---
layout: docs
title: Basic Usage
prev_section: installation
next_section: structure
---

The Jekyll gem makes a `jekyll` executable available to you in your Terminal window. You can use this command in a number of ways:

{% highlight bash %}
jekyll
#=> The current folder will get generated into ./_site
jekyll <destination>
#=> The current folder will get generated into <destination>
jekyll <source> <destination>
#=> The <source> folder will get generated into <destination>
{% endhighlight %}

Jekyll also comes with a built-in development server that will allow you to preview what the generated site will look like in your browser locally.

{% highlight bash %}
jekyll --server
#=> A development server will run at http://localhost:4000/
jekyll --server --auto
#=> As above, but watch for changes and regenerate automatically too.
{% endhighlight %}

These are just some of the many [configuration options](../configuration) available. All configuration options can either be specified as flags on the command line, or alternatively (and more commonly) they can be specified in a `_config.yml` file at the root of the source directory. Jekyll will automatically configuration options from this file when run, so placing the following two lines in the configuration file will mean that running `jekyll` would be equivalent to running `jekyll --server --auto`:

{% highlight yaml %}
auto: true
server: true
{% endhighlight %}

For more about the possible configuration options, see the [configuration](../configuration) page.