# Quickstart Guide doesn't generate the static site shown on the server

**URL:** <https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616>\
**Category:** support\
**Created:** [July 21, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616 "2022-07-21T00:39:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jacob](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jacob/32/17361_2.png) [@jacob](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jacob)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/1 "2022-07-21T00:39:58Z")

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I’ve tried doing [Hugo’s Quick Start](https://gohugo.io/getting-started/quick-start/) twice now. First on Ubuntu 20.04 and now again on macOS Monterey.

Everything looks correct when running the site on my local hugo server, but just not when I try to generate the static site. All I get after running `hugo -D` on Step 7 of the quick start guide is an ugly, static site that looks like this:

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/gohugo/original/3X/a/b/abeef8dc51e78e947128d2dd2bdf3122f570eabd.png)

Does the quick start guide actually not have correct instructions? Or am I doing something wrong? It’s almost as if the `ananke` theme or the `hugo` CLI is not creating relative paths for the `index.html` file that is created or something.

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**Author:** ![devsr-gt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/devsr-gt/32/15058_2.png) [@devsr-gt](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/devsr-gt)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/2 "2022-07-21T00:42:38Z")

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This helped me. [Make a Hugo Blog From Scratch | zwbetz](https://zwbetz.com/make-a-hugo-blog-from-scratch/)

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**Author:** ![jmooring](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jmooring/32/4214_2.png) [@jmooring](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jmooring)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/3 "2022-07-21T01:51:16Z")

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Are you trying to view the published site by opening public/index.html directly with your browser?

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**Author:** ![jacob](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jacob/32/17361_2.png) [@jacob](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jacob)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/4 "2022-07-21T02:28:24Z")

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Yes, that’s correct. Should I open it elsewhere?

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**Author:** ![jmooring](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jmooring/32/4214_2.png) [@jmooring](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jmooring)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/5 "2022-07-21T02:30:32Z")

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> [@jacob](#):
>
> Yes, that’s correct.

Don’t do that. The public directory must be served (e.g., Apache, NGINX, IIS, etc.).

It is possible to create a site that can be navigated via the file system, but it is complicated, and probably not what you want.

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**Author:** ![jacob](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jacob/32/17361_2.png) [@jacob](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jacob)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/6 "2022-07-21T02:36:28Z")

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Got it. I’m hoping to eventually host a static site via an AWS S3 bucket, rather than on a server like Apache or NGINX. Because of this, I actually will need to set up the static site to navigate like a file system. Do you have any suggestions on how to best generate a static site in that way (e.g., File system-esque) with Hugo?

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**Author:** ![jmooring](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/jmooring/32/4214_2.png) [@jmooring](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/jmooring)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:45am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/7 "2022-07-21T02:45:17Z")

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> [@jacob](#):
>
> I actually will need to set up the static site to navigate like a file system

I don’t think that’s true.

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**Author:** ![BenSouchet](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/bensouchet/32/17297_2.png) [@BenSouchet](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/BenSouchet)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:44am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/8 "2022-07-21T09:44:20Z")

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My answer is probably not relevant for yor question but, to check you site locally use the `hugo server` command in a terminal (I use the command `hugo server -D --disableFastRender`) then go to `http://localhost:1313/` to see the website in your browser.

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**Author:** ![system](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.gohugo.io/system/32/1_2.png) [@system](https://discourse.gohugo.io/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 9:44am UTC](https://discourse.gohugo.io/t/quickstart-guide-doesnt-generate-the-static-site-shown-on-the-server/39616/9 "2022-07-23T09:44:46Z")

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Closed on July 23, 2022, 9:44am UTC

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