS_LIMIT:-}" = "${RELATED_POSTS_COUNT:-3}" ]; then
+            related_posts_html="${BSSG_RAM_RELATED_POSTS_HTML[$slug]-}"
+            if [ "${RAM_MODE_VERBOSE:-false}" = true ]; then
+                echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Generating related posts for $slug with tags: $tags${NC}"
+            fi
+        else
+            if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ] || [ "${RAM_MODE_VERBOSE:-false}" = true ]; then
+                echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Generating related posts for $slug with tags: $tags${NC}"
+            fi
+            related_posts_html=$(generate_related_posts "$slug" "$tags" "$date" "${RELATED_POSTS_COUNT:-3}")
+        fi
+    else
+        if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ] || [ "${RAM_MODE_VERBOSE:-false}" = true ]; then
+            echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Skipping related posts for $slug - ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS=${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}, tags=$tags${NC}"
+        fi
     fi
     
     # Construct article body
     local final_html="${header_content}"
-    final_html+=$(printf '<article class="post">\n  <h1>%s</h1>\n%s\n%s\n%s\n%s\n</article>\n' "$title" "$post_meta" "$image_html" "$html_content" "$tags_html")
+    final_html+='<article class="post">'$'\n'
+    final_html+="  <h1>$title</h1>"$'\n'
+    final_html+="$post_meta"$'\n'
+    final_html+="$image_html"$'\n'
+    final_html+="$html_content"$'\n'
+    final_html+="$tags_html"$'\n'
+    if [ -n "$related_posts_html" ]; then
+        final_html+="$related_posts_html"$'\n'
+    fi
+    final_html+='</article>'$'\n'
 
     # Replace placeholders in footer content
     local current_year=$(date +'%Y')
+    local post_author_name="${author_name:-${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}}"
     footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/$current_year}
-    footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}}
+    footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{author_name\}\}/$post_author_name}
 
     final_html+="${footer_content}"
 
@@ -325,93 +438,301 @@ process_all_markdown_files() {
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Processing markdown posts...${NC}"
 
     local file_index="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.txt"
+    local modified_tags_list="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/modified_tags.list" # Define path for modified tags
+    local modified_authors_list="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/modified_authors.list" # Define path for modified authors
+    local file_index_prev="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index_prev.txt" # Path to previous index
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    local file_index_data=""
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+        file_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "file_index")
+    fi
 
-    if [ ! -f "$file_index" ]; then
+    if ! $ram_mode_active && [ ! -f "$file_index" ]; then
         echo -e "${RED}Error: File index not found at '$file_index'. Run indexing first.${NC}" >&2
         return 1
     fi
 
-    local total_file_count=$(wc -l < "$file_index")
+    local total_file_count=0
+    if $ram_mode_active; then
+        total_file_count=$(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF { c++ } END { print c+0 }')
+    else
+        total_file_count=$(wc -l < "$file_index")
+    fi
     if [ "$total_file_count" -eq 0 ]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}No posts found in file index. Skipping post generation.${NC}"
         return 0
     fi
     echo -e "Checking ${GREEN}$total_file_count${NC} potential posts listed in index."
 
+    # --- OPTIMIZATION: Quick check if any posts need rebuilding ---
+    local needs_pass1=false
+    local posts_needing_rebuild=0
+
+    # Only do expensive Pass 1 if related posts are enabled AND posts might need rebuilding
+    if [ "${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" = true ] && ! $ram_mode_active; then
+        echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Related posts enabled, starting quick scan...${NC}"
+        # Quick scan to see if ANY posts need rebuilding before doing expensive Pass 1
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Quick scan: Checking if any posts need rebuilding...${NC}"
+        
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+            IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
+
+            # Basic check if it looks like a post
+            if [ -z "$date" ] || [[ "$file" != "$SRC_DIR"* ]]; then
+                continue
+            fi
+
+            # Calculate expected output path
+            local year month day
+            if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+            else
+                year=$(date +%Y); month=$(date +%m); day=$(date +%d)
+            fi
+            local url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
+            url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"; url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}";
+            url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$slug}"
+            local output_html_file="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/$url_path/index.html"
+
+            # Quick rebuild check
+            common_rebuild_check "$output_html_file"
+            local common_result=$?
+            local needs_rebuild=false
+
+            if [ $common_result -eq 0 ]; then
+                needs_rebuild=true
+            else
+                local input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
+                local output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_html_file")
+                if (( input_time > output_time )); then
+                    needs_rebuild=true
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            if $needs_rebuild; then
+                posts_needing_rebuild=$((posts_needing_rebuild + 1))
+                needs_pass1=true
+                # Early exit optimization: if we find posts needing rebuild, we need Pass 1
+                break
+            fi
+        done < <(
+            if $ram_mode_active; then
+                printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF'
+            else
+                cat "$file_index"
+            fi
+        )
+        
+        echo -e "Quick scan result: ${GREEN}$posts_needing_rebuild${NC} posts need rebuilding"
+    fi
+
+    # --- PASS 1: Only run if needed (posts need rebuilding AND related posts enabled) ---
+    if [ "$needs_pass1" = true ] && [ "${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" = true ] && ! $ram_mode_active; then
+        echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Both needs_pass1=true and ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS=true, running Pass 1...${NC}"
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Pass 1: Identifying modified tags for related posts cache invalidation...${NC}"
+        
+        # Clear previous modified tags lists
+        rm -f "$modified_tags_list"
+        rm -f "$modified_authors_list"
+        touch "$modified_tags_list" # Ensure file exists even if empty
+        touch "$modified_authors_list" # Ensure file exists even if empty
+        
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+            IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
+
+            # Basic check if it looks like a post
+            if [ -z "$date" ] || [[ "$file" != "$SRC_DIR"* ]]; then
+                continue
+            fi
+
+            # Calculate expected output path
+            local year month day
+            if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+            else
+                year=$(date +%Y); month=$(date +%m); day=$(date +%d)
+            fi
+            local url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
+            url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"; url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}";
+            url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$slug}"
+            local output_html_file="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/$url_path/index.html"
+
+            # Perform the rebuild check here
+            common_rebuild_check "$output_html_file"
+            local common_result=$?
+            local needs_rebuild=false
+
+            if [ $common_result -eq 0 ]; then
+                needs_rebuild=true # Common checks failed (config changed, template newer, output missing)
+            else # common_result is 2 (output exists and newer than templates/locale)
+                local input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
+                local output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_html_file")
+                if (( input_time > output_time )); then
+                    needs_rebuild=true # Input file is newer
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            # If post needs rebuilding, add its tags to the modified list
+            if $needs_rebuild; then
+                local new_tags="$tags"
+                local old_tags=""
+                # Try to get old tags from the previous index snapshot
+                if [ -f "$file_index_prev" ]; then
+                    old_tags=$(grep "^${file}|" "$file_index_prev" | cut -d'|' -f6)
+                fi
+                
+                # Combine old and new tags
+                local combined_tags="${old_tags},${new_tags}"
+                
+                if [ -n "$combined_tags" ]; then
+                    # Split by comma, trim, filter empty, sort unique, and add each tag on a new line
+                    echo "$combined_tags" | tr ',' '\n' | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//' | grep . | sort -u >> "$modified_tags_list"
+                fi
+
+                # Track modified authors (similar logic to tags)
+                local new_author="$author_name"
+                local old_author=""
+                if [ -f "$file_index_prev" ]; then
+                    old_author=$(grep "^${file}|" "$file_index_prev" | cut -d'|' -f11)
+                fi
+                
+                # Add both old and new authors to the modified list (if they exist)
+                if [ -n "$old_author" ] && [ "$old_author" != "" ]; then
+                    echo "$old_author" >> "$modified_authors_list"
+                fi
+                if [ -n "$new_author" ] && [ "$new_author" != "" ]; then
+                    echo "$new_author" >> "$modified_authors_list"
+                fi
+            fi
+        done < "$file_index"
+
+        # Unique sort the modified tags and authors lists
+        if [ -f "$modified_tags_list" ]; then
+            local temp_tags_list=$(mktemp)
+            sort -u "$modified_tags_list" > "$temp_tags_list"
+            mv "$temp_tags_list" "$modified_tags_list"
+        fi
+        
+        if [ -f "$modified_authors_list" ]; then
+            local temp_authors_list=$(mktemp)
+            sort -u "$modified_authors_list" > "$temp_authors_list"
+            mv "$temp_authors_list" "$modified_authors_list"
+        fi
+
+        # Invalidate related posts cache if there are modified tags
+        if [ -f "$modified_tags_list" ] && [ -s "$modified_tags_list" ]; then
+            # Source related posts functions if not already loaded
+            if ! command -v invalidate_related_posts_cache_for_tags > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+                # shellcheck source=related_posts.sh disable=SC1091
+                source "$(dirname "$0")/related_posts.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source related_posts.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+            fi
+            
+            # Create a temporary file to capture the list of invalidated posts
+            RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/related_posts_invalidated.list"
+            > "$RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST"  # Create empty file
+            
+            # Call the invalidation function with the output file
+            invalidate_related_posts_cache_for_tags "$modified_tags_list" "$RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST"
+            
+            # Export the list for use in pass 2
+            export RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST
+        fi
+    elif $ram_mode_active; then
+        echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: RAM mode active, skipping Pass 1 related-posts invalidation (in-memory computation).${NC}"
+    else
+        echo -e "${BLUE}DEBUG: Pass 1 skipped - needs_pass1=$needs_pass1, ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS=${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}${NC}"
+    fi
+
+    # --- PASS 2: Process posts with proper rebuild flags ---
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Pass 2: Processing posts...${NC}"
+
     # Pre-filter files that need rebuilding
     local files_to_process_list=()
     local files_to_process_count=0
     local skipped_count=0
 
-    # Get template/locale mtimes once (requires utils.sh and cache.sh to be sourced)
-    # IMPORTANT: Assumes get_file_mtime, TEMPLATES_DIR, THEME, LOCALE_DIR, SITE_LANG are available
-    local template_dir="${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates}"
-    if [ -d "$template_dir/${THEME:-default}" ]; then
-        template_dir="$template_dir/${THEME:-default}"
-    fi
-    local header_template="$template_dir/header.html"
-    local footer_template="$template_dir/footer.html"
-    local active_locale_file=""
-    if [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh" ]; then
-        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh"
-    elif [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh" ]; then
-        active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh"
-    fi
-    local header_time=$(get_file_mtime "$header_template")
-    local footer_time=$(get_file_mtime "$footer_template")
-    local locale_time=$(get_file_mtime "$active_locale_file")
-
-    while IFS= read -r line; do
-        local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description
-        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description <<< "$line"
-
-        # Basic check if it looks like a post
-        if [ -z "$date" ] || [[ "$file" != "$SRC_DIR"* ]]; then
-             # echo -e "Skipping non-post file listed in index (pre-check): ${YELLOW}$file${NC}" >&2 # Too verbose
-             continue
-        fi
-
-        # Calculate expected output path (logic copied from process_single_file)
-        local output_path
-        local year month day
-        if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
-            year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
-            month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
-            day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
-        else
-            year=$(date +%Y); month=$(date +%m); day=$(date +%d)
-        fi
-        local url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
-        url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"; url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}";
-        url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$slug}"
-        local output_html_file="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/$url_path/index.html"
-
-        # Perform the rebuild check here
-        # IMPORTANT: Requires common_rebuild_check, get_file_mtime to be available
-        #            Requires BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS to be exported by main.sh
-        common_rebuild_check "$output_html_file"
-        local common_result=$?
-        local needs_rebuild=false
-
-        if [ $common_result -eq 0 ]; then
-            needs_rebuild=true # Common checks failed (config changed, template newer, output missing)
-        else # common_result is 2 (output exists and newer than templates/locale)
-            local input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
-            local output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_html_file")
-            if (( input_time > output_time )); then
-                needs_rebuild=true # Input file is newer
+    if $ram_mode_active && [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = true ]; then
+        echo -e "RAM mode force rebuild: skipping per-post rebuild checks."
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            local file filename title date
+            IFS='|' read -r file filename _ date _ <<< "$line"
+            if [ -n "$date" ] && [[ "$file" == "$SRC_DIR"* ]]; then
+                files_to_process_list+=("$line")
+                files_to_process_count=$((files_to_process_count + 1))
             fi
-        fi
+        done < <(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF')
+    else
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+            IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
 
