E25DX is a Hugo theme for building technical documentation sites and blogs, with multiple documentation sets, light/dark modes, and fully local search through Pagefind.
What is E25DX?
E25DX is a Hugo theme that turns Markdown content into a responsive static documentation and blog website without requiring Node.js, npm, or any external CSS, JavaScript, icon, or font libraries. The theme takes Hugo's content files and configuration as input and produces static HTML pages with a menu configured through Hugo configs, sidebars driven by Hugo data templates, and a search index built with Pagefind. It was created and is maintained by GitHub user dumindu, whose earlier work on the Hexo navy theme and Docura informed this iteration.
Key Features
- Responsive and adaptive layouts — The theme adapts to different screen sizes and device types out of the box.
- Light and dark modes — Visitors can switch between light and dark color schemes, a capability that distinguishes E25DX from its earlier Docura theme.
- Multiple documentation sets — Publish more than one documentation collection under the same site, each with its own section and navigation.
- Blog support — A built-in blog template is included alongside the documentation templates, so a single Hugo site can host both docs and a blog.
- Menu from Hugo configs — Site navigation is declared in Hugo's configuration files rather than hard-coded in the theme.
- Customizable sidebars — Sidebar structure is defined with Hugo data templates, letting you reorganize navigation per documentation set.
- Plug-and-play home page blocks — Reusable home page sections are built from separate partials, CSS, and data templates, so you can repeat or reorder blocks.
- Pagefind search — Full-text search is integrated via Pagefind, which generates a static search index and requires no external search service.
Who is it for?
- Technical documentation maintainers — People who maintain product docs or API references and want a static site generator with built-in navigation and search.
- Developer bloggers — Developers who want a blog and documentation in one Hugo site without adding JavaScript frameworks.
- Open-source project maintainers — Teams that need multiple documentation sets (e.g., getting started, API reference, guides) for their project and prefer a configurable menu.
- Performance-conscious site builders — Anyone who wants a dependency-light theme that avoids Node.js build steps and external CDN assets.
What can you do with E25DX?
- Run a multi-section documentation site — Organize different product areas into separate documentation sets, each with its own sidebar and menu entries defined in Hugo data templates.
- Pair a blog with your docs — Write blog posts using standard Hugo Markdown content and publish them alongside the documentation pages in the same static site.
- Give visitors dark mode and search — Say goodbye to external search widgets; the local Pagefind integration lets users search the site without sending queries to a third-party service.
FAQ
Does E25DX require Node.js or npm?
No. The theme is designed to work without Node.js, npm, or any external frameworks, CSS, JS, icons, or fonts. It builds entirely with Hugo and the local Pagefind search integration.
How does search work in E25DX?
Search is powered by Pagefind, which generates a static search index during the Hugo build. The index is fully local, so queries run on the visitor's device and no external search service is involved.
Can I have both documentation and a blog with E25DX?
Yes. The theme includes templates for multiple documentation sets as well as a blog, so you can host both content types within a single Hugo site and manage navigation and sidebars through Hugo configs and data templates.
Alternatives
- Docura — The maintainer's earlier Hugo theme that introduced light and dark modes and YAML-based sidebars to their documentation work.
