Kiaalap is a free, open-source Bootstrap 5 admin dashboard template built specifically for educational institutions, offering 65+ ready-to-use HTML pages for managing students, professors, courses, and school