-        if $needs_rebuild; then
-            files_to_process_list+=("$line")
-            files_to_process_count=$((files_to_process_count + 1))
-        else
-            # Only print skip message if not rebuilding
-            echo -e "Skipping unchanged file: ${YELLOW}$(basename "$file")${NC}"
-            skipped_count=$((skipped_count + 1))
-        fi
-    done < "$file_index"
+            # Basic check if it looks like a post
+            if [ -z "$date" ] || [[ "$file" != "$SRC_DIR"* ]]; then
+                 # echo -e "Skipping non-post file listed in index (pre-check): ${YELLOW}$file${NC}" >&2 # Too verbose
+                 continue
+            fi
+
+            # Calculate expected output path (logic copied from process_single_file)
+            local output_path
+            local year month day
+            if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{1,2})-([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+                day=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))")
+            else
+                year=$(date +%Y); month=$(date +%m); day=$(date +%d)
+            fi
+            local url_path="${URL_SLUG_FORMAT:-Year/Month/Day/slug}"
+            url_path="${url_path//Year/$year}"; url_path="${url_path//Month/$month}";
+            url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$slug}"
+            local output_html_file="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/$url_path/index.html"
+
+            # Perform the rebuild check here
+            common_rebuild_check "$output_html_file"
+            local common_result=$?
+            local needs_rebuild=false
+
+            if [ $common_result -eq 0 ]; then
+                needs_rebuild=true # Common checks failed (config changed, template newer, output missing)
+            else # common_result is 2 (output exists and newer than templates/locale)
+                local input_time=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
+                local output_time=$(get_file_mtime "$output_html_file")
+                if (( input_time > output_time )); then
+                    needs_rebuild=true # Input file is newer
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            # Check if this post needs rebuilding due to related posts cache invalidation
+            if ! $ram_mode_active && [ "$needs_rebuild" = false ] && [ -n "${RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST:-}" ] && [ -f "$RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST" ]; then
+                if grep -Fxq "$slug" "$RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    needs_rebuild=true # Related posts cache was invalidated
+                    echo -e "Rebuilding ${GREEN}$(basename "$file")${NC} due to related posts cache invalidation"
+                fi
+            fi
+
+            if $needs_rebuild; then
+                files_to_process_list+=("$line")
+                files_to_process_count=$((files_to_process_count + 1))
+            else
+                # Only print skip message if not rebuilding
+                echo -e "Skipping unchanged file: ${YELLOW}$(basename "$file")${NC}"
+                skipped_count=$((skipped_count + 1))
+            fi
+        done < <(
+            if $ram_mode_active; then
+                printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk 'NF'
+            else
+                cat "$file_index"
+            fi
+        )
+    fi
 
     # Check if any files need processing
     if [ $files_to_process_count -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -422,14 +743,17 @@ process_all_markdown_files() {
 
     echo -e "Found ${GREEN}$files_to_process_count${NC} posts needing processing out of $total_file_count (Skipped: $skipped_count)."
 
+    if $ram_mode_active && [ "${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" = true ]; then
+        prepare_related_posts_ram_cache "${RELATED_POSTS_COUNT:-3}"
+    fi
+
     # Define a function for processing a single file line from the *filtered* list
-    # Note: This function now assumes the file *needs* processing.
     process_single_file_for_rebuild() {
         local line="$1"
 
         # Read the line from the argument variable
-        local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description
-        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description <<< "$line"
+        local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
 
         # No need for the basic check here, already done in pre-filter
 
@@ -448,21 +772,59 @@ process_all_markdown_files() {
         url_path="${url_path//Day/$day}"; url_path="${url_path//slug/$slug}"
         output_path="${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}/$url_path"
 
-        # Call the main conversion function
-        # We no longer rely on its internal file_needs_rebuild check
-        # TODO: Consider modifying convert_markdown to accept a force flag or skip its check
-        if ! convert_markdown "$file" "$output_path" "$title" "$date" "$lastmod" "$tags" "$slug" "$image" "$image_caption" "$description"; then
+        # Call the conversion function, skipping internal rebuild checks because this
+        # function only receives files pre-selected for rebuild.
+        if ! convert_markdown "$file" "$output_path" "$title" "$date" "$lastmod" "$tags" "$slug" "$image" "$image_caption" "$description" "$author_name" "$author_email" true; then
             local exit_code=$?
             echo -e "${RED}ERROR:${NC} convert_markdown failed for '$file' with exit code $exit_code. Output HTML may be missing or incomplete." >&2
         fi
     }
 
     # Use GNU parallel if available
-    if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
+    if $ram_mode_active; then
+        local cores
+        cores=$(get_parallel_jobs)
+        if [ "$cores" -gt "$files_to_process_count" ]; then
+            cores="$files_to_process_count"
+        fi
+
+        if [ "$files_to_process_count" -gt 1 ] && [ "$cores" -gt 1 ]; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Using shell parallel workers for $files_to_process_count RAM-mode posts${NC}"
+
+            local worker_pids=()
+            local worker_idx
+            for ((worker_idx = 0; worker_idx < cores; worker_idx++)); do
+                (
+                    local idx
+                    for ((idx = worker_idx; idx < files_to_process_count; idx += cores)); do
+                        process_single_file_for_rebuild "${files_to_process_list[$idx]}"
+                    done
+                ) &
+                worker_pids+=("$!")
+            done
+
+            local pid
+            local worker_failed=false
+            for pid in "${worker_pids[@]}"; do
+                if ! wait "$pid"; then
+                    worker_failed=true
+                fi
+            done
+            if $worker_failed; then
+                echo -e "${RED}Parallel RAM-mode post processing failed.${NC}"
+                exit 1
+            fi
+        else
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Using sequential processing for $files_to_process_count RAM-mode posts${NC}"
+            local line
+            for line in "${files_to_process_list[@]}"; do
+                process_single_file_for_rebuild "$line"
+            done
+        fi
+    elif [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
         echo -e "${GREEN}Using GNU parallel to process $files_to_process_count posts${NC}"
-        local cores=1
-        if command -v nproc > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(nproc);
-        elif command -v sysctl > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu 2>/dev/null || echo 1); fi
+        local cores
+        cores=$(get_parallel_jobs)
 
         # Export functions and variables needed by parallel tasks
         # Note: We export the new process function
@@ -470,14 +832,18 @@ process_all_markdown_files() {
         # Export dependencies of convert_markdown and its helpers
         export -f file_needs_rebuild get_file_mtime common_rebuild_check config_has_changed # Still needed by convert_markdown *internally* for now
         export -f calculate_reading_time generate_slug format_date fix_url parse_metadata extract_metadata convert_markdown_to_html
+        export -f trim_whitespace resolve_fediverse_creator build_fediverse_creator_meta_tag
+        export -f format_iso8601_post_date
         export -f portable_md5sum # Used by cache funcs
         export CACHE_DIR FORCE_REBUILD OUTPUT_DIR SITE_URL URL_SLUG_FORMAT HEADER_TEMPLATE FOOTER_TEMPLATE
-        export SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION AUTHOR_NAME MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR MARKDOWN_PL_PATH DATE_FORMAT TIMEZONE SHOW_TIMEZONE
+        export SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION AUTHOR_NAME MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR MARKDOWN_PL_PATH DATE_FORMAT TIMEZONE SHOW_TIMEZONE SHOW_READING_TIME
+        export FEDIVERSE_CREATOR AUTHOR_FEDIVERSE_CREATORS_SERIALIZED
         export MSG_PUBLISHED_ON MSG_UPDATED_ON MSG_READING_TIME_TEMPLATE # Export needed locale messages
         export CONFIG_HASH_FILE BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS # Export status for common_rebuild_check
+        export ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS RELATED_POSTS_COUNT # Export related posts configuration
 
         # Process filtered lines in parallel
-        printf "%s\n" "${files_to_process_list[@]}" | parallel --jobs "$cores" process_single_file_for_rebuild {} || { echo -e "${RED}Parallel post processing failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+        printf "%s\n" "${files_to_process_list[@]}" | parallel --jobs "$cores" --will-cite process_single_file_for_rebuild {} || { echo -e "${RED}Parallel post processing failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
     else
         # Sequential processing for filtered list
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Using sequential processing for $files_to_process_count posts${NC}"
@@ -494,4 +860,4 @@ process_all_markdown_files() {
 
 # Make the main function available for sourcing
 export -f process_all_markdown_files convert_markdown # Export the main function and conversion
-# Export helpers needed if sourced externally? Maybe not. 
+# Export helpers needed if sourced externally? Maybe not. 

scripts/build/generate_secondary_pages.sh

@@ -11,12 +11,59 @@ source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.s
 
 # Generate pages index
 generate_pages_index() {
+    # --- Define Target File --- 
+    local pages_index="$OUTPUT_DIR/pages.html"
+    local secondary_pages_list_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/secondary_pages.list"
+    local ram_mode_active=false
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        ram_mode_active=true
+    fi
+
+    # --- Cache Check --- START ---
+    # Rebuild if force flag is set OR if list file exists and output is older than list file
+    # OR if list file doesn't exist (implies it was just created or cleaned)
+    local should_rebuild=false
+    if [[ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" == true ]]; then
+        should_rebuild=true
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Forcing pages index rebuild (--force-rebuild).${NC}"
+    elif ! $ram_mode_active && [ ! -f "$secondary_pages_list_file" ]; then
+         # If list file doesn't exist, we need to generate pages.html (or handle absence)
+         # This case might mean 0 secondary pages after a clean build.
+         # Let the existing logic handle the case of 0 pages later.
+         should_rebuild=true 
+         echo -e "${YELLOW}Secondary pages list file not found, rebuilding pages index.${NC}"
+    elif ! $ram_mode_active && { [ ! -f "$pages_index" ] || [ "$pages_index" -ot "$secondary_pages_list_file" ]; }; then
+        should_rebuild=true
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Pages index is older than secondary pages list, rebuilding.${NC}"
+    # Add checks for template file changes? More complex, rely on overall rebuild for now.
+    # Consider adding checks against header/footer template files if more granularity is needed.
+    # Example: || [ "$pages_index" -ot "path/to/header.html" ] ...
+    fi
+    
+    if [[ "$should_rebuild" == false ]]; then
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Pages index '$pages_index' is up to date, skipping.${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    # --- Cache Check --- END ---
+    
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Generating pages index...${NC}"
 
-    # Access the exported array string and reconstruct the array
+    # --- Read secondary pages from cache file --- START ---
     local temp_secondary_pages=()
-    # shellcheck disable=SC2206 # Word splitting is intended here
-    eval "temp_secondary_pages=($SECONDARY_PAGES)"
+    
+    if $ram_mode_active; then
+        mapfile -t temp_secondary_pages < <(printf '%s\n' "$(ram_mode_get_dataset "secondary_pages")" | awk 'NF')
+    elif [ -f "$secondary_pages_list_file" ]; then
+        # Use mapfile (readarray) to read lines into the array
+        mapfile -t temp_secondary_pages < "$secondary_pages_list_file"
+        # Optional: Trim whitespace from each element if necessary (mapfile usually handles newlines)
+        # for i in "${!temp_secondary_pages[@]}"; do
+        #     temp_secondary_pages[$i]=$(echo "${temp_secondary_pages[$i]}" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
+        # done
+    else
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Cache file '$secondary_pages_list_file' not found. Assuming no secondary pages.${NC}"
+    fi
+    # --- Read secondary pages from cache file --- END ---
 
     # Skip if there are no secondary pages
     if [ ${#temp_secondary_pages[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -24,8 +71,6 @@ generate_pages_index() {
         return 0
     fi
 
-    local pages_index="$OUTPUT_DIR/pages.html"
-
     # Prepare templates (should be exported already)
     local header_content="$HEADER_TEMPLATE"
     local footer_content="$FOOTER_TEMPLATE"
@@ -42,15 +87,13 @@ generate_pages_index() {
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_type\}\}/"website"}
 
     # Set proper URL in og:url
-    header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"pages.html"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{page_url\}\}/"/pages.html"}
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{site_url\}\}/"$SITE_URL"}
 
