Hipaper is a newspaper-style blog theme for Hexo, a static site generator that turns Markdown content into a fast, deployable website. It was created by iTimeTraveler and is released under the MIT license, with a live demo available at the project's GitHub Pages.
What is Hipaper?
Hipaper is a free, open-source Hexo theme that gives blogs an editorial, magazine-like layout inspired by the Wordpress theme FASHIONISTA by ATHEMES. It takes your Markdown posts and generates a static site with a customizable sidebar, code highlighting, and search functionality. The theme is installed by cloning its GitHub repository into your Hexo site's themes directory and changing the theme setting in the main _config.yml.
Key Features
Hipaper packs the tools most blog themes need, all configurable from its _config.yml. Notable features include:
- Logo options — Use either the default text title or replace it with an image logo by enabling the avatar field in the theme's config, with adjustable width, height, and positioning.
- Code highlighting — Built on the Tomorrow Theme with six color schemes: default, normal, night, night blue, night bright, and night eighties, selectable via the highlight_theme setting.
- Flexible sidebar — The sidebar can be placed on the left, right, or bottom of the page, and includes seven widgets: search, social, recent posts, category, tag, tag cloud, and archive.
- Search options — Supports Insight Search (requires the hexo-generator-json-content package), Swiftype, and Baidu search engines.
- Lightbox for photos — Integrates Fancybox to display images in an overlay, usable with Markdown syntax or the theme's fancybox tag.
- Comment integration — Native support for Disqus and DuoShuo comment systems; configure one shortname to enable.
- Responsive design — The theme includes a mobile preview and adapts to different screen sizes.
Who is it for?
Hipaper suits anyone running a Hexo blog who wants a more editorial, newspaper-like presentation without building custom templates. Typical users include:
- Hexo bloggers — who want a distinctive editorial layout different from typical minimal themes.
- Writers and journalists — publishing long-form content who want a newspaper-style presentation with easy navigation.
- Developers — familiar with Hexo who need a theme with built-in search, comments, and code highlighting without assembling many plugins.
Use cases
- Personal blogs: Publish articles with a magazine-style layout, using the sidebar for categories, tags, and recent posts.
- Tech blogs: Use the six code highlighting themes and Fancybox for screenshots to document projects clearly.
- Creative portfolios: Display visual work with Fancybox lightboxes while keeping a text-first newspaper aesthetic.
How does it work?
To install, clone the repository into themes/hipaper inside your Hexo project, set the theme field to hipaper in _config.yml, and pull updates with git. The theme reads your Markdown posts and renders them using its layout templates; configuration lives in the theme's own _config.yml file, where you can adjust sidebar widgets, search engine, logo, and highlight theme.
FAQ
Is Hipaper free?
Yes, Hipaper is released under the MIT license, so you can use, modify, and distribute it freely.
How do I enable Insight Search?
Install the hexo-generator-json-content plugin with npm install -S hexo-generator-json-content, then set search.insight to true in the theme config.
Which comment systems are supported?
The theme natively supports DuoShuo and Disqus. In the config, set either duoshuo_shortname or disqus_shortname—only one can be displayed at a time.
Can I use an image instead of the text logo?
Yes, enable the avatar property in the theme's _config.yml and provide a URL or a local path to the image file.
