Hikari is a minimal Hugo theme for bloggers that ports Mathieu Mayer-Mazzoli's original Hikari theme from Jekyll to Hugo, focusing readers on content through a simple, uncluttered layout.
What is Hikari?
Hikari is a Hugo theme designed for personal blogs and content-focused websites. It takes a Hugo site's content (Markdown posts) and produces a static blog with a clean, minimal design. The theme runs on the Hugo static site generator, was created by digitalcraftsman, and is a port of the Jekyll theme of the same name by Mathieu Mayer-Mazzoli. As noted on the project page, the theme is no longer maintained.
Key Features
- Disqus comments — Add your Disqus shortname to the config file to enable reader comments on blog posts.
- Google Analytics — Optionally enter a tracking code in the config to get visitor statistics.
- RSS support — The theme automatically provides RSS feeds for your blog, helping readers subscribe.
- Syntax highlighting — Source code in blog posts is highlighted for better readability.
- Minimal design — The layout deliberately avoids visual distraction so the content stands out.
- Configurable via config.toml — Copy the exampleSite configuration and change strings to customize your site.
Who is it for?
- Bloggers who want a clean, content-first reading experience without extra visual noise.
- Developers who are migrating a Jekyll site to Hugo and want a familiar visual style.
- Hugo users who need built-in integrations for comments (Disqus) and analytics (Google Analytics) without writing custom code.
What can you do with Hikari?
- Personal bloggers: Publish long-form posts with syntax-highlighted code snippets and a simple layout that keeps readers focused.
- Technical writers: Create a blog or documentation site with RSS and optional Google Analytics tracking to measure readership.
- Developers migrating from Jekyll: Use the same look as the original Hikari Jekyll theme while taking advantage of Hugo's faster static-site generation.
How does Hikari work?
Installation is git-based: create a themes folder in your Hugo site, clone the repository into it, copy the provided config.toml from exampleSite to your site root, and run hugo server to preview the site at localhost:1313. After that, add your Disqus shortname and Google Analytics tracking code to the config as needed.
FAQ
Is Hikari free?
Yes, Hikari is released under the MIT license, so you can use and modify it freely, including for commercial projects.
Does Hikari support comments?
Yes, Hikari integrates Disqus for comments. You only need to add your Disqus shortname to the configuration file.
Is Hikari still maintained?
No. The project page states that the theme is no longer maintained, so you may need to handle any issues yourself or fork the repository.
What static site generator does Hikari use?
Hikari is built for Hugo, the open-source static site generator written in Go. It is a port of a Jekyll theme.
