Astro Sidey

Astro Sidey is a minimal, content-focused blog theme built with Astro and Tailwind CSS, designed to put your words on a fast, clean canvas with a side-anchored layout.

What is Astro Sidey?

Astro Sidey is a simple, open-source personal blog theme built on the Astro framework with Tailwind CSS for styling. It takes markdown and MDX files placed in the src/content folder and generates a fully static website with auto-generated routes, an RSS feed, and a sitemap. The project is inspired by the Jekyll theme sidey-jekyll and is licensed under the MIT License, so it is free to use and modify. The theme is described as minimal by design, with few files and little styling, and it uses a single configuration file called sidey.config.ts to manage site settings. It was created for developers, writers, and digital gardeners who want a clean, fast canvas without unnecessary decoration.

Key Features

Astro Sidey includes a focused set of features that keep the reading experience at the center, from a typography-first layout to automatic route generation.

• Minimal by design — Few files and little styling make the theme easy to modify and understand.
• Typography first — Set in the Geist font with a clean, readable prose layout.
• Flexoki color scheme — A warm, paper-like palette that supports light and dark mode for comfortable reading.
• Expressive Code — Code blocks include syntax highlighting, line numbers, and collapsible sections.
• Image lightbox — Click any image to open it full screen without leaving the page.
• Auto-generated routes — The folder structure maps directly to URLs; a file at src/content/writings/my-post.mdx becomes /writings/my-post.
• Single config file — All site settings live in sidey.config.ts.
• MDX support — Use components inside your markdown, plus automatic RSS feed and sitemap generation.

Who is it for?

Astro Sidey suits developers, writers, and digital gardeners who prefer a no-frills platform for publishing long-form content.

• Developers — Blog about code with full syntax highlighting, MDX components, and a minimal codebase to customize.
• Writers — Publish long-form posts in markdown with a typography-first layout and a clean reading experience.
• Digital gardeners — Maintain a personal knowledge base or collection of notes using the simple content folder structure and auto-generated routes.

What can you do with Astro Sidey?

Use Astro Sidey to build a personal blog, portfolio, or knowledge base with markdown content and automatic navigation.

• Personal blogs — Create a fast static blog with markdown posts and automatic RSS.
• Portfolio or landing page — Use the home page and about page patterns to show work, since the template includes multiple page types.
• Documentation or knowledge base — Organize writings with nested folders that map to URLs.

How does Astro Sidey work?

To start, click the Use this template button on GitHub to create a repository, then clone it locally, install dependencies, and run the development server with npm run dev. The content lives in markdown or MDX files under src/content; the folder structure determines the final URLs. Open sidey.config.ts to fill in your site details, and the theme handles the rest.

Pricing

Astro Sidey is free to use. It is released under the MIT License, so you can use, modify, and distribute it without restrictions.

Alternatives

The main alternative to Astro Sidey is sidey-jekyll, the original Jekyll theme that inspired it.

• sidey-jekyll — The original Jekyll theme, built for Ruby-based Jekyll sites.

FAQ

Here are answers to common questions about using Astro Sidey.

Is Astro Sidey free?

Yes, Astro Sidey is completely free and open source. The project is released under the MIT License, which allows you to use, modify, and distribute the theme for personal or commercial projects.

How do I get started with Astro Sidey?

Click the Use this template button on the GitHub repository to create a new repository, then clone it to your machine. Run npm install to install dependencies, then npm run dev to start the development server. Finally, edit sidey.config.ts with your site information.

Does Astro Sidey support MDX?

Yes, Astro Sidey supports MDX. You can import and use components inside your markdown files, which makes it possible to add interactive elements to your posts.

Does Astro Sidey include an RSS feed and sitemap?

Yes, the theme automatically generates an RSS feed and a sitemap from your content. This helps readers subscribe to your blog and search engines index your site without extra configuration.