     # Generate CollectionPage schema
     local schema_json_ld=""
-    local tmp_schema=$(mktemp)
-
     # Create CollectionPage schema
-    cat > "$tmp_schema" << EOF
+    schema_json_ld=$(cat << EOF
 <script type="application/ld+json">
 {
   "@context": "https://schema.org",
@@ -66,12 +109,7 @@ generate_pages_index() {
 }
 </script>
 EOF
-
-    # Read the schema from the temporary file
-    schema_json_ld=$(cat "$tmp_schema")
-
-    # Remove the temporary file
-    rm "$tmp_schema"
+)
 
     # Add schema markup to header
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{schema_json_ld\}\}/"$schema_json_ld"}
@@ -79,6 +117,10 @@ EOF
     # Remove image placeholders
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{og_image\}\}/""}
     header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_image\}\}/""}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{twitter_card\}\}/"summary"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{fediverse_creator_meta\}\}/"${SITE_FEDIVERSE_CREATOR_META_TAG}"}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{canonical\}\}/}
+    header_content=${header_content//\{\{featured_image_preload\}\}/}
 
     # Replace placeholders in the footer
     footer_content=${footer_content//\{\{current_year\}\}/$(date +%Y)}
@@ -96,7 +138,7 @@ EOF
         IFS='|' read -r title url _ <<< "$page" # Ignore date for menu
         cat >> "$pages_index" << EOF
     <article>
-        <h3><a href="$url">$title</a></h3>
+        <h2><a href="$url">$title</a></h2>
     </article>
 EOF
     done
@@ -111,4 +153,4 @@ EOF
 }
 
 # Make function available for sourcing
-export -f generate_pages_index 
+export -f generate_pages_index 

scripts/build/indexing.sh

@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@
 # Functions for building intermediate file, tag, and archive indexes.
 #
 
-# Ensure necessary color variables are available if sourced independently
-# RED='${RED:-\033[0;31m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# GREEN='${GREEN:-\033[0;32m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# YELLOW='${YELLOW:-\033[0;33m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-# NC='${NC:-\033[0m}' # Removed - Should be inherited from main export
-
 # Source Utilities and Content functions needed by indexing functions
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from indexing.sh"; exit 1; }
@@ -23,171 +17,295 @@ declare -A file_index_data
 
 # --- Indexing Functions --- START ---
 
-# Optimized file index building with parallel processing and smarter caching
+# Step 1: Build a raw index using centralized awk (fast extraction only)
+_build_raw_file_index() {
+    local all_files_list="$1" # Input: file containing list of source files
+    local output_raw_index="$2" # Output: path for the raw index file
+
+    # Awk script to parse frontmatter - only extracts found fields
+    # No fallbacks handled here. Output includes filename and basename.
+    awk -f - $(<"$all_files_list") <<'EOF' > "$output_raw_index"
+    BEGIN { 
+        FS="|"; OFS="|"; 
+    }
+    function reset_vars() {
+        vars["title"] = ""; vars["date"] = ""; vars["lastmod"] = "";
+        vars["tags"] = ""; vars["slug"] = ""; vars["image"] = "";
+        vars["image_caption"] = ""; vars["description"] = "";
+        vars["author_name"] = ""; vars["author_email"] = "";
+        in_fm = 0; found_fm = 0;
+        is_html = (FILENAME ~ /\.html$/);
+        is_md = (FILENAME ~ /\.md$/);
+    }
+    FNR == 1 { 
+        if (NR > 1) {
+             # Print previous file raw data
+             print current_filename, current_basename, vars["title"], vars["date"], vars["lastmod"], \
+                   vars["tags"], vars["slug"], vars["image"], vars["image_caption"], vars["description"], \
+                   vars["author_name"], vars["author_email"];
+        }
+        reset_vars();
+        current_filename = FILENAME;
+        current_basename = FILENAME;
+        sub(/.*\//, "", current_basename); # Get basename
+    }
+    # Markdown Parsing
+    is_md && /^---$/ {
+        if (!in_fm && !found_fm) { in_fm = 1; found_fm = 1; next; }
+        if (in_fm) { in_fm = 0; next; }
+    }
+    is_md && in_fm {
+        # Use compatible match for key-value extraction
+        if (match($0, /^([^:]+):[[:space:]]*(.*[^[:space:]])[[:space:]]*$/)) {
+            full_match = substr($0, RSTART, RLENGTH)
+            # Extract key part
+            key_start = match(full_match, /^[^:]+/)
+            key_str = substr(full_match, RSTART, RLENGTH)
+            # Extract value part (handle potential quotes)
+            value_start = match(full_match, /:[[:space:]]*(.*)$/)
+            value = substr(full_match, RSTART + 1, RLENGTH - 1)
+            gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", key_str);
+            gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", value);
+            key = tolower(key_str);
+            # Remove surrounding quotes from value if present
+            if ( (match(value, /^"(.*)"$/) || match(value, /^\'(.*)\'$/)) && length(value) > 1 ) {
+                value = substr(value, 2, length(value)-2);
+            }
+            if (key in vars) { vars[key] = value; }
+        }
+        next; 
+    }
+    # HTML Parsing
+    is_html && match($0, /<title>([^<]*)<\/title>/) { 
+        # Extract content within <title> tags
+        title_content = substr($0, RSTART + 7, RLENGTH - 15)
+        gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", title_content); # Trim whitespace
+        # Only set title if it wasn't already set by frontmatter (e.g., in markdown)
+        if (vars["title"] == "") {
+           vars["title"] = title_content; 
+        }
+    }
+    is_html && match($0, /<meta[^>]+name="([^"]+)"[^>]+content="([^"]*)"[^>]*>/) {
+        # Extract key (name attribute)
+        key_match_start = RSTART + index($0, "name=") + 5 # Position after name="
+        key_match_len = index(substr($0, key_match_start), "\"") -1
+        key = tolower(substr($0, key_match_start, key_match_len));
+        
+        # Extract value (content attribute)
+        content_match_start = RSTART + index($0, "content=") + 8 # Position after content="
+        content_match_len = index(substr($0, content_match_start), "\"") -1
+        value = substr($0, content_match_start, content_match_len);
+
+        # Only set if the key is one we care about and not already set
+        if (key in vars && vars[key] == "") { vars[key] = value; }
+    }
+    END {
+        if (NR > 0) {
+             # Print last file raw data
+             print current_filename, current_basename, vars["title"], vars["date"], vars["lastmod"], \
+                   vars["tags"], vars["slug"], vars["image"], vars["image_caption"], vars["description"], \
+                   vars["author_name"], vars["author_email"];
+        }
+    }
+EOF
+}
+
+# Step 2: Process the raw index, applying fallbacks for missing essential fields
+_process_raw_file_index() {
+    local input_raw_index="$1" # Input: path to the raw index file
+    local output_processed_index="$2" # Output: path for the final processed index
+
+    # Export functions needed in the loop
+    export -f get_file_mtime format_date_from_timestamp generate_slug generate_excerpt
+    export DATE_FORMAT # Needed by format_date_from_timestamp
+    export SRC_DIR # Needed indirectly by generate_excerpt if path is relative?
+
+    > "$output_processed_index" # Ensure output file is empty
+
+    local file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+    local file_mtime
+    while IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email || [[ -n "$file" ]]; do
+        # Fallback for Title (use filename without extension)
+        if [ -z "$title" ]; then
+            title="${filename%.*}"
+        fi
+        
+        # Fallback for Date (use file modification time)
+        if [ -z "$date" ]; then
+            file_mtime=$(get_file_mtime "$file")
+            date=$(format_date_from_timestamp "$file_mtime")
+        fi
+
+        # Fallback for Last Modified Date (use date if lastmod is missing)
+        if [ -z "$lastmod" ]; then
+            lastmod="$date"
+        fi
+
+        if [ -n "$slug" ]; then
+            # Ensure slug is sanitized
+            slug=$(generate_slug "$slug")
+        fi
+        # Fallback for Slug (generate from title)
+        if [ -z "$slug" ]; then
+            # Ensure title is available for slug generation
+            if [ -z "$title" ]; then title="${filename%.*}"; fi
+            slug=$(generate_slug "$title")
+        fi
+
+        # Fallback for Description (generate excerpt)
+        # Check if description is empty or contains only whitespace
+        if [[ -z "$description" || "$description" =~ ^[[:space:]]*$ ]]; then
+            if [ "${GENERATE_EXCERPT:-true}" = "true" ]; then
+                description=$(generate_excerpt "$file")
+            fi
+        fi
+        
+        # Apply fallback logic for author fields
+        if [ -z "$author_name" ]; then
+            author_name="${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}"
+        fi
+        if [ -z "$author_email" ] && [ -n "$author_name" ] && [ "$author_name" = "${AUTHOR_NAME:-Anonymous}" ]; then
+            # Only use default email if using default name
+            author_email="${AUTHOR_EMAIL:-}"
+        fi
+        # If author_name is specified but author_email is empty, leave email empty
+        
+        # Output the fully processed line to the final index file
+        echo "$file|$filename|$title|$date|$lastmod|$tags|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description|$author_name|$author_email" >> "$output_processed_index"
+    done < "$input_raw_index"
+    wait # Ensure background processes from potential subshells (like generate_excerpt) finish
+}
+
+# Optimized file index building - orchestrates raw build and processing
+_build_file_index_from_ram() {
+    while IFS= read -r file; do
+        [[ -z "$file" ]] && continue
+        local metadata
+        metadata=$(extract_metadata "$file") || continue
+        local filename
+        filename=$(basename "$file")
+        echo "$file|$filename|$metadata"
+    done < <(ram_mode_list_src_files) | sort -t '|' -k 4,4r -k 1,1
+}
+
 optimized_build_file_index() {
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Building file index...${NC}"
     
     local file_index="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.txt"
     local index_marker="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/index_marker"
     local frontmatter_changes_marker="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/frontmatter_changes_marker"
+
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ] && declare -F ram_mode_list_src_files > /dev/null; then
+        local file_index_data
+        file_index_data=$(_build_file_index_from_ram)
+        ram_mode_set_dataset "file_index" "$file_index_data"
+        ram_mode_clear_dataset "file_index_prev"
+        ram_mode_set_dataset "frontmatter_changes_marker" "1"
+        echo -e "${GREEN}File index built from RAM preload with $(ram_mode_dataset_line_count "file_index") complete entries!${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
     
-    # Check if rebuild is needed by comparing the newest file in src directory with our marker
+    # Check if rebuild is needed
     if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = false ] && [ -f "$file_index" ] && [ -f "$index_marker" ]; then
         local newest_file_time=0
         # Use find -printf for efficiency if available (GNU find)
         if find --version >/dev/null 2>&1 && grep -q GNU <<< "$(find --version)"; then
              newest_file_time=$(find "${SRC_DIR:-src}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" -printf '%T@\n' 2>/dev/null | sort -nr | head -n 1)
              newest_file_time=${newest_file_time:-0} # Handle empty dir
-             # Convert float timestamp to integer
-             newest_file_time=$(printf "%.0f" "$newest_file_time")
-        else
-            # Fallback for non-GNU find (less efficient)
+             newest_file_time=${newest_file_time%.*} # Truncate to integer
+        else # POSIX/BSD find
             local src_files
-            src_files=$(find "${SRC_DIR:-src}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" 2>/dev/null)
-            for f in $src_files; do
-                local f_time=$(get_file_mtime "$f")
-                if (( f_time > newest_file_time )); then
-                    newest_file_time=$f_time
-                fi
-            done
+            # Use -exec stat for better portability than parsing ls
+            # This might still be slow on very large sites compared to GNU find -printf
+            newest_file_time=$(find "${SRC_DIR:-src}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" -exec stat -f %m {} \; 2>/dev/null | sort -nr | head -n 1)
+            newest_file_time=${newest_file_time:-0} # Handle empty dir
         fi
         
         local marker_time=$(get_file_mtime "$index_marker")
-        
-        if [ "$newest_file_time" -le "$marker_time" ]; then
+        # Defensive check: if marker_time is 0 or invalid, force rebuild
+        [[ -z "$marker_time" || "$marker_time" -eq 0 ]] && marker_time=0 
+
+        # Check if any source file is newer than the marker
+        if [[ "$newest_file_time" -gt 0 && "$marker_time" -gt 0 && "$newest_file_time" -le "$marker_time" ]]; then
             echo -e "${GREEN}File index is up to date, skipping...${NC}"
             return 0
+        else
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}File index rebuild needed (newest file: $newest_file_time, marker: $marker_time).${NC}"
         fi
     fi
     
     lock_file "$file_index"
     
