Blogsmith Free

Blogsmith Free is a free, open-source blog template for Astro created by Cosmic Themes that gives you a production-ready blog with pagination, categories, RSS, and a Keystatic CMS setup out of the box.

What is Blogsmith Free?

Blogsmith Free is a free, open-source Astro blog theme developed by Cosmic Themes. It takes Markdown or CMS-managed content and generates a static blog with listing pages, individual posts, category archives, pagination, and an RSS feed. The template runs on Astro and uses Tailwind CSS for styling, with a file structure covering components, layouts, data, and pages under src/. It is distributed under the GPL-3.0 License, and a live demo is available at https://blogsmithfree.cosmicthemes.com/.

Key Features

• Astro framework — Built on Astro, with routes derived from files in src/pages/, supporting .astro and .md pages.
• Tailwind CSS styling — Global styles live in src/styles/global.css and the project uses Tailwind CSS (per the repository description).
• Keystatic CMS — Includes a keystatic.config.tsx file, allowing editors to manage content through a CMS interface.
• Blog pagination — Provides paginated blog list pages via blog/[...page].astro and category pagination via categories/[category]/[...page].astro.
• Category archives — A categories index page and per-category archive pages are included.
• RSS feed — Generates an RSS feed through src/pages/rss.xml.ts, so readers can subscribe.
• Author data — Structured author data is stored in src/data/authors/, enabling multi-author blogs.
• Deployment configuration — Ships a netlify.toml and quickstart instructions for Vercel, Cloudflare, and other static hosts.
• Code tour — Includes a .tours/code-intro.tour file, navigable with the Code Tour VSCode extension.

Who is it for?

• Independent bloggers — who want a quick, static blog with built-in RSS and category pages without building from scratch.
• Developers — who need a minimal, hackable Astro starter with a clear file layout and a code tour to orient them.
• Content teams — who can use Keystatic CMS to write and edit posts without touching code.
• Freelancers and agencies — who want a free base template to spin up client blogs and deploy to Netlify or Vercel.

What can you do with Blogsmith Free?

• Launch a personal blog: Write posts in Markdown, organize them by category, and automatically generate RSS for subscribers.
• Customize design and content: Edit Tailwind styles, replace the Hero.astro component, and adjust navigation data in src/config/navData.json.ts.
• Deploy to static hosting: Follow the quickstart to deploy free to Netlify (with provided netlify.toml), Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages.
• Manage posts via a CMS: Use the included Keystatic configuration to add and edit content through a web interface.

How does Blogsmith Free work?

The quickstart walks you through: fork and clone the repository, install dependencies with npm install or pnpm install, start the dev server, customize style/content/forms via the linked docs, update the site URL in astro.config.mjs and public/robots.txt, then deploy.

Pricing

Blogsmith Free is free and open source under the GPL-3.0 License. Cosmic Themes also offers an optional All Access purchase that grants a no-attribution license.

FAQ

Is Blogsmith Free really free?

Yes, it's open source under GPL-3.0. You can use it for free. If you want to waive attribution requirements, Cosmic Themes offers an All Access license for purchase.

What tech stack does Blogsmith Free use?

It's built with Astro and Tailwind CSS, and includes a Keystatic CMS configuration. It supports deployment to Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, and other static hosts.

Can I customize the theme?

Yes, you can edit styles in src/styles/global.css, modify components like Hero.astro, update navigation in src/config/navData.json.ts, and change content in src/data. A code tour is included to help.

Does Blogsmith Free include an RSS feed?

Yes, it generates an RSS feed via src/pages/rss.xml.ts, which readers can subscribe to.

How do I deploy Blogsmith Free?

Update the site URL in astro.config.mjs and public/robots.txt, then push to your repo. The project includes netlify.toml for Netlify, and the docs cover Vercel and Cloudflare deployment.