Routing

Bark uses file-based routing: a page's URL comes straight from its path in docs/. There is no route table to maintain, just a catch-all handler mapping the request path onto the page cache.

From file path to URL ​

Three steps:

1. Drop the extension. .md will not be used in the URI.
2. Collapse index.md. It becomes the page for its folder, with no /index suffix.
3. Lowercase and trim. Slashes are trimmed and casing normalized, so /Guide/ and /guide/ are the same page.

Bark reads from docs/ relative to the app's working directory. Point it elsewhere with Docs:RootPath. See Site Config for the full option list.

Linking between pages ​

Use root-relative links, the same shape Bark generates for navigation and breadcrumbs:

See the [Configuration](/guide/configuration) guide.

A relative link such as ./configuration works too, but it resolves against the page's URL, not its location in docs/. Because pages serve at directory-style URLs (/guide/getting-started/, not /guide/getting-started.md), a relative link to a sibling in the same folder is fine, while one reaching into another folder usually is not. Root-relative links avoid the question, so prefer them.

Using a base path ​

Some deployments run under a subdirectory rather than at a domain root. A GitHub Pages project site is the common case, serving content at username.github.io/your-repo/. Configuring /your-repo as the base path tells Bark where requests arrive and where generated links should point.

Bark adjusts structured front matter for you, including hero.image and any hero or feature action links. Links and images written in the page body are passed through untouched, so include the prefix yourself when writing them. Under a base path of /docs, write /docs/guide/configuration rather than /guide/configuration.

The same applies to embedded images. See Asset Handling for how they behave in subdirectory deployments.

What happens on a request ​

1. The incoming path is trimmed and lowercased the same way file paths are, so GET /Guide/Routing/ and GET /guide/routing hit one cache entry.
2. An empty path (/) resolves to Docs:DefaultPage, which is index by default.
3. No match in the page cache returns a 404 page, not an exception.

Building the sidebar ​

You do not write a sidebar by hand unless you want to. With no sidebar or nav in config.json, Bark builds the left navigation from your folder tree, listing sub-folders before files and sorting alphabetically within each group. For grouped sections, a header nav with dropdowns, or a different sidebar per section, see Configuration.