-    # Find all markdown/html files in the source directory, excluding hidden
-    local all_files_tmp="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/all_files.tmp.$$"
-    find "${SRC_DIR:-src}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" | sort > "$all_files_tmp"
+    # Find all markdown/html files
+    local all_files_list="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/all_files_list.$$"
+    find "${SRC_DIR:-src}" -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.html" \) -not -path "*/.*" | sort > "$all_files_list"
+    trap 'rm -f "$all_files_list"' EXIT # Ensure cleanup
     
-    local total_files=$(wc -l < "$all_files_tmp")
+    local total_files=$(wc -l < "$all_files_list")
     if [ "$total_files" -eq 0 ]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}No source files found in ${SRC_DIR:-src}. Skipping index build.${NC}"
         > "$file_index" # Create empty index
         touch "$index_marker"
         unlock_file "$file_index"
-        rm -f "$all_files_tmp"
+        rm -f "$all_files_list"
+        trap - EXIT # Remove trap
         return 0
     fi
     echo "Found $total_files files in source directory."
-    
-    # Create temp directory for parallel processing
-    local temp_dir="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/temp_index_$$"
-    rm -rf "$temp_dir" # Clean up previous run just in case
-    mkdir -p "$temp_dir"
-    
-    # Ensure metadata cache directory exists
-    mkdir -p "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/meta"
-    
-    # Get number of available CPU cores
-    local cores=1
-    if command -v nproc > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(nproc); 
-    elif command -v sysctl > /dev/null 2>&1; then cores=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu 2>/dev/null || echo 1); fi
-    
-    # Calculate batch size
-    local batch_size=$(( (total_files + cores - 1) / cores ))
-    [ "$batch_size" -lt 1 ] && batch_size=1
-    
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Processing $total_files files using $cores cores (batch size: $batch_size)...${NC}"
-    
-    # Export required functions and variables
-    export DATE_FORMAT CACHE_DIR SRC_DIR FORCE_REBUILD # Add others as needed
-    export -f extract_metadata get_file_mtime format_date_from_timestamp generate_slug generate_excerpt lock_file unlock_file parse_metadata
-    
-    # Split files into batches
-    split -l "$batch_size" "$all_files_tmp" "$temp_dir/batch_"
-    rm -f "$all_files_tmp" # Clean up original list
-    
-    # Function to process a single batch file
-    process_batch() {
-        local batch_file="$1"
-        local output_batch="${batch_file}.out"
-        > "$output_batch"  # Initialize empty file
-        
-        while IFS= read -r file; do
-            # Get filename without extension
-            local filename=$(basename "$file" | sed 's/\\.[^.]*$//')
-            
-            # Extract metadata from file
-            local metadata
-            metadata=$(extract_metadata "$file")
-            # Check for errors
-            if [[ $? -ne 0 || "$metadata" == "ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND" ]]; then
-                 echo -e "${RED}Error processing metadata for $file, skipping.${NC}" >&2
-                 continue
-            fi
-            
-            local title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description
-            IFS='|' read -r title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description <<< "$metadata"
-            
-            # Sanitize description: remove newlines
-            description=$(echo "$description" | tr '\n' ' ')
 
-            # Add to batch file
-            echo "$file|$filename|$title|$date|$lastmod|$tags|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description" >> "$output_batch"
-        done < "$batch_file"
-        rm "$batch_file" # Remove processed input batch
-    }
-    export -f process_batch
-
-    # Process batches in parallel using GNU Parallel if available
-    if command -v parallel > /dev/null 2>&1 && [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
-        find "$temp_dir" -name "batch_*" -not -name "*.out" | parallel --jobs "$cores" process_batch {}
-    else
-        # Fallback to sequential processing
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}GNU Parallel not found or disabled, processing batches sequentially...${NC}"
-        for batch_file in "$temp_dir"/batch_*; do
-            [[ "$batch_file" == *.out ]] && continue
-            process_batch "$batch_file"
-        done
-    fi
-    
-    # Merge batch output files and ensure uniqueness
-    local file_index_tmp="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.tmp.$$"
-    find "$temp_dir" -name "*.out" -type f -exec cat {} + > "$file_index_tmp" 2>/dev/null || true
-    rm -rf "$temp_dir" # Clean up temp directory
-
-    # Filter by unique file path (first field)
-    local file_index_filtered="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.filtered.$$"
-    awk -F'|' '!seen[$1]++' "$file_index_tmp" > "$file_index_filtered"
-    rm -f "$file_index_tmp"
-
-    # Sort the filtered index by date (field 4) in reverse chronological order
+    # Define temporary file paths
+    local file_index_raw="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.raw.$$"
+    local file_index_processed="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.processed.$$"
     local file_index_sorted="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.sorted.$$"
-    # Sort by date field (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format). The default string sort works correctly in reverse.
-    sort -t '|' -k 4,4r "$file_index_filtered" > "$file_index_sorted"
-    rm -f "$file_index_filtered" # Remove the unsorted filtered file
+    trap 'rm -f "$all_files_list" "$file_index_raw" "$file_index_processed" "$file_index_sorted"' EXIT # Ensure cleanup
 
-    # Check if file_index has changed
+    # Step 1: Build raw index (fast awk extraction)
+    echo "Step 1: Processing $total_files files using centralized awk for raw data..."
+    _build_raw_file_index "$all_files_list" "$file_index_raw"
+    rm -f "$all_files_list" # Clean up file list immediately after use
+
+    # Step 2: Process raw index (apply fallbacks)
+    echo "Step 2: Applying fallbacks for missing fields..."
+    _process_raw_file_index "$file_index_raw" "$file_index_processed"
+    rm -f "$file_index_raw"
+
+    # Step 3: Sort the final processed index by date (field 4) reverse chronologically
+    echo "Step 3: Sorting processed index..."
+    sort -t '|' -k 4,4r -k 1,1 "$file_index_processed" > "$file_index_sorted" # Add secondary sort by filename
+    rm -f "$file_index_processed"
+
+    # Check if file_index content has changed
     local index_content_changed=false
     if [ -f "$file_index" ]; then
-        if ! cmp -s "$file_index" "$file_index_sorted"; then
+        # Check if the file content differs using cmp (portable)
+        if ! cmp -s "$file_index_sorted" "$file_index"; then
+            # cmp exits 1 if files differ, 0 if same
             index_content_changed=true
-            echo -e "${YELLOW}File index content has changed.${NC}"
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}File index has changed.${NC}" >&2
         fi
     else
         index_content_changed=true # No previous index exists
     fi
 
-    mv "$file_index_sorted" "$file_index"
-    
-    # Update frontmatter changes marker if content changed
-    if $index_content_changed ; then
+    # Move sorted index to final location if content changed
+    if [ "$index_content_changed" = true ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Updating file index.${NC}" >&2
+        mv "$file_index_sorted" "$file_index"
+        # Update frontmatter changes marker if content changed
         touch "$frontmatter_changes_marker"
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}File index changed, updating frontmatter marker.${NC}"
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}File index changed, updating frontmatter marker.${NC}" >&2
+        # Update the main index marker timestamp
+        touch "$index_marker"
+    else
+        echo -e "${GREEN}File index content unchanged, discarding sorted version.${NC}" >&2
+        rm -f "$file_index_sorted"
+        # Keep the old marker timestamp
     fi
-    
-    touch "$index_marker"
-    
+
     unlock_file "$file_index"
+    trap - EXIT # Remove trap upon successful completion
     
-    echo -e "${GREEN}File index built with $(wc -l < "$file_index") files!${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}File index built with $(wc -l < "$file_index") complete entries!${NC}"
 }
 
 # Build tags index from the file index
@@ -198,6 +316,44 @@ build_tags_index() {
     local tags_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/tags_index.txt"
     local frontmatter_changes_marker="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/frontmatter_changes_marker"
 
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        local file_index_data tags_index_data
+        file_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "file_index")
+        if [ -z "$file_index_data" ]; then
+            ram_mode_set_dataset "tags_index" ""
+            ram_mode_clear_dataset "has_tags"
+            echo -e "${GREEN}Tags index built!${NC}"
+            return 0
+        fi
+
+        tags_index_data=$(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk -F'|' -v OFS='|' '
+            {
+                if (length($6) > 0) {
+                    split($6, tags_array, ",");
+                    for (i in tags_array) {
+                        tag = tags_array[i];
+                        gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", tag);
+                        if (length(tag) == 0) continue;
+
+                        tag_slug = tolower(tag);
+                        gsub(/[^a-z0-9]+/, "-", tag_slug);
+                        gsub(/^-+|-+$/, "", tag_slug);
+                        if (length(tag_slug) == 0) tag_slug = "-";
+
+                        print tag, tag_slug, $3, $4, $5, $2, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12;
+                    }
+                }
+            }')
+        ram_mode_set_dataset "tags_index" "$tags_index_data"
+        if [ -n "$tags_index_data" ]; then
+            ram_mode_set_dataset "has_tags" "1"
+        else
+            ram_mode_clear_dataset "has_tags"
+        fi
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Tags index built!${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
     # --- Optimized Rebuild Check --- START ---
     local rebuild_needed=false
     local reason=""
@@ -235,33 +391,233 @@ build_tags_index() {
 
     lock_file "$tags_index_file"
     
-    > "$tags_index_file"  # Clear the file
+    # > "$tags_index_file"  # Clear the file - AWK will overwrite
 
     # Read from file index and extract tags
-    local line file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description
-    while IFS= read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
-        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description <<< "$line"
+    # Use awk for efficient processing and slug generation
+    awk -F'|' -v OFS='|' '{
+        # $1=file, $2=filename, $3=title, $4=date, $5=lastmod, 
+        # $6=tags, $7=slug, $8=image, $9=image_caption, $10=description, $11=author_name, $12=author_email
+        if (length($6) > 0) { # Check if tags field is not empty
+            split($6, tags_array, ","); # Split tags by comma
+            for (i in tags_array) {
+                tag = tags_array[i];
+                gsub(/^[[:space:]]+|[[:space:]]+$/, "", tag); # Trim whitespace
+                if (length(tag) == 0) continue; # Skip empty tags
 
-        if [ -n "$tags" ]; then
-            local tag_slug
-            echo "$tags" | tr ',' '\n' | while IFS= read -r tag; do
-                # Remove leading/trailing whitespace
-                tag=$(echo "$tag" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
-                [[ -z "$tag" ]] && continue # Skip empty tags
+                # Generate slug within awk (replicating generate_slug logic)
+                tag_slug = tolower(tag);
+                gsub(/[^a-z0-9]+/, "-", tag_slug); # Replace non-alphanumeric with hyphens
+                gsub(/^-+|-+$/, "", tag_slug); # Trim leading/trailing hyphens
+                if (length(tag_slug) == 0) tag_slug = "-"; # Handle empty slugs
                 
-                tag_slug=$(generate_slug "$tag")
-
-                # Output: TagName|TagSlug|PostTitle|PostDate|PostLastMod|PostFilename|PostSlug|PostImage|PostImageCaption|PostDescription
-                echo "$tag|$tag_slug|$title|$date|$lastmod|$filename.html|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description" >> "$tags_index_file"
-            done
-        fi
-    done < "$file_index"
+                # Print: TagName|TagSlug|PostTitle|PostDate|PostLastMod|PostFilename|PostSlug|PostImage|PostImageCaption|PostDescription|AuthorName|AuthorEmail
+                print tag, tag_slug, $3, $4, $5, $2, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12;
+            }
+        }
+    }' "$file_index" > "$tags_index_file" 
     
     unlock_file "$tags_index_file"
 
+    # Check if the generated index is not empty and create/remove flag file
+    local tags_flag_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/has_tags.flag"
+    if [ -s "$tags_index_file" ]; then
+        touch "$tags_flag_file"
+    else
+        rm -f "$tags_flag_file"
+    fi
+
     echo -e "${GREEN}Tags index built!${NC}"
 }
 
