gatsby-starter-readonly is a Gatsby.js V4 starter template that scaffolds a static website from the Readonly design by HTML5 UP. It takes a Gatsby project skeleton as input and produces a deployable static site, configured through a single config.js file. The template was created by Anubhav Srivastava and is published as a GitHub repository for the Gatsby community.
What is gatsby-starter-readonly?
gatsby-starter-readonly is a Gatsby.js V4 starter template that scaffolds a static website from the Readonly design by HTML5 UP. It takes a Gatsby project skeleton as input and produces a deployable static site, configured through a single config.js file. The template was created by Anubhav Srivastava and is published as a GitHub repository for the Gatsby community.
Key Features
- Gatsby v4 foundation — Built on Gatsby.js V4, so the generated site gets React-based rendering, static-site generation, and the Gatsby build pipeline out of the box.
- HTML5 UP Readonly design — Uses the Readonly theme by HTML5 UP as the visual base, giving the site a clean, portfolio-style layout.
- Single-file configuration — All site-wide settings such as siteTitle, authorName, heading, and social links live in one config.js file, so you change site details in one place.
- Social link support — socialLinks entries accept Font Awesome icon classes (for example, fa-github), making it easy to add profiles.
- GitHub Pages deployment — A built-in npm run deploy script uses the gh-pages module to publish the site directly to GitHub Pages.
- Path prefix support — Includes a pathPrefix value in the Gatsby config, so the site can be hosted under a subpath of a domain, or the prefix can be removed for root hosting.
- MIT license — The starter is released under the MIT open-source license, so it can be freely used and modified.
- Part of a starter family — The same author publishes many related Gatsby starters (for example, gatsby-starter-resume and gatsby-starter-spectral), easing discovery of alternate designs.
Who is it for?
- Web developers who want to launch a personal site or portfolio quickly without building the layout from scratch, using a Gatsby CLI command to scaffold the project.
- Designers who want a clean, readable portfolio layout based on the well-known HTML5 UP Readonly template, with the ability to edit config.js instead of touching components.
- GitHub Pages users who need a one-command deployment workflow via npm run deploy and path-prefix handling for project sites.
What can you do with gatsby-starter-readonly?
- Create a personal portfolio: Run gatsby new with the repository URL to generate a site, then edit config.js to replace the default author name, heading, and social links with your own details.
- Publish to GitHub Pages: Use npm run deploy to push the built static files to the gh-pages branch; adjust pathPrefix when the site lives in a project subdirectory rather than at the domain root.
- Use as a learning baseline: Because the starter follows standard Gatsby project structure, it can serve as a minimal example for understanding Gatsby components and configuration before building a larger application.
How does gatsby-starter-readonly work?
- Install the Gatsby CLI globally with npm install --global gatsby-cli.
- Scaffold a new project with gatsby new your-site-name https://github.com/anubhavsrivastava/gatsby-starter-readonly.
- Run npm install and then gatsby develop to start a local development server.
- Edit config.js to personalize the site.
- Deploy by running npm run deploy, which publishes to GitHub Pages using the gh-pages package.
Pricing
The template is free to use. It is released under an MIT open-source license, and the repository does not mention any paid tiers.
Alternatives
- gatsby-starter-casual — another Gatsby starter by the same author, based on the Casual HTML5 UP theme.
- gatsby-starter-resume — a Gatsby starter for a resume-style layout, also by Anubhav Srivastava.
- gatsby-starter-spectral — a Gatsby starter using the Spectral design by HTML5 UP, from the same author.
FAQ
Is gatsby-starter-readonly free?
Yes. The template is open source under the MIT license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute it. No paid plan or license fee is mentioned in the repository.
How do I install gatsby-starter-readonly?
Make sure the Gatsby CLI is installed globally, then run gatsby new your-site-name https://github.com/anubhavsrivastava/gatsby-starter-readonly. That creates a new project directory with the starter files, ready for npm install and gatsby develop.
How do I customize the site details?
Edit config.js in the project root. The file contains fields such as siteTitle, authorName, heading, and a socialLinks array where you can set Font Awesome icon names and profile URLs.
Can I deploy this starter to GitHub Pages?
Yes. The package.json includes a deploy script that uses the gh-pages module. Running npm run deploy builds the site and publishes it to the gh-pages branch. If the site is hosted under a project subpath, update pathPrefix accordingly; for a root domain, remove it.
What is gatsby-starter-readonly based on?
It is based on Readonly, a one-page portfolio theme by HTML5 UP, and is built with the Gatsby.js V4 static site generator by Anubhav Srivastava.
