hexo-theme-dreamlandbook (梦岛书) is a Hexo blog theme that turns a personal blog into a visual bookshelf, built as a modification of hexo-theme-maple and styled with Tailwind CSS.
What is hexo-theme-dreamlandbook?
hexo-theme-dreamlandbook is an open-source Hexo theme that takes Markdown blog posts as input and renders a static site with a distinctive "Dreamland Book" aesthetic, including a dedicated bookshelf page for displaying posts as books on a shelf. It runs on Hexo, the Node.js static site generator, and is developed by ROYIANS. The theme is currently in active development from April to October 2023, meaning configuration and interface may change significantly.
What makes hexo-theme-dreamlandbook stand out?
- Bookshelf layout — The theme displays blog posts as books on a shelf, a design rarely seen in Hexo themes, with a screenshot showing a dedicated bookshelf page.
- Tailwind CSS integration — Styling is built with Tailwind CSS, requiring the theme's
tailwind.config.jsandpostcss.config.jsto be copied to the Hexo root, plus dependencies likeautoprefixer,postcss,postcss-import,postcss-load-config, andtailwindcss-typography. - Based on hexo-theme-maple — Forked from the maple theme, it inherits a clean base and extends it with its own book-themed components.
- Separate configuration file — Uses
_config.dreamland.ymlfor theme-specific settings, letting you keep the theme's config separate from your main Hexo config. - Multilingual documentation — The README offers a Chinese and English translation link, and the theme name "梦岛书" (Dreamland Book) reflects its book-oriented identity.
- Active development plan — A Notion roadmap tracks upcoming features, and the repository shows star history and Netlify deployment status, indicating active maintenance.
Who is hexo-theme-dreamlandbook for?
- Hexo bloggers who love reading and books — They can showcase their posts as a curated bookshelf, matching a literary personal brand.
- Developers comfortable with Tailwind and PostCSS — The theme requires manually moving config files and installing CSS tooling, so a basic understanding of these tools helps.
- Chinese-language content creators — The primary documentation is in Chinese, with an English translation available, making it accessible to Chinese-speaking bloggers.
- Bloggers seeking a unique visual identity — Instead of a standard list layout, the bookshelf page offers a distinctive way to browse posts.
What can you do with hexo-theme-dreamlandbook?
- Personal bloggers: arrange your posts into a visual bookshelf where each entry looks like a book cover, giving your archive a memorable browsing experience.
- Book reviewers: organize reviews as books on a shelf, letting visitors "browse" your reading list visually.
- Portfolio users: use the bookshelf metaphor to present projects or articles as chapters, but note the theme is still under development so expect changes.
How does hexo-theme-dreamlandbook work?
Installation requires cloning the GitHub repository into your Hexo themes folder under the name dreamlandbook, then copying postcss.config.js and tailwind.config.js to the Hexo root. You then install the Tailwind and PostCSS dependencies with Yarn, change the theme setting in _config.yml to dreamlandbook, and optionally copy the theme's _config.yml to _config.dreamland.yml for easier configuration.
Pros and cons
- Pros: open source, unique bookshelf design, active development.
- Cons: under active development with potentially breaking changes, requires manual config file moves.
FAQ
Is hexo-theme-dreamlandbook free?
Yes, the theme is open source and available on GitHub at ROYIANS/hexo-theme-dreamlandbook with a star history, meaning it is free to use and modify under an open-source license.
What are the system requirements?
It requires Hexo (a Node.js static site generator) and its typical Node.js environment. You also need to install Tailwind CSS, PostCSS, and related packages like autoprefixer and tailwindcss-typography as listed in the README.
Is the theme stable for production?
The theme's README explicitly warns that it is under active development (April–October 2023) and that both configuration and interface style may change significantly, so expect breaking changes during this period.
How do I customize the theme?
After installing, copy the theme's _config.yml to _config.dreamland.yml in the Hexo root and edit that file. This keeps the theme's default config intact and applies your overrides on top.
What is the bookshelf page?
The theme includes a "博客书架页面" (blog bookshelf page) that displays posts in a bookshelf layout, as shown in the README's screenshots. It gives your blog archive a visually distinct look compared to standard list layouts.
