Chirpy
A free Jekyll theme for building a technical blog or documentation-style site.cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy
- Stars
- 10.3k
- Forks
- 7.1k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- HTML
- Last update
- 2 months ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
Chirpy is a template (theme) for Jekyll, a tool that turns text files into a static website. It gives you a ready-made layout for a blog focused on technical writing, with features such as dark and light modes, syntax highlighting, math and diagram support, search, and a table of contents. You write posts in Markdown and the theme handles the look and layout.
- Publish a personal tech blog with categories, tags, and pinned posts
- Write posts containing code blocks, math formulas, or Mermaid flowcharts
- Offer site search and an Atom feed to readers
- Add a comment system or web analytics using the theme's built-in options
Great for
- Developers who want a technical blog without designing a site from scratch
- Writers who need code highlighting, math expressions, or Mermaid diagrams in posts
- People already comfortable with Jekyll or Ruby tooling
- Teams who want a site hosted for free on static hosting
Not ideal for
- People who want a visual site builder with no code: the README points to a wiki and Jekyll setup, which assumes some technical comfort
- Anyone needing a dynamic app with user accounts or databases, since Jekyll produces static pages
- Readers looking for a general-purpose website template beyond technical writing
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Ruby and RubyGems · Jekyll
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy.git - 2
Run it
- Install the theme through the Jekyll setup described in the wiki
- Open the project in a local Jekyll server or the included Dev Container
- Edit the sample posts in the posts folder and preview the result locally
- Adjust the site configuration file to your name, URL, and preferences
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the Dev Containers option to get a preconfigured environment, per the README badge
- Use pinned posts and hierarchical categories to organize a larger blog
- Enable Mermaid diagrams and math expressions for technical content
- Configure one of the supported comment systems and web analytics from the wiki
- Enable dark-mode images so visuals adapt to the reader's theme
Downloads
Strengths
- Feature-rich for technical writing, covering code, math, diagrams, and search in one theme
- Responsive layout with dark and light modes and optional PWA support
- Permissive MIT license and an active project with a published gem and a live demo
Trade-offs
- Setup and upgrades are documented in an external wiki, so the README alone gives limited guidance
- Requires Jekyll and Ruby knowledge to customize, which may be a hurdle for non-developers
- Feature list is taken from the README; specific comment systems and analytics providers are not named here
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jekyll-theme-chirpy (this) | 10.3k | Library | intermediate | 2 months ago | Developers who want a technical blog without designing a site from scratch |
| minimal-mistakes | 13.6k | Library | intermediate | 28 days ago | People who want a personal site or blog built with Jekyll |
| docusaurus | 66.6k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Open source projects that need a documentation website |
| tabler | 42k | Library | beginner | 7 days ago | Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly |
| academicpages.github.io | 17.8k | Other | beginner | 4 days ago | Academics who want a personal homepage listing publications and talks |
| al-folio | 16.3k | App | intermediate | 11 days ago | Academics and researchers who want a personal website with a clean, responsive layout |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.