+# Build authors index from the file index
+build_authors_index() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Building authors index...${NC}"
+    
+    local file_index="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.txt"
+    local authors_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index.txt"
+
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        local file_index_data authors_index_data
+        file_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "file_index")
+        if [ -z "$file_index_data" ]; then
+            ram_mode_set_dataset "authors_index" ""
+            ram_mode_clear_dataset "has_authors"
+            echo -e "${GREEN}Authors index built!${NC}"
+            return 0
+        fi
+
+        authors_index_data=$(printf '%s\n' "$file_index_data" | awk -F'|' -v OFS='|' '
+            {
+                author_name = $11;
+                author_email = $12;
+                if (length(author_name) == 0) next;
+
+                author_slug = tolower(author_name);
+                gsub(/[^a-z0-9]+/, "-", author_slug);
+                gsub(/^-+|-+$/, "", author_slug);
+                if (length(author_slug) == 0) author_slug = "anonymous";
+
+                print author_name, author_slug, author_email, $3, $4, $5, $2, $7, $8, $9, $10;
+            }')
+        ram_mode_set_dataset "authors_index" "$authors_index_data"
+        if [ -n "$authors_index_data" ]; then
+            ram_mode_set_dataset "has_authors" "1"
+        else
+            ram_mode_clear_dataset "has_authors"
+        fi
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Authors index built!${NC}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Check if rebuild is needed: missing cache or input/dependencies changed
+    local rebuild_needed=false
+    if [ ! -f "$authors_index_file" ]; then
+        rebuild_needed=true
+    elif file_needs_rebuild "$file_index" "$authors_index_file"; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Authors index is outdated or dependencies changed, rebuilding authors...${NC}"
+        rebuild_needed=true
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$rebuild_needed" = false ]; then
+         echo -e "${GREEN}Authors index is up to date, skipping...${NC}"
+         return 0
+    fi
+
+    if [ ! -f "$file_index" ]; then
+        echo -e "${RED}Error: File index '$file_index' not found. Cannot build authors index.${NC}"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    
+    lock_file "$authors_index_file"
+    
+    > "$authors_index_file"  # Clear the file
+
+    # Read from file index and extract author info
+    # Use awk for efficient processing and slug generation
+    awk -F'|' -v OFS='|' '{
+        # $1=file, $2=filename, $3=title, $4=date, $5=lastmod, 
+        # $6=tags, $7=slug, $8=image, $9=image_caption, $10=description, $11=author_name, $12=author_email
+        author_name = $11;
+        author_email = $12;
+        
+        # Skip if author_name is empty
+        if (length(author_name) == 0) next;
+        
+        # Generate slug within awk (replicating generate_slug logic)
+        author_slug = tolower(author_name);
+        gsub(/[^a-z0-9]+/, "-", author_slug); # Replace non-alphanumeric with hyphens
+        gsub(/^-+|-+$/, "", author_slug); # Trim leading/trailing hyphens
+        if (length(author_slug) == 0) author_slug = "anonymous"; # Handle empty slugs
+        
+        # Print: AuthorName|AuthorSlug|AuthorEmail|PostTitle|PostDate|PostLastMod|PostFilename|PostSlug|PostImage|PostImageCaption|PostDescription
+        print author_name, author_slug, author_email, $3, $4, $5, $2, $7, $8, $9, $10;
+    }' "$file_index" > "$authors_index_file" 
+    
+    unlock_file "$authors_index_file"
+
+    # Check if the generated index is not empty and create/remove flag file
+    local authors_flag_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/has_authors.flag"
+    if [ -s "$authors_index_file" ]; then
+        touch "$authors_flag_file"
+    else
+        rm -f "$authors_flag_file"
+    fi
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Authors index built!${NC}"
+}
+
+# Compare current and previous authors index to find affected authors and check if index needs rebuild
+# Exports: AFFECTED_AUTHORS (space-separated list of author names)
+#          AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD ("true" or "false")
+identify_affected_authors() {
+    local authors_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index.txt"
+    local authors_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index_prev.txt"
+
+    export AFFECTED_AUTHORS=""
+    export AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="false"
+
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        local authors_index_data
+        authors_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "authors_index")
+        if [ -n "$authors_index_data" ]; then
+            AFFECTED_AUTHORS=$(printf '%s\n' "$authors_index_data" | awk -F'|' 'NF { print $1 }' | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+            AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        fi
+        export AFFECTED_AUTHORS
+        export AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # If previous index doesn't exist, all authors in the current index are affected,
+    # and the main index needs rebuilding.
+    if [ ! -f "$authors_index_prev_file" ]; then
+        if [ -s "$authors_index_file" ]; then # Check if current index has content
+            echo "Previous authors index not found. Marking all authors as affected." >&2 # Debug
+            AFFECTED_AUTHORS=$(cut -d'|' -f1 "$authors_index_file" | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+            AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        else
+             echo "Both previous and current authors indexes are missing or empty. No authors affected." >&2 # Debug
+        fi
+        export AFFECTED_AUTHORS
+        export AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+    
+    # If current index doesn't exist (but previous did), means all posts were deleted?
+    # Mark authors from previous index as affected, index needs rebuild.
+    if [ ! -f "$authors_index_file" ] || [ ! -s "$authors_index_file" ]; then
+        echo "Current authors index not found or empty. Marking all previous authors as affected." >&2 # Debug
+        AFFECTED_AUTHORS=$(cut -d'|' -f1 "$authors_index_prev_file" | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+        AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        export AFFECTED_AUTHORS
+        export AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Extract AuthorName|Filename from both files for precise comparison
+    local current_entries="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_curr_af.$$"
+    local prev_entries="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_prev_af.$$"
+    trap 'rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries"' RETURN
+    
+    cut -d'|' -f1,7 "$authors_index_file" | sort > "$current_entries"
+    cut -d'|' -f1,7 "$authors_index_prev_file" | sort > "$prev_entries"
+
+    # Find differences (lines unique to current or previous)
+    local diff_output
+    diff_output=$(comm -3 "$current_entries" "$prev_entries")
+    
+    # Extract unique author names from the differences
+    if [ -n "$diff_output" ]; then
+        AFFECTED_AUTHORS=$(echo "$diff_output" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//' | cut -d'|' -f1 | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+        echo "Affected authors identified: $AFFECTED_AUTHORS" >&2 # Debug
+    else
+        echo "No difference in posts per author found." >&2 # Debug
+        AFFECTED_AUTHORS=""
+    fi
+
+    # Compare author counts (AuthorName|Count) to see if the main index needs rebuilding
+    local current_counts="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_curr_counts.$$"
+    local prev_counts="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_prev_counts.$$"
+    trap 'rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries" "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"' RETURN
+
+    cut -d'|' -f1 "$authors_index_file" | sort | uniq -c | awk '{print $2"|"$1}' | sort > "$current_counts"
+    cut -d'|' -f1 "$authors_index_prev_file" | sort | uniq -c | awk '{print $2"|"$1}' | sort > "$prev_counts"
+    
+    if ! cmp -s "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"; then
+        echo "Author counts differ. Main authors index needs rebuild." >&2 # Debug
+        AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+    else
+        echo "Author counts are the same." >&2 # Debug
+        AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="false"
+    fi
+
+    export AFFECTED_AUTHORS
+    export AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+    rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries" "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"
+    trap - RETURN # Remove trap upon successful completion
+}
+
 # Build archive index by year and month from the file index
 build_archive_index() {
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Building archive index...${NC}"
@@ -269,16 +625,53 @@ build_archive_index() {
     local file_index="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.txt"
     local archive_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index.txt"
 
-    # Check if rebuild is needed
-    local rebuild_needed=false
-    if indexes_need_rebuild; then rebuild_needed=true; 
-    elif [ ! -f "$archive_index_file" ]; then rebuild_needed=true; 
-    elif [ "$file_index" -nt "$archive_index_file" ]; then 
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}File index is newer than archive index, rebuilding archives...${NC}";
-        rebuild_needed=true;
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        local file_index_data archive_index_data=""
+        file_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "file_index")
+        if [ -z "$file_index_data" ]; then
+            ram_mode_set_dataset "archive_index" ""
+            echo -e "${GREEN}Archive index built!${NC}"
+            return 0
+        fi
+
+        local line file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            [ -z "$line" ] && continue
+            IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
+            [ -z "$date" ] && continue
+
+            local year month month_name
+            if [[ "$date" =~ ^([0-9]{4})[-/]([0-9]{1,2})[-/]([0-9]{1,2}) ]]; then
+                year="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                month=$(printf "%02d" "$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]}))")
+            else
+                continue
+            fi
+
+            local month_name_var="MSG_MONTH_${month}"
+            month_name="${!month_name_var}"
+            if [[ -z "$month_name" ]]; then
+                month_name="$month"
+            fi
+
+            archive_index_data+="$year|$month|$month_name|$title|$date|$lastmod|$filename.html|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description|$author_name|$author_email"$'\n'
+        done <<< "$file_index_data"
+
+        ram_mode_set_dataset "archive_index" "$archive_index_data"
+        echo -e "${GREEN}Archive index built!${NC}"
+        return 0
     fi
 
-    if ! $rebuild_needed; then
+    # Check if rebuild is needed: missing cache or input/dependencies changed
+    local rebuild_needed=false
+    if [ ! -f "$archive_index_file" ]; then
+        rebuild_needed=true
+    elif file_needs_rebuild "$file_index" "$archive_index_file"; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Archive index is outdated or dependencies changed, rebuilding archives...${NC}"
+        rebuild_needed=true
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$rebuild_needed" = false ]; then
          echo -e "${GREEN}Archive index is up to date, skipping...${NC}"
          return 0
     fi
@@ -293,9 +686,9 @@ build_archive_index() {
     > "$archive_index_file"  # Clear the file
 
     # Read from file index and extract date info
-    local line file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description
+    local line file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email
     while IFS= read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
-        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description <<< "$line"
+        IFS='|' read -r file filename title date lastmod tags slug image image_caption description author_name author_email <<< "$line"
 
         if [ -n "$date" ]; then
             local year month month_name
@@ -334,8 +727,8 @@ build_archive_index() {
                 [[ -z "$month_name" ]] && month_name="Unknown"
             fi
 
-            # Output: Year|MonthNum|MonthName|PostTitle|PostDate|PostLastMod|PostFilename|PostSlug|PostImage|PostImageCaption|PostDescription
-            echo "$year|$month|$month_name|$title|$date|$lastmod|$filename.html|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description" >> "$archive_index_file"
+            # Output: Year|MonthNum|MonthName|PostTitle|PostDate|PostLastMod|PostFilename|PostSlug|PostImage|PostImageCaption|PostDescription|AuthorName|AuthorEmail
+            echo "$year|$month|$month_name|$title|$date|$lastmod|$filename.html|$slug|$image|$image_caption|$description|$author_name|$author_email" >> "$archive_index_file"
         fi
     done < "$file_index"
     
@@ -344,4 +737,95 @@ build_archive_index() {
     echo -e "${GREEN}Archive index built!${NC}"
 }
 
