Artifacts

An artifact is a single deliverable produced for a module (or for the whole course): a slide deck, a handout, an assignment, notes, a syllabus, etc.

Artifacts are declared in course.yaml under a module’s artifacts: list or at the top-level artifacts: list for course-wide documents.

Artifact fields

Field	Default	Description
`id`	`{type}-{index}`	Unique identifier within the scope (module or course)
`type`	—	Drives template resolution and subdirectory placement
`enabled`	`true`	Whether to generate a stub and include in Quarto configs
`status`	`planned`	Lifecycle status — metadata only
`file`	computed	Explicit output path; overrides the computed default
`output_formats`	—	List of render formats: `revealjs`, `beamer`, `pdf`, `website`
`stub_template`	auto-resolved	Jinja2 template name: string or per-format dict

Default file paths

When file: is not set, the generator computes:

content/{subdir}/{scope_id}-{artifact_type}.qmd

where {subdir} is determined by artifact type:

Artifact type	Subdirectory
`slides`	`content/slides/`
`handout`	`content/handouts/`
`notes`	`content/notes/`
`assignment`	`content/assignments/`
`syllabus`	`content/`
any other	`content/{type}/`

Example: module id: intro with artifact type: slides produces content/slides/intro-slides.qmd.

Output formats

Each artifact declares which Quarto render formats it participates in via the output_formats list. The generator uses this to include the artifact in the correct sub-project _quarto.yml and to emit matching format blocks in the stub front matter.

Format	Sub-project	Output
`revealjs`	`content/slides/`	reveal.js HTML slides
`beamer`	`content/slides/`	Beamer PDF slides
`pdf`	`content/handouts/` or `content/assignments/`	PDF document
`website`	root website project	HTML page embedded in course website

The “Other Formats” sidebar link

When a Quarto document declares multiple formats in its YAML front matter, Quarto automatically renders an “Other Formats” entry in the right-hand sidebar, linking to the alternative output (e.g. a PDF download link on an HTML page).

Whether this link appears is controlled entirely by the stub template, not by the renderer. The built-in templates conditionally emit a second format block based on output_formats:

Template	Condition	Emitted formats in stub
`handout.qmd.j2`	`website` in `output_formats`	`html: default` + `pdf: …`
`handout.qmd.j2`	`website` not in `output_formats`	`pdf: …` only
`notes.qmd.j2`	`pdf` in `output_formats`	`html: default` + `pdf: …`
`notes.qmd.j2`	`pdf` not in `output_formats`	`html: default` only
`assignment.qmd.j2`	always	`html: default` + `pdf: …`

To enable the “Other Formats: PDF” link for a handout, declare both formats:

artifacts:
  - id: intro-handout
    type: handout
    output_formats: [website, pdf]   # both → "Other Formats: PDF" appears

Custom stub templates follow the same rule: declare both formats in the generated front matter and Quarto produces the sidebar link automatically.

Examples

Slides with Beamer PDF

artifacts:
  - id: intro-slides
    type: slides
    enabled: true
    output_formats: [revealjs, beamer]

Handout with website page and PDF download

artifacts:
  - id: intro-handout
    type: handout
    enabled: true
    output_formats: [website, pdf]

Assignment (website + PDF)

artifacts:
  - id: ex01
    type: assignment
    enabled: true
    output_formats: [website, pdf]
    lms:
      release: 2026-10-05
      due: 2026-10-19

Disabled artifact (placeholder for future use)

artifacts:
  - id: project-brief
    type: assignment
    enabled: false

Pinning a custom template

artifacts:
  - id: my-poster
    type: slides
    output_formats: [revealjs]
    stub_template: poster.qmd.j2              # single template for all formats

  - id: lecture-slides
    type: slides
    output_formats: [revealjs, beamer]
    stub_template:
      default: slides.qmd.j2
      beamer:  slides-beamer.qmd.j2          # per-format override

See Templates & Filters for full template resolution rules.