Aliquam is a Jekyll blog theme built for GitHub Pages, combining Disqus comments, Google Analytics, MathJax, and a contact form into a single template that publishes as a static site.
What is aliquam?
Aliquam is a Jekyll theme that generates a static blog site from a standard Jekyll project. It takes content written in Markdown, a _config.yml file, and a GitHub repository, then produces a fast HTML/CSS blog that can be hosted on GitHub Pages. The theme is authored by grrinchas and is distributed under the MIT License.
What makes aliquam stand out?
- Disqus comment system — integrated with Disqus, so readers can comment on posts after you set your Disqus shortname in
_config.yml. - Google Analytics — supports a Google Analytics tracking ID that you add to
_config.yml; no extra plugin is needed. - Pagination support — automatically splits posts into paginated lists so readers can browse older entries.
- Custom tags and categories — lets you organize posts with custom tag and category taxonomies that are rendered as navigation pages.
- SEO support — includes metadata for search engines, making posts more findable.
- Contact form integration — uses getSimpleform.com; adding a public key in
_config.ymlroutes form submissions to your email. - MathJax support — includes MathJax for rendering LaTeX-style equations; can be disabled by setting
math: falsein_config.yml.
Who should use aliquam?
- Independent bloggers who want a clean, self-hosted blog and need comments, analytics, and a contact page without pulling in third-party widgets.
- Developers and researchers who write technical posts and want MathJax equation rendering built in.
- GitHub users who want a personal site at their username.github.io and already maintain content in a Jekyll repository.
What can you do with aliquam?
- Launch a personal blog — fork the repository, rename it to username.github.io, and push to publish a blog with a configured comment system and analytics from day one.
- Run the blog locally — clone or download the source, run
jekyll serveorbundle exec jekyll s, and preview the site at localhost:4000. - Create a project blog on gh-pages — add the theme as a branch in an existing repository, set
baseurlto the branch name, and publish your blog as a subpath of a project site.
How does aliquam work?
Aliquam follows the standard Jekyll workflow. Installation offers three paths: forking the repository to create a new user site, creating a gh-pages branch in an existing repository, or running locally with Jekyll. Configuration is entirely handled through _config.yml, where you set fields like url, disqus, owner, title, subtitle, baseurl, google_analytics, contact_PK, and math. After configuration, the theme builds into a static blog that GitHub Pages serves automatically.
FAQ
Is aliquam free?
Yes, aliquam is open source under the MIT License, so you can use, modify, and distribute it freely for personal or commercial projects.
How do I install aliquam on GitHub Pages?
You can fork the repository and rename it to yourusername.github.io, create a gh-pages branch in an existing repository, or run it locally with Jekyll. Each method is documented in the theme's README with step-by-step commands.
How do I configure the contact form?
The theme uses getSimpleform.com. Sign up to receive a token, copy only the public key, and paste it as contact_PK in _config.yml. Then form messages are forwarded to the email you registered.
