Satellite is a Jekyll blog theme designed for GitHub Pages, delivering a static personal blog with dark and light modes, giscus comments, and hierarchical categories.
What is Satellite?
Satellite is an open-source Jekyll theme, released under the MIT License by Yankos. It converts Jekyll sites, written in Markdown with _config.yml settings, into static HTML blogs that can be hosted on GitHub Pages. The theme requires Jekyll version 4.3.2 or newer and is also distributed as a Ruby gem (version 3.2.33). Its design is described as emotional and adorable, with both light and dark color schemes included.
Key Features
- Dark/Light Theme — Visitors can toggle between light mode and dark mode, with both color schemes included in the theme by default.
- Comment System (giscus) — Blog posts support threaded comments powered by giscus, a GitHub Discussions–based commenting widget.
- Hierarchical Categorization — Posts can be organized into nested categories, enabling structured browsing of content.
- Search by Title or Tags — A built-in search interface lets readers find posts by keyword, title, or tag without a third-party service.
- Related Posts — The theme calculates related posts for each article, helping readers discover similar content.
- Syntax Highlighter — Code blocks are rendered with the highlight.js library and include a one-click copy button.
- Table of Contents — Long posts automatically generate a table of contents based on heading structure.
- Google Analytics & Visitor Counter — Analytics can be enabled through Google Analytics, and a visitor counter powered by goatcounter is available.
- RSS and Sitemap — Built-in support for RSS feeds and sitemap generation improves syndication and SEO.
Who is it for?
Satellite is aimed at personal bloggers and developers who want a fast, static blog hosted on GitHub Pages without managing a database or server. It suits writers who want a focus on readability with hierarchical categories, and developers who want to customize a Jekyll theme using Liquid templates and the _config.yml file.
What can you do with it?
- Personal bloggers: Publish Markdown-based posts and get a responsive, mobile-friendly blog with comments and search.
- Technical writers: Use hierarchical categorization and a table of contents to organize documentation-style posts.
- Open-source projects: Set up a project blog or changelog using the same Jekyll workflow as the theme's own documentation.
How does it work?
To get started, fork the repository or download the source, then set the baseurl in _config.yml if hosting under a subpath. Alternatively, add the "jekyll-theme-satellite" gem to your Gemfile, replace the default _config.yml with the prepared one, and fill in site variables such as title, profile image, and social links. Run bundle install and bundle exec jekyll serve to preview locally at localhost:4000, then deploy to GitHub Pages.
FAQ
Is Satellite free?
Yes, Satellite is open-source under the MIT License, so it can be used for personal and commercial projects without licensing fees.
Does Satellite support comments?
Yes, the theme integrates giscus, which connects to GitHub Discussions to provide a comment system. Setup instructions are linked in the repository documentation.
Can I use Satellite with GitHub Pages?
Yes, the theme is designed for GitHub Pages. You can fork the repository and deploy it directly, or use the gem-based workflow.
What customizations are documented?
The repository includes manuals for posting guidelines, enabling the comment system, and setting up the visitor counter, along with standard _config.yml variables for site identity and social links.
