After Dark is a retro dark theme for Hugo that converts Markdown-based site content into a fast, privacy-focused static HTML5 site with built-in offline search.
What is After Dark?
After Dark is a retro dark theme for the Hugo static site generator, created by VHS and released under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3. It takes standard Hugo site content written in Markdown and produces static HTML5 output; Hugo 0.51 or newer is the only requirement. The theme is cross-platform, uses a single dependency in a single codebase, and ships with an example documentation website written in After Dark itself.
Key Features
- Incredibly fast builds — average build time of about 0.615 seconds and page loads measured in deciseconds.
- Privacy aware by default — no cookies, no trackers, and no external requests are made when serving pages.
- Security hardening — source-level integrity checking plus a strict content security policy; releases are PGP-signed and SHA-verified.
- Advanced graphics — BPG image support, PhotoSwipe lightbox support, and aggressive lazy-loading of images.
- Offline fuzzy search — automatic, client-side search that works without any third-party service.
- Batteries included — integrations with Gitea, Kubernetes, Traefik, and Fathom Analytics.
- Sass support — adding Sass to a project speeds up build times and extends styling options.
- Full template overrides — any theme template can be overridden to compose custom views.
Who is it for?
- Hugo bloggers who want a dark, retro-styled blog that loads fast and respects visitors' privacy.
- Self-hosting developers who run Gitea, Kubernetes, Traefik, or Fathom Analytics and want those integrations in their site.
- Developers who need docs sites — the included example documentation website can be used as a starting point for project documentation.
- Privacy-conscious site owners who want no cookies, no trackers, and no external requests on their pages.
What can you do with After Dark?
- Bloggers: publish a dark-themed personal blog with offline fuzzy search — readers get full-text search without any third-party service.
- Documentation teams: build project documentation using the included example docs site, then customize templates freely.
- Self-hosters: deploy a static site that plugs into a Gitea-based workflow and Fathom Analytics tracking without external requests.
- Design-conscious developers: take advantage of BPG image compression and PhotoSwipe galleries for fast image-heavy pages.
How does After Dark work?
After Dark is installed into a Hugo site by cloning or adding the theme as a git submodule under the themes directory, by running the quick install script, or by pulling the NPM package. After installation, running ./themes/after-dark/bin/help starts an offline help server with detailed instructions; the ./themes/after-dark/bin/upgrade script checks for and performs upgrades. A Release Validator verifies that the running copy is a PGP-signed and SHA-verified release, with integrity checks possible offline.
Pricing
After Dark is free, open-source software distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPL-3.0-or-later). Releases are also packaged on NPM, making the theme usable in existing automation workflows.
FAQ
Does After Dark require a specific Hugo version?
Yes — After Dark requires Hugo 0.51 or newer. Hugo is the only runtime dependency; no other tools or packages are needed.
Is After Dark really free of cookies and trackers?
Yes. The page states that the theme sends no cookies, sets no trackers, and makes no external requests.
How do I upgrade After Dark?
Run the upgrade script at ./themes/after-dark/bin/upgrade. For security reasons, upgrading replaces the theme files as a whole; if you modify the source, create a fork instead.
Can I customize After Dark?
Yes. Any theme template can be overridden to compose your own views, and adding Sass support to your project further extends styling options.
What license is After Dark released under?
It is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3, which means you can redistribute and modify it under the terms of that license.
