---
title: "Quartz Config: quartz.config.ts"
slug: "quartz-config"
category: "tooling"
tags: ["tooling", "quartz", "ssg", "configuration", "typescript", "obsidian"]
status: "stable"
last_updated: 2026-05-14
summary: "The shape of quartz.config.ts section by section: baseUrl, ignorePatterns, theme, and the plugin arrays that control the build."
related: ["[[tooling/quartz]]", "[[tooling/quartz-plugins]]", "[[tooling/quartz-layout]]", "[[tooling/quartz-deployment]]", "[[howto/deploy-quartz-site]]", "[[ops/github-pages]]", "[[tooling/obsidian]]"]
---

## Overview

`quartz.config.ts` is the single file that controls every Quartz build. It exports one `QuartzConfig` object with two top-level keys: `configuration` and `plugins`. Get `configuration` right once; iterate `plugins` as the site grows. This page walks each field with the reasoning behind the defaults.

## Set `baseUrl` to the bare domain, no protocol

`baseUrl` is the most consequential field in the file. Quartz uses it to build canonical URLs, RSS feed links, the sitemap, and the value written by `Plugin.CNAME()`. A wrong value breaks SEO and the custom-domain wiring silently.

```ts
configuration: {
  baseUrl: "llmbestpractices.com",   // bare domain, no https://, no trailing slash
}
```

Quartz prepends `https://` automatically. Do not include a path segment unless the site lives at a subpath. For the GitHub Pages subpath case (`user.github.io/repo`), set `baseUrl` to `user.github.io/repo`.

## Use `ignorePatterns` to keep private files out of the build

`ignorePatterns` is a list of glob patterns applied against `content/`. Anything that matches is excluded from the build output.

```ts
ignorePatterns: ["private", "templates", ".obsidian"],
```

- `private` excludes the entire `content/private/` folder. Put daily notes, scratch pages, and anything not ready for public view there.
- `templates` excludes Obsidian template files that are not pages.
- `.obsidian` excludes the vault config directory.

Add patterns early. Forgetting `private` ships draft pages. See [[tooling/obsidian]] for the matching vault layout.

## Choose `defaultDateType` based on how the site shows dates

Three options exist: `"created"`, `"modified"`, `"published"`. Set `"modified"` for reference vaults where pages are updated over time. Set `"created"` only when the publication date is more meaningful than the last edit.

```ts
defaultDateType: "modified",
```

`Plugin.CreatedModifiedDate` reads this field. When `priority: ["frontmatter", "git"]` is set on that plugin, the `last_updated` frontmatter field overrides the git history date. Prefer frontmatter control over git blame; git history is brittle across squash merges.

## Configure the theme object for visual consistency

The theme object sets font stacks, accent color, and light/dark background values. All fields have defaults; override only what diverges from the defaults.

```ts
theme: {
  fontOrigin: "googleFonts",
  cdnCaching: true,
  typography: {
    header: "Schibsted Grotesk",
    body: "Source Sans Pro",
    code: "IBM Plex Mono",
  },
  colors: {
    lightMode: {
      light: "#faf8f8",
      lightgray: "#e5e5e5",
      gray: "#b8b8b8",
      darkgray: "#4e4e4e",
      dark: "#2b2b2b",
      secondary: "#284b63",
      tertiary: "#84a98c",
      highlight: "rgba(143, 159, 169, 0.15)",
    },
    darkMode: { /* mirror with dark equivalents */ },
  },
},
```

Set `cdnCaching: true` in production so fonts are served from the Google CDN with aggressive cache headers. Set `fontOrigin: "localFonts"` only when the site must work offline or when the privacy posture disallows external font requests. See [[tooling/quartz-layout]] for how the theme values flow into the layout system.

## Keep `pageTitle` short, use `pageTitleSuffix` for the full name

`pageTitle` appears in the browser tab and the top-level navigation. Keep it to one or two words. If the site name is long, set `pageTitleSuffix` separately so `<title>` tags read `Page Name | Site Name`.

```ts
pageTitle: "llmbestpractices",
pageTitleSuffix: " | LLM Best Practices",
```

## Keep the full config type-safe

`quartz.config.ts` is typed TypeScript. Import `QuartzConfig` from `./quartz/cfg` and annotate the export.

```ts
import { QuartzConfig } from "./quartz/cfg"

const config: QuartzConfig = {
  configuration: { /* ... */ },
  plugins: { /* ... */ },
}

export default config
```

The type catches missing required fields and unknown keys at build time, not at runtime. Run `npx tsc --noEmit` before committing to catch type errors without emitting output. See [[tooling/quartz-plugins]] for the `plugins` object and [[tooling/quartz-layout]] for the layout system that consumes the theme.

## Related

- [[tooling/quartz]]
- [[tooling/quartz-plugins]]
- [[tooling/quartz-layout]]
- [[tooling/quartz-deployment]]
- [[howto/deploy-quartz-site]]
- [[ops/github-pages]]
- [[tooling/obsidian]]