Gatsby Starter Plasma is an open-source Gatsby boilerplate that gives you a minimal starting point for building a blog or portfolio site with the React-based static site generator.
What is Gatsby Starter Plasma?
Gatsby Starter Plasma is a starter repository by GitHub user imskr, hosted at github.com/imskr/gatsby-starter-plasma. It provides the essential Gatsby configuration files needed to scaffold a new site: gatsby-config.js for site metadata and plugins, gatsby-node.js for Node API customization, gatsby-browser.js for browser APIs, and gatsby-ssr.js for server-side rendering. The repository also includes a src folder for your source code, a .prettierrc formatting config, and standard files like package.json and .gitignore. Running the starter produces a Gatsby site that compiles React components into static HTML and assets, ready for any static hosting.
Key Features
- Gatsby framework — Built on Gatsby, a React-based static site generator that outputs fast-loading static pages with built-in GraphQL data querying.
- Configuration files included — Ships with the four core Gatsby config files (gatsby-config.js, gatsby-node.js, gatsby-browser.js, gatsby-ssr.js) so you can extend the site's behavior at build time, in the browser, and on the server.
- Prettier setup — Includes a .prettierrc configuration file to keep code formatting consistent across contributors.
- ESLint enabled — The repository shows an ESLint-enabled badge, indicating the starter is set up for static code analysis.
- CI/CD and testing badges — The README displays Netlify deploy status, Travis CI build, and Percy visual regression badges, showing that the starter itself is tested and deploy-ready.
- Quick start commands — The README documents how to create a new site with
gatsby new, install dependencies withyarn install, and run a live development server withgatsby develop. - GraphiQL IDE — During development, an in-browser GraphQL explorer is available at localhost:8000/___graphql for experimenting with data queries.
Who is it for?
- Developers starting a Gatsby project who want a no-frills boilerplate instead of the default starter.
- Bloggers and portfolio creators who need a clean React and GraphQL foundation to build a personal site, adding their own components and styles.
- Developers who care about code quality — the starter comes with Prettier and ESLint configured from the start.
What can you do with Gatsby Starter Plasma?
- Scaffold a new site — Run
gatsby new gatsby-plasma-starter https://github.com/imskr/gatsby-starter-plasmato create a project that is instantly editable. - Develop locally — After
yarn install, rungatsby developto serve the site at http://localhost:8000 with hot reloading for rapid iteration. - Explore GraphQL — Use the GraphiQL interface at http://localhost:8000/___graphql to query and inspect the site's data model while building.
How does Gatsby Starter Plasma work?
The starter follows Gatsby's standard workflow. First, you scaffold a new project via the Gatsby CLI. Then you install dependencies and run gatsby develop, which spins up a dev server with live reload. Gatsby reads your React components, processes them through its build pipeline, and generates a static site with optimized assets.
Pricing
Gatsby Starter Plasma is open source and licensed under the MIT License, so it is completely free to use, modify, and distribute for both personal and commercial projects.
Alternatives
- gatsby-starter-default — the official Gatsby starter, which includes more boilerplate code and basic styling.
- gatsby-starter-blog — the official blog-focused starter, which ships with a pre-configured blog layout and RSS feed.
FAQ
Is Gatsby Starter Plasma free?
Yes, it is released under the MIT License, so it is free to use even for commercial projects.
What do I need to run it?
You need Node.js and a package manager (npm or Yarn). The Gatsby CLI is recommended for creating new sites, but you can also clone the repository directly and run npm install or yarn install.
Does it include blog or portfolio templates?
The starter is tagged for blog and portfolio use, but it does not include pre-built page templates or blog functionality. You add your own components, pages, and Gatsby plugins.
How do I deploy a site built with this starter?
Gatsby builds produce static files that can be hosted anywhere static content is served. The repository's Netlify badge suggests Netlify is a supported deployment target, and Netlify offers automatic builds for Gatsby sites.