-# --- Indexing Functions --- END --- 
+# Compare current and previous archive index to find affected months and check if index needs rebuild
+# Exports: AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS (space-separated list of "YYYY|MM")
+#          ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD ("true" or "false")
+identify_affected_archive_months() {
+    local archive_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index.txt"
+    local archive_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index_prev.txt"
+
+    export AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=""
+    export ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="false"
+
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+        local archive_index_data
+        archive_index_data=$(ram_mode_get_dataset "archive_index")
+        if [ -n "$archive_index_data" ]; then
+            AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=$(printf '%s\n' "$archive_index_data" | awk -F'|' 'NF { print $1 "|" $2 }' | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+            ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        fi
+        export AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS
+        export ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # If previous index doesn't exist, all months in the current index are affected,
+    # and the main index needs rebuilding.
+    if [ ! -f "$archive_index_prev_file" ]; then
+        if [ -s "$archive_index_file" ]; then # Check if current index has content
+            echo "Previous archive index not found. Marking all months as affected." >&2 # Debug
+            AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=$(cut -d'|' -f1,2 "$archive_index_file" | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+            ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        else
+             echo "Both previous and current archive indexes are missing or empty. No months affected." >&2 # Debug
+        fi
+        export AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS
+        export ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+    
+    # If current index doesn't exist (but previous did), means all posts were deleted?
+    # Mark months from previous index as affected, index needs rebuild.
+    if [ ! -f "$archive_index_file" ] || [ ! -s "$archive_index_file" ]; then
+        echo "Current archive index not found or empty. Marking all previous months as affected." >&2 # Debug
+        AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=$(cut -d'|' -f1,2 "$archive_index_prev_file" | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+        ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+        export AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS
+        export ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Extract YYYY|MM|Filename from both files for precise comparison
+    local current_entries="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_curr_ymf.$$"
+    local prev_entries="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_prev_ymf.$$"
+    trap 'rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries"' RETURN
+    
+    cut -d'|' -f1,2,7 "$archive_index_file" | sort > "$current_entries"
+    cut -d'|' -f1,2,7 "$archive_index_prev_file" | sort > "$prev_entries"
+
+    # Find differences (lines unique to current or previous)
+    local diff_output
+    diff_output=$(comm -3 "$current_entries" "$prev_entries")
+    
+    # Extract unique YYYY|MM pairs from the differences
+    if [ -n "$diff_output" ]; then
+        AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=$(echo "$diff_output" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//' | cut -d'|' -f1,2 | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+        echo "Affected months identified: $AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS" >&2 # Debug
+    else
+        echo "No difference in posts per month found." >&2 # Debug
+        AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS=""
+    fi
+
+    # Compare month counts (YYYY|MM|Count) to see if the main index needs rebuilding
+    local current_counts="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_curr_counts.$$"
+    local prev_counts="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_prev_counts.$$"
+    trap 'rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries" "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"' RETURN
+
+    cut -d'|' -f1,2 "$archive_index_file" | sort | uniq -c | awk '{print $2"|"$1}' | sort > "$current_counts"
+    cut -d'|' -f1,2 "$archive_index_prev_file" | sort | uniq -c | awk '{print $2"|"$1}' | sort > "$prev_counts"
+    
+    if ! cmp -s "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"; then
+        echo "Month counts differ. Main archive index needs rebuild." >&2 # Debug
+        ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="true"
+    else
+        echo "Month counts are the same." >&2 # Debug
+        ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD="false"
+    fi
+
+    export AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS
+    export ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+    rm -f "$current_entries" "$prev_entries" "$current_counts" "$prev_counts"
+    trap - RETURN # Remove trap upon successful completion
+}
+
+# --- Indexing Functions --- END --- 

scripts/build/main.sh

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ BUILD_START_TIME=$(date +%s)
 SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"
 # Determine the project root (one level up from the SCRIPT_DIR's parent)
 PROJECT_ROOT="$( dirname "$( dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR" )" )"
+export BSSG_PROJECT_ROOT="$PROJECT_ROOT"
 # Check if PROJECT_ROOT is already the current directory to avoid unnecessary cd
 if [ "$PWD" != "$PROJECT_ROOT" ]; then
   echo "Changing directory to project root: $PROJECT_ROOT"
@@ -22,22 +23,20 @@ else
 fi
 
 # --- Load Config First ---
-# Source Config Loader (sets defaults using :-, loads config.sh, config.sh.local)
-# This establishes the base config (Config File > Default)
-# shellcheck source=config_loader.sh
-source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/config_loader.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source config_loader.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
-echo "Loaded base configuration ('${CONFIG_FILE:-config.sh}') and locales."
+# Configuration and arguments are now expected to be handled by the calling script (bssg.sh)
+# and passed via exported environment variables. We assume variables like SRC_DIR,
+# OUTPUT_DIR, THEME, FORCE_REBUILD, etc., are already set in the environment.
 
 # --- Parse CLI Arguments ---
-# Source CLI handler (defines parse_args, show_help)
-# shellcheck source=cli.sh
-source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/cli.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source cli.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+# Argument parsing is now handled by bssg.sh. Specific build options might still
+# be passed, but core config like --config is handled before this script runs.
+# We may need to parse specific build flags later if needed.
 
-# Now parse args. This applies CLI overrides (CLI > Config File > Default)
-parse_args "$@"
-echo "Parsed command line arguments (CLI overrides applied)."
+# Placeholder for any potential build-specific argument parsing if necessary in the future
 
 # --- Handle Random Theme (after CLI parsing) --- START ---
+# Random theme logic might need adjustment if THEME is purely from env var
+# Check if THEME is set to 'random' from the environment
 if [[ "${THEME:-default}" == "random" ]]; then
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Theme set to random, selecting a random theme...${NC}"
     # Find available themes (directories in THEMES_DIR)
@@ -67,54 +66,229 @@ if [[ "${THEME:-default}" == "random" ]]; then
 fi
 # --- Handle Random Theme --- END ---
 
-# Print the theme being used for this build (final value after CLI override)
-echo -e "${GREEN}Using theme: ${THEME}${NC}"
-
 # Re-export variables potentially overridden by parse_args.
-# This ensures subsequent scripts see the final values.
-echo "Re-exporting variables potentially set by CLI..."
-export SRC_DIR OUTPUT_DIR TEMPLATES_DIR THEMES_DIR STATIC_DIR THEME
-export SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION SITE_URL AUTHOR_NAME AUTHOR_EMAIL
-export POSTS_PER_PAGE CLEAN_OUTPUT FORCE_REBUILD CONFIG_FILE
+# This is no longer strictly necessary as the calling script exports them,
+# but keep it for now in case some build-specific args modify env vars locally.
+# echo "Re-exporting variables potentially set by CLI..."
+# export SRC_DIR OUTPUT_DIR TEMPLATES_DIR THEMES_DIR STATIC_DIR THEME
+# export SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION SITE_URL AUTHOR_NAME AUTHOR_EMAIL
+# export POSTS_PER_PAGE CLEAN_OUTPUT FORCE_REBUILD CONFIG_FILE
+# export PAGES_DIR DRAFTS_DIR
 # Add any other variable that parse_args can change
 
 # Source Utilities (needs sourced colors) AFTER config/cli
+# Source Utilities - MUST BE SOURCED FIRST to get print_info etc.
+# Needs to happen before any potential print statements.
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh
-source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/utils.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source utils.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/utils.sh" || { echo -e "\033[0;31mError: Failed to source utils.sh\033[0m"; exit 1; }
+
+# Build mode validation and setup
+BUILD_MODE="${BUILD_MODE:-normal}"
+case "$BUILD_MODE" in
+    normal|ram) ;;
+    *)
+        echo -e "${RED}Error: Invalid BUILD_MODE '$BUILD_MODE'. Use 'normal' or 'ram'.${NC}" >&2
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac
+export BUILD_MODE
+export BSSG_RAM_MODE=false
+
+# Print the theme being used for this build (final value after potential random selection)
+echo -e "${GREEN}Using theme: ${THEME}${NC}"
+
 echo "Loaded utilities."
 
+# --- RAM Mode Stage Timing --- START ---
+BSSG_RAM_TIMING_ENABLED=false
+if [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "ram" ]; then
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_ENABLED=true
+fi
+declare -ga BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_KEYS=()
+declare -ga BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_LABELS=()
+declare -ga BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_MS=()
+BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE=false
+BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_KEY=""
+BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_LABEL=""
+BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_START_MS=0
+
+_bssg_ram_timing_now_ms() {
+    if [ -n "${EPOCHREALTIME:-}" ]; then
+        local epoch_norm sec frac ms_part
+        # Some locales expose EPOCHREALTIME with ',' instead of '.' as decimal separator.
+        epoch_norm="${EPOCHREALTIME/,/.}"
+        if [[ "$epoch_norm" =~ ^([0-9]+)([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then
+            sec="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+            frac="${BASH_REMATCH[2]#.}"
+            frac="${frac}000"
+            ms_part="${frac:0:3}"
+            printf '%s\n' $(( 10#$sec * 1000 + 10#$ms_part ))
+            return
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if command -v perl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        perl -MTime::HiRes=time -e 'printf("%.0f\n", time()*1000)'
+    else
+        printf '%s\n' $(( $(date +%s) * 1000 ))
+    fi
+}
+
+_bssg_ram_timing_format_ms() {
+    local ms="$1"
+    printf '%d.%03ds' $((ms / 1000)) $((ms % 1000))
+}
+
+bssg_ram_timing_start() {
+    if [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_ENABLED" != true ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE" = true ]; then
+        bssg_ram_timing_end
+    fi
+
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_KEY="$1"
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_LABEL="$2"
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_START_MS="$(_bssg_ram_timing_now_ms)"
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE=true
+}
+
+bssg_ram_timing_end() {
+    if [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_ENABLED" != true ] || [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE" != true ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local end_ms elapsed_ms
+    end_ms="$(_bssg_ram_timing_now_ms)"
+    elapsed_ms=$((end_ms - BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_START_MS))
+    if [ "$elapsed_ms" -lt 0 ]; then
+        elapsed_ms=0
+    fi
+
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_KEYS+=("$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_KEY")
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_LABELS+=("$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_LABEL")
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_MS+=("$elapsed_ms")
+
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE=false
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_KEY=""
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_LABEL=""
+    BSSG_RAM_TIMING_CURRENT_STAGE_START_MS=0
+}
+
+bssg_ram_timing_print_summary() {
+    if [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_ENABLED" != true ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Close any open stage (defensive; build flow should end stages explicitly).
+    if [ "$BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_ACTIVE" = true ]; then
+        bssg_ram_timing_end
+    fi
+
+    local count="${#BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_MS[@]}"
+    if [ "$count" -eq 0 ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local total_ms=0
+    local max_ms=0
+    local max_label=""
+    local i
+    for ((i = 0; i < count; i++)); do
+        local stage_ms="${BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_MS[$i]}"
+        total_ms=$((total_ms + stage_ms))
+        if [ "$stage_ms" -gt "$max_ms" ]; then
+            max_ms="$stage_ms"
+            max_label="${BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_LABELS[$i]}"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    echo "------------------------------------------------------"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}RAM mode timing summary:${NC}"
+    printf "  %-26s %12s %10s\n" "Stage" "Duration" "Share"
+    for ((i = 0; i < count; i++)); do
+        local stage_label="${BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_LABELS[$i]}"
+        local stage_ms="${BSSG_RAM_TIMING_STAGE_MS[$i]}"
+        local pct_tenths=0
+        if [ "$total_ms" -gt 0 ]; then
+            pct_tenths=$(( (stage_ms * 1000 + total_ms / 2) / total_ms ))
+        fi
+        local formatted_ms
+        formatted_ms="$(_bssg_ram_timing_format_ms "$stage_ms")"
+        printf "  %-26s %12s %6d.%d%%\n" "$stage_label" "$formatted_ms" $((pct_tenths / 10)) $((pct_tenths % 10))
+    done
+    echo -e "  ${GREEN}Total (timed stages):$(_bssg_ram_timing_format_ms "$total_ms")${NC}"
+    if [ -n "$max_label" ]; then
+        echo -e "  ${YELLOW}Slowest stage:${NC} ${max_label} ($(_bssg_ram_timing_format_ms "$max_ms"))"
+    fi
+}
+# --- RAM Mode Stage Timing --- END ---
+
 # Check Dependencies
 # shellcheck source=deps.sh
+bssg_ram_timing_start "dependencies" "Dependencies"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/deps.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source deps.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 check_dependencies # Call the function to perform checks and export HAS_PARALLEL
+bssg_ram_timing_end
+
+if [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "ram" ]; then
+    export BSSG_RAM_MODE=true
+    export FORCE_REBUILD=true
+
+    # shellcheck source=ram_mode.sh
+    source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/ram_mode.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source ram_mode.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+    print_info "RAM mode enabled: source/template files and build indexes are held in memory."
+    print_info "RAM mode parallel worker cap: ${RAM_MODE_MAX_JOBS:-6} (set RAM_MODE_MAX_JOBS to tune)."
+fi
+
 echo "Checked dependencies. Parallel available: ${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}"
 
 # Source Cache Manager (defines cache functions)
 # shellcheck source=cache.sh
+bssg_ram_timing_start "cache_setup" "Cache Setup/Clean"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/cache.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source cache.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Loaded cache manager."
 
