Gatsby's blog starter is a boilerplate repository for launching a blog with Gatsby, the React-based static site generator, shipped with the configuration files needed to run, build, and deploy a blog site.
What is the Gatsby Blog Starter?
It is the official blog starter from Gatsby (github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-blog) that provides a preconfigured project structure for a blog. It accepts a Gatsby CLI command to create a new site, and outputs a working blog with source code in the src directory. It runs on Gatsby and React, and includes a development server with hot reloading and a GraphQL playground at http://localhost:8000/___graphql.
Key Features
- Gatsby configuration files — Ships with
gatsby-config.js,gatsby-node.js,gatsby-browser.js, andgatsby-ssr.jsso you can customize site metadata, plugins, browser APIs, and server-side rendering. - Prettier integration — Includes a
.prettierrcconfiguration file for consistent code formatting. - GraphQL data layer — Gatsby's GraphQL querying is available during development at
http://localhost:8000/___graphqlvia GraphiQL. - Hot reload development server — Run
gatsby developto start a local server athttp://localhost:8000that updates in the browser on file edits. - Netlify deployment — The README includes a one-click Deploy to Netlify button pointing to the starter repository.
- MIT license — The project ships with an MIT-licensed
LICENSEfile.
Who is it for?
- Developers starting a new blog — Use the
gatsby newcommand with this repo URL to scaffold a blog with minimal setup. - React developers — Edit the React components under
src/pagesto customize the homepage and pages. - Gatsby learners — Explore the file structure and configuration files to understand how a Gatsby site is assembled.
What can you do with it?
- Create a blog site — Run
gatsby new my-blog-starter https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-blogto generate a new project. - Customize the homepage — Edit
src/pages/index.jsand see browser updates in real time. - Query site data — Use the GraphiQL interface at
http://localhost:8000/___graphqlto experiment with queries. - Deploy to Netlify — Use the provided deploy button to connect the repository and host the site.
How does it work?
The quick start process is: (1) create a site with gatsby new referencing this repo, (2) run gatsby develop to start the local server, and (3) edit files like src/pages/index.js to change the site. The development server provides live updates and GraphiQL.
FAQ
Is the Gatsby Blog Starter free?
Yes, the starter includes an MIT license, and Gatsby itself is MIT-licensed. You can use it for personal or commercial projects.
What does the Gatsby Blog Starter include?
It includes the core Gatsby configuration files (gatsby-config.js, gatsby-node.js, gatsby-browser.js, gatsby-ssr.js), a source directory, Prettier, npm scripts, and a README with setup instructions.
Does it support deployment?
Yes, the README provides a one-click Netlify deployment button that uses the starter repository URL.
