# Quick Start
## Initialize a New Book
The fastest way to start:
```bash
guidebook init my-book
```
This creates:
```
my-book/
├── book.json # Configuration
├── README.md # Introduction (becomes index.html)
└── SUMMARY.md # Table of contents
```
Edit `SUMMARY.md` to add chapters, then start writing.
## Manual Setup
Alternatively, create the structure yourself:
```
my-book/
├── README.md # Introduction (becomes index.html)
├── SUMMARY.md # Table of contents
└── chapter1.md # Your content
```
### README.md
```markdown
# My Book
Welcome to my book!
```
### SUMMARY.md
```markdown
# Summary
* [Introduction](README.md)
* [Chapter 1](chapter1.md)
```
### chapter1.md
```markdown
# Chapter 1
This is the first chapter.
```
## Preview Your Book
```bash
cd my-book
guidebook serve
```
Open http://localhost:4000 in your browser.
The server watches for file changes and automatically reloads.
## Build for Production
```bash
guidebook build -o _book
```
This creates a `_book` folder with static HTML files ready to deploy.
## Deploy
Upload the `_book` folder to any static hosting:
- GitHub Pages
- Netlify
- Vercel
- Cloudflare Pages
- Any web server