 # Check if config changed BEFORE updating the hash file, store status for later use
 BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS=1 # Default to 1 (not changed)
-if config_has_changed; then
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+    # RAM mode is intentionally ephemeral, always rebuild from preloaded inputs.
+    BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS=0
+elif config_has_changed; then
     BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS=0 # Set to 0 (changed)
 fi
 export BSSG_CONFIG_CHANGED_STATUS
 
 # --- Initial Cache Setup & Cleaning --- START
 # IMPORTANT: CACHE_DIR must be defined (usually in config) and available
+
+# --- Add check for CLEAN_OUTPUT influencing FORCE_REBUILD --- START ---
+if [ "${CLEAN_OUTPUT:-false}" = true ]; then
+    if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" != true ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Clean output requested (--clean-output), forcing rebuild (--force-rebuild)...${NC}"
+        FORCE_REBUILD=true
+        export FORCE_REBUILD # Ensure the variable is exported if changed here
+    fi
+fi
+# --- Add check for CLEAN_OUTPUT influencing FORCE_REBUILD --- END ---
+
 # Handle --force-rebuild first
-if [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = true ]; then
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ] && [ "${FORCE_REBUILD:-false}" = true ]; then
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Force rebuild enabled, deleting entire cache directory (${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache})...${NC}"
     rm -rf "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}"
     echo -e "${GREEN}Cache deleted!${NC}"
 fi
 
-echo "Ensuring cache directory structure exists... (${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache})"
-mkdir -p "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/meta" "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/content"
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    echo "Ensuring cache directory structure exists... (${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache})"
+    mkdir -p "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/meta" "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/content"
 
-# Create initial config hash *after* ensuring cache dir exists
-create_config_hash
+    # Create initial config hash *after* ensuring cache dir exists
+    create_config_hash
+else
+    echo "RAM mode: skipping cache directory creation and config hash persistence."
+fi
 # --- Initial Cache Setup & Cleaning --- END
 
 # Handle --clean-output flag (using logic moved from original main/clean_output_directory)
@@ -134,32 +308,154 @@ if [ "${CLEAN_OUTPUT:-false}" = true ]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Output directory (${OUTPUT_DIR:-output}) does not exist, no need to clean.${NC}"
     fi
 fi
-
-# Load Templates (and generate dynamic menus, exports vars like HEADER_TEMPLATE)
-# shellcheck source=templates.sh
-source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/templates.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source templates.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
-preload_templates # Call the function
-echo "Loaded and processed templates."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 
 # Source Content Processor (defines functions like extract_metadata, convert_markdown_to_html)
+# Moved up before indexing as indexing uses some content functions (e.g., generate_slug)
 # shellcheck source=content.sh
+bssg_ram_timing_start "index_build" "Index/Data Build"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/content.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source content.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Loaded content processing functions."
 
 # Source Indexing Script (defines index building functions)
+# Moved up before preload_templates
 # shellcheck source=indexing.sh
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/indexing.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source indexing.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Loaded indexing functions."
 
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+    ram_mode_preload_inputs || { echo -e "${RED}Error: RAM preload failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+fi
+
 # --- Build Intermediate Indexes ---
+# Moved up before preload_templates
+# --- Start Change: Snapshot previous file index ---
+file_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index.txt"
+file_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index_prev.txt"
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    if [ -f "$file_index_file" ]; then
+        echo "Snapshotting previous file index to $file_index_prev_file" >&2 # Debug
+        cp "$file_index_file" "$file_index_prev_file"
+    else
+        # Ensure previous file doesn't exist if current doesn't
+        rm -f "$file_index_prev_file"
+    fi
+fi
+# --- End Change ---
 optimized_build_file_index || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to build file index.${NC}"; exit 1; }
 
+# --- Start Change: Snapshot previous tags index ---
+tags_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/tags_index.txt"
+tags_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/tags_index_prev.txt"
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    if [ -f "$tags_index_file" ]; then
+        echo "Snapshotting previous tags index to $tags_index_prev_file" >&2 # Debug
+        cp "$tags_index_file" "$tags_index_prev_file"
+    else
+        # Ensure previous file doesn't exist if current doesn't
+        rm -f "$tags_index_prev_file"
+    fi
+fi
+# --- End Change ---
+
 build_tags_index || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to build tags index.${NC}"; exit 1; }
 
+# --- Start Debug: Show tags_index.txt content ---
+# echo "DEBUG: Content of $tags_index_file after build:" >&2
+# cat "$tags_index_file" >&2
+# echo "--- End $tags_index_file DEBUG ---" >&2
+# --- End Debug ---
+
+# --- Start Change: Snapshot previous authors index ---
+authors_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index.txt"
+authors_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index_prev.txt"
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    if [ -f "$authors_index_file" ]; then
+        echo "Snapshotting previous authors index to $authors_index_prev_file" >&2 # Debug
+        cp "$authors_index_file" "$authors_index_prev_file"
+    else
+        # Ensure previous file doesn't exist if current doesn't
+        rm -f "$authors_index_prev_file"
+    fi
+fi
+# --- End Change ---
+
+build_authors_index || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to build authors index.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+
+# --- Start Change: Identify affected authors ---
+identify_affected_authors || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to identify affected authors.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+# --- End Change ---
+
 if [ "${ENABLE_ARCHIVES:-false}" = true ]; then
+    # --- Start Change: Snapshot previous archive index ---
+    archive_index_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index.txt"
+    archive_index_prev_file="${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index_prev.txt"
+    if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+        if [ -f "$archive_index_file" ]; then
+            echo "Snapshotting previous archive index to $archive_index_prev_file" >&2 # Debug
+            cp "$archive_index_file" "$archive_index_prev_file"
+        else
+            # Ensure previous file doesn't exist if current doesn't
+            rm -f "$archive_index_prev_file"
+        fi
+    fi
+    # --- End Change ---
     build_archive_index || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to build archive index.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+    # --- Start Change: Identify affected archive months ---
+    identify_affected_archive_months || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to identify affected archive months.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+    # --- End Change ---
 fi
 echo "Built intermediate cache indexes."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
+
+# Load Templates (and generate dynamic menus, exports vars like HEADER_TEMPLATE)
+# Moved down after indexing
+# shellcheck source=templates.sh
+bssg_ram_timing_start "templates" "Template Prep"
+source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/templates.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source templates.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+preload_templates # Call the function
+echo "Loaded and processed templates."
+
+# --- Pre-calculate Max Template/Locale Time --- START ---
+# Moved down, should happen after templates are loaded
+echo "Pre-calculating latest template/locale modification time..."
+# IMPORTANT: Requires TEMPLATES_DIR, THEMES_DIR, THEME, LOCALE_DIR, SITE_LANG, get_file_mtime to be available
+latest_template_locale_time=0
+
+# Determine active template directory
+active_template_dir="${TEMPLATES_DIR:-templates}"
+if [ -d "$active_template_dir/${THEME:-default}" ]; then
+    active_template_dir="$active_template_dir/${THEME:-default}"
+fi
+header_template_file="$active_template_dir/header.html"
+footer_template_file="$active_template_dir/footer.html"
+
+# Determine active locale file
+active_locale_file=""
+if [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh" ]; then
+    active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/${SITE_LANG:-en}.sh"
+elif [ -f "${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh" ]; then # Fallback to en.sh
+    active_locale_file="${LOCALE_DIR:-locales}/en.sh"
+fi
+
+# Get timestamps (returns 0 if file doesn't exist)
+header_time=$(get_file_mtime "$header_template_file")
+footer_time=$(get_file_mtime "$footer_template_file")
+locale_time=$(get_file_mtime "$active_locale_file")
+
+# Find the maximum time
+latest_template_locale_time=$header_time
+if (( footer_time > latest_template_locale_time )); then
+    latest_template_locale_time=$footer_time
+fi
+if (( locale_time > latest_template_locale_time )); then
+    latest_template_locale_time=$locale_time
+fi
+
+export BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME=$latest_template_locale_time
+echo "Latest template/locale time: $BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME (Header: $header_time, Footer: $footer_time, Locale: $locale_time)"
+# --- Pre-calculate Max Template/Locale Time --- END ---
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 
 # --- Prepare for Parallel Processing ---
 if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
@@ -174,65 +470,143 @@ if [ "${HAS_PARALLEL:-false}" = true ]; then
     export CACHE_DIR FORCE_REBUILD POSTS_DIR PAGES_DIR OUTPUT_DIR SITE_URL SITE_TITLE SITE_DESCRIPTION AUTHOR_NAME
     export HEADER_TEMPLATE FOOTER_TEMPLATE POST_URL_FORMAT PAGE_URL_FORMAT BASE_URL PRETTY_URLS
     export CACHE_READING_TIME READING_TIME_WPM MARKDOWN_PROCESSOR MARKDOWN_PL_PATH DATE_FORMAT TIMEZONE SHOW_TIMEZONE
+    export SHOW_HEADER_MENU SHOW_INDEX_DESCRIPTIONS GENERATE_EXCERPT SHOW_READING_TIME
+    # Export the pre-calculated time for parallel jobs
+    export BSSG_MAX_TEMPLATE_LOCALE_TIME
 
     echo "Core parallel exports complete."
 fi
 
+# --- Related Posts Cache Invalidation --- START ---
+# This will be handled during post processing for better timing
+RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST=""
+if [ "${ENABLE_RELATED_POSTS:-true}" = true ]; then
+    # Export the variable for use by generate_posts.sh
+    export RELATED_POSTS_INVALIDATED_LIST
+fi
+# --- Related Posts Cache Invalidation --- END ---
+
 # --- Generate Content HTML ---
 # Source and run Post Generator
 # shellcheck source=generate_posts.sh
+bssg_ram_timing_start "posts" "Posts"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/generate_posts.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_posts.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 process_all_markdown_files || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Post processing failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Generated post HTML files."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 
 # --- Post Generation --- END ---
 
-# --- Page Generation --- START ---
+# --- Page Generation --- START --
 # Source the page generation script
 # shellcheck source=generate_pages.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "pages" "Static Pages"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_pages.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_pages.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 # Call the main page processing function
 process_all_pages || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Page processing failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Page Generation --- END ---
 
 # --- Tag Page Generation --- START ---
 # Source and run Tag Page Generator
 # shellcheck source=generate_tags.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "tags" "Tags"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_tags.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_tags.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 # Call the main function from the sourced script
 generate_tag_pages || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Tag page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Generated tag list pages."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Tag Page Generation --- END ---
 
+# --- Author Page Generation --- START ---
+# Source and run Author Page Generator (if enabled)
+if [ "${ENABLE_AUTHOR_PAGES:-true}" = true ]; then
+    bssg_ram_timing_start "authors" "Authors"
+    # shellcheck source=generate_authors.sh disable=SC1091
+    source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_authors.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_authors.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+    
+    # Call the main generation function 
+    # It will internally use AFFECTED_AUTHORS and AUTHORS_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+    generate_author_pages || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Author page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
+    echo "Generated author pages."
+    bssg_ram_timing_end
+fi
+# --- Author Page Generation --- END ---
+
 # --- Archive Page Generation --- START ---
 # Source and run Archive Page Generator (if enabled)
 if [ "${ENABLE_ARCHIVES:-false}" = true ]; then
+    bssg_ram_timing_start "archives" "Archives"
+    # Source the script (loads functions)
     # shellcheck source=generate_archives.sh disable=SC1091
     source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_archives.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_archives.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
-    generate_archive_pages || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Archive page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; } # Call the main function
+    
+    # Call the main generation function 
+    # It will internally use AFFECTED_ARCHIVE_MONTHS and ARCHIVE_INDEX_NEEDS_REBUILD
+    generate_archive_pages || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Archive page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
     echo "Generated archive pages."
-else
-     echo "Archives disabled, skipping generation."
+    bssg_ram_timing_end
 fi
 # --- Archive Page Generation --- END ---
 
 # --- Main Index Page Generation --- START ---
 # Source and run Main Index Page Generator
 # shellcheck source=generate_index.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "main_index" "Main Index"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_index.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_index.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 # Call the main function from the sourced script
 generate_index || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Index page generation failed.${NC}"; exit 1; }
 echo "Generated main index/pagination pages."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Main Index Page Generation --- END ---
 
 # --- Feed Generation --- START ---
 # Source and run Feed Generator
 # shellcheck source=generate_feeds.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "feeds" "Sitemap/RSS"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_feeds.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_feeds.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 # Call the functions from the sourced script
-generate_sitemap || echo -e "${YELLOW}Sitemap generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
-generate_rss || echo -e "${YELLOW}RSS feed generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
+echo "Timing sitemap generation..."
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" = true ]; then
+    echo "Timing RSS feed generation..."
+    feed_jobs=0
+    feed_jobs=$(get_parallel_jobs)
+    if [ "$feed_jobs" -gt 1 ]; then
+        echo "RAM mode: generating sitemap and RSS in parallel..."
+
+        sitemap_failed=false
+        rss_failed=false
+
+        generate_sitemap &
+        sitemap_pid=$!
+
+        generate_rss &
+        rss_pid=$!
+
+        if ! wait "$sitemap_pid"; then
+            sitemap_failed=true
+        fi
+        if ! wait "$rss_pid"; then
+            rss_failed=true
+        fi
+
+        if $sitemap_failed; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Sitemap generation failed, continuing build...${NC}"
+        fi
+        if $rss_failed; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}RSS feed generation failed, continuing build...${NC}"
+        fi
+    else
+        generate_sitemap || echo -e "${YELLOW}Sitemap generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
+        generate_rss || echo -e "${YELLOW}RSS feed generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
+    fi
+else
+    generate_sitemap || echo -e "${YELLOW}Sitemap generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
+    echo "Timing RSS feed generation..."
+    generate_rss || echo -e "${YELLOW}RSS feed generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
+fi
 echo "Generated RSS feed and sitemap."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Feed Generation --- END ---
 
 # --- Secondary Pages Index Generation --- START ---
@@ -242,39 +616,235 @@ echo "Generated RSS feed and sitemap."
 # We attempt to reconstruct the array from the exported string.
 # shellcheck disable=SC2154 # SECONDARY_PAGES is exported by templates.sh
 if [ -n "$SECONDARY_PAGES" ] && [ "$SECONDARY_PAGES" != "()" ]; then
+    bssg_ram_timing_start "secondary_index" "Secondary Index"
     # shellcheck source=generate_secondary_pages.sh disable=SC1091
     source "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate_secondary_pages.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source generate_secondary_pages.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
     generate_pages_index || echo -e "${YELLOW}Secondary pages index generation failed, continuing build...${NC}" # Allow failure
     echo "Generated secondary pages index."
+    bssg_ram_timing_end
 else
-    echo "No secondary pages found, skipping secondary pages index."
+    echo "No secondary pages defined, skipping secondary index generation."
 fi
 # --- Secondary Pages Index Generation --- END ---
 
 # --- Asset Handling --- START ---
 # Source the asset handling script
 # shellcheck source=assets.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "assets" "Assets/CSS"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/assets.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source assets.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
 # Copy static assets
+echo "Timing static files copy..."
 copy_static_files || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to copy static assets.${NC}"; exit 1; }
-# Process CSS files
+# Process CSS files (includes theme asset copy)
+echo "Timing CSS/Theme processing..."
 create_css "$OUTPUT_DIR" "$THEME" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to process CSS.${NC}"; exit 1; } # Pass OUTPUT_DIR and THEME
 echo "Handled static assets and CSS."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Asset Handling --- END ---
 
 # --- Post Processing --- START ---
 # Source and run Post Processor
 # shellcheck source=post_process.sh disable=SC1091
+bssg_ram_timing_start "post_process" "Post Processing"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/post_process.sh" || { echo -e "${RED}Error: Failed to source post_process.sh${NC}"; exit 1; }
+echo "Timing URL post-processing..."
 post_process_urls || echo -e "${YELLOW}URL post-processing failed, continuing...${NC}" # Allow failure
+echo "Timing output permissions fix..."
 fix_output_permissions || echo -e "${YELLOW}Fixing output permissions failed, continuing...${NC}" # Allow failure
 echo "Completed post-processing."
+bssg_ram_timing_end
 # --- Post Processing --- END ---
 
+# --- Final Cache Update --- START ---
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    create_config_hash
+fi
+# --- Final Cache Update --- END ---
+
+# --- Final Cleanup --- START ---
+if [ "${BSSG_RAM_MODE:-false}" != true ]; then
+    echo "Cleaning up previous index files..."
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/file_index_prev.txt"
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/tags_index_prev.txt"
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/authors_index_prev.txt"
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/archive_index_prev.txt"
+
+    # Remove the frontmatter changes marker if it exists
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/frontmatter_changes_marker"
+
+    # Clean up related posts temporary files to prevent unnecessary cache invalidation on next build
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/modified_tags.list"
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/modified_authors.list"
+    rm -f "${CACHE_DIR:-.bssg_cache}/related_posts_invalidated.list"
+fi
+
+# --- Final Cleanup --- END ---
+
+# --- Pre-compress Assets --- START ---
+_precompress_single_file() {
+    local file="$1"
+    local gzfile="$2"
+    local compression_level="$3"
+    local verbose_logs="$4"
+
+    if [ "$verbose_logs" = "true" ]; then
+        echo "Compressing: $file"
+    fi
+    gzip -c "-${compression_level}" -- "$file" > "$gzfile"
+}
+
+precompress_assets() {
+    # Check if pre-compression is enabled in the config.
+    if [ ! "${PRECOMPRESS_ASSETS:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
+    echo "Starting pre-compression of assets..."
+    local compression_level="${PRECOMPRESS_GZIP_LEVEL:-9}"
+    if ! [[ "$compression_level" =~ ^[1-9]$ ]]; then
+        compression_level=9
+    fi
+    local verbose_logs="${PRECOMPRESS_VERBOSE:-${RAM_MODE_VERBOSE:-false}}"
+
+    # 1. Cleanup: Remove any .gz file that does not have a corresponding original file.
+    # This handles cases where original files were deleted.
+    # Using -print0 and read -d '' to safely handle filenames with spaces or special chars.
+    find "${OUTPUT_DIR}" -type f -name "*.gz" -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' gzfile; do
+        original_file="${gzfile%.gz}"
+        if [ ! -f "$original_file" ]; then
+            echo "Removing stale compressed file: $gzfile"
+            rm -- "$gzfile"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    # 2. Compression: Compress text files if they are new or have been updated.
+    # We target .html, .css, .xml and .js files.
+    local changed_files=()
+    while IFS= read -r -d '' file; do
+        local gzfile="${file}.gz"
+        # Compress if the .gz file doesn't exist, or if the original file is newer.
+        if [ ! -f "$gzfile" ] || [ "$file" -nt "$gzfile" ]; then
+            changed_files+=("$file")
+        fi
+    done < <(find "${OUTPUT_DIR}" -type f \( -name "*.html" -o -name "*.css" -o -name "*.xml" -o -name "*.js" \) -print0)
+
+    if [ "${#changed_files[@]}" -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "No changed assets to pre-compress."
+        echo "Asset pre-compression finished."
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local compress_jobs
+    compress_jobs=$(get_parallel_jobs "${PRECOMPRESS_MAX_JOBS:-0}")
+    if [ "$compress_jobs" -gt "${#changed_files[@]}" ]; then
+        compress_jobs="${#changed_files[@]}"
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$compress_jobs" -gt 1 ]; then
+        local file gzfile q_file q_gzfile q_level q_verbose
+        q_level=$(printf '%q' "$compression_level")
+        q_verbose=$(printf '%q' "$verbose_logs")
+        run_parallel "$compress_jobs" < <(
+            for file in "${changed_files[@]}"; do
+                gzfile="${file}.gz"
+                q_file=$(printf '%q' "$file")
+                q_gzfile=$(printf '%q' "$gzfile")
+                printf "_precompress_single_file %s %s %s %s\n" "$q_file" "$q_gzfile" "$q_level" "$q_verbose"
+            done
+        ) || { echo -e "${RED}Asset pre-compression failed.${NC}"; return 1; }
+    else
+        local file gzfile
+        for file in "${changed_files[@]}"; do
+            gzfile="${file}.gz"
+            _precompress_single_file "$file" "$gzfile" "$compression_level" "$verbose_logs" || {
+                echo -e "${RED}Asset pre-compression failed for ${file}.${NC}"
+                return 1
+            }
+        done
+    fi
+
+    echo "Pre-compressed ${#changed_files[@]} assets using ${compress_jobs} worker(s) (gzip -${compression_level})."
+
+    echo "Asset pre-compression finished."
+}
+
+# Execute the asset compression.
+bssg_ram_timing_start "precompress" "Pre-compress"
+precompress_assets
+bssg_ram_timing_end
+# --- Pre-compress Assets --- END ---
+
+# --- Deployment --- START ---
+bssg_ram_timing_start "deployment" "Deployment Decision/Run"
+deploy_now="false"
+if [[ "${CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE:-unset}" == "true" ]]; then # Use default value for safety
+    deploy_now="true"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Deployment forced via command line (--deploy).${NC}"
+elif [[ "${CMD_DEPLOY_OVERRIDE:-unset}" == "false" ]]; then
+    deploy_now="false"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Deployment skipped via command line (--no-deploy).${NC}"
+elif [[ "${DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
+    deploy_now="true"
+    echo "Deployment enabled via configuration (DEPLOY_AFTER_BUILD=true)."
+else
+    echo "Deployment not configured or explicitly disabled."
+fi
+
+if [[ "$deploy_now" == "true" ]]; then
+    if [[ -n "${DEPLOY_SCRIPT:-}" ]]; then
+        # Ensure the deploy script path is treated correctly (absolute, relative to project root, or starting with ~)
+        effective_deploy_script="$DEPLOY_SCRIPT"
+
+        # Handle tilde expansion first
+        if [[ "$effective_deploy_script" == "~/"* ]]; then
+            # Replace leading "~/" with "$HOME/"
+            effective_deploy_script="$HOME/${effective_deploy_script#\~/}"
+        elif [[ "$effective_deploy_script" == "~" ]]; then
+            # Handle the case where the path is just "~"
+            effective_deploy_script="$HOME"
+        fi
+
+        # Now check if it's absolute or relative (after potential tilde expansion)
+        if [[ ! "$effective_deploy_script" = /* ]]; then
+            # If not absolute (doesn't start with /), assume relative to project root
+            effective_deploy_script="${PROJECT_ROOT}/${effective_deploy_script}"
+        fi
+
+        # Check if the effective path exists and is a file
+        if [[ -f "$effective_deploy_script" ]]; then
+            if [[ -x "$effective_deploy_script" ]]; then
+                echo -e "${GREEN}Executing deployment script: $effective_deploy_script...${NC}"
+                DEPLOY_START_TIME=$(date +%s)
+                # Execute the script from the project root context
+                # Pass OUTPUT_DIR and SITE_URL as potentially useful arguments
+                # Add error handling for the script execution itself
+                if (cd "$PROJECT_ROOT" && "$effective_deploy_script" "$OUTPUT_DIR" "$SITE_URL"); then
+                    DEPLOY_END_TIME=$(date +%s)
+                    DEPLOY_DURATION=$((DEPLOY_END_TIME - DEPLOY_START_TIME))
+                    echo -e "${GREEN}Deployment script finished successfully in ${DEPLOY_DURATION} seconds.${NC}"
+                else
+                    echo -e "${RED}Error: Deployment script '$effective_deploy_script' failed with exit code $?.${NC}"
+                    # Decide if build should fail on deployment failure (e.g., exit 1)
+                fi
+            else
+                echo -e "${RED}Error: Deployment script '$effective_deploy_script' is not executable.${NC}"
+            fi
+        else
+            echo -e "${RED}Error: Deployment script '$effective_deploy_script' not found.${NC}"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Deployment was requested, but DEPLOY_SCRIPT is not set in configuration.${NC}"
+    fi
+fi
+bssg_ram_timing_end
+# --- Deployment --- END ---
+
 # --- End of execution ---
 
 BUILD_END_TIME=$(date +%s)
 BUILD_DURATION=$((BUILD_END_TIME - BUILD_START_TIME))
+bssg_ram_timing_print_summary
 echo "------------------------------------------------------"
 echo -e "${GREEN}Build process completed in ${BUILD_DURATION} seconds.${NC}"
-exit 0 
+
+exit 0 

scripts/build/post_process.sh

@@ -1,111 +1,106 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
-# BSSG - Post-Processing Script
+# BSSG - Post-Processing Script 
 # Handles final URL fixing and permission adjustments.
 #
 
-# Source dependencies
+# Source common utilities
 # shellcheck source=utils.sh disable=SC1091
 source "$(dirname "$0")/utils.sh" || { echo >&2 "Error: Failed to source utils.sh from post_process.sh"; exit 1; }
 
-# Post-process all generated HTML files to fix URLs