The Gatsby Default Starter is an official boilerplate from the Gatsby team that scaffolds a minimal React-based static site with the core Gatsby configuration files preconfigured.
What is the Gatsby Default Starter?
The Gatsby Default Starter is the standard starting point for new Gatsby projects, maintained by the Gatsby organization. It takes a project name as input and produces a new directory containing a working Gatsby site with React components, a configuration layer for Gatsby's Node, browser, and SSR APIs, and a set of default files such as package.json, .gitignore, and README.md.
Key Features
- Gatsby configuration files — The starter ships with gatsby-config.js for site metadata and plugins, gatsby-node.js for Node APIs, gatsby-browser.js for browser APIs, and gatsby-ssr.js for server-side rendering customization.
- Prettier formatting — A .prettierrc file is included to enforce consistent code style across the project.
- GraphiQL explorer — When running
gatsby develop, the site includes a live query explorer athttp://localhost:8000/___graphqlfor experimenting with Gatsby's data layer. - React-based pages — The source page at src/pages/index.js is editable, and browser hot reload updates it in real time.
- MIT licensed — The starter is released under the MIT license, allowing free use and modification.
- Netlify deployment — A one-click deploy button is provided to launch the site on Netlify.
Who is it for?
- New Gatsby developers — Use the starter to create a minimal site and follow the official Gatsby tutorial to learn the framework step by step.
- React developers — Use it as a clean base to add components, plugins, and pages without starting from an empty folder.
- Project maintainers — Use it as a scaffold for contributor test sites or documentation sites that need a standard Gatsby setup.
What can you do with it?
- Build a personal blog or documentation site: Start from the default starter and add content pages, markdown transformations, and plugins as described in the Gatsby docs.
- Learn static site generation: Explore how Gatsby compiles React into static HTML by running
gatsby buildand inspecting the output. - Test Gatsby plugins: The starter's clean, minimal setup makes it a convenient playground for prototyping gatsby-node, gatsby-browser, and gatsby-ssr API usage.
How does the starter work?
- Run
gatsby new my-default-starter https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-defaultto create a new site from the template. - Navigate into the folder and run
gatsby developto start a development server athttp://localhost:8000. - Edit src/pages/index.js to change the visible page; the browser auto-updates on save.
Pricing
The Gatsby Default Starter is free and open source, released under the MIT license.
FAQ
How do I create a Gatsby site with this starter?
Use the Gatsby CLI command gatsby new my-default-starter https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-default, replacing my-default-starter with your project name. This clones the starter into a new directory and installs npm dependencies.
Does the starter include a CMS or styling system?
No. The default starter ships with no CSS framework, component library, or CMS preinstalled. It includes only the essential Gatsby files, Prettier, and a minimal React page — you add integrations yourself via gatsby-config.js.
What is the GraphiQL tool at localhost:8000/___graphql?
It is a development-only explorer for running GraphQL queries against your Gatsby site's data layer. The README's quick start note and the Gatsby tutorial part five describe how to use it to inspect and query your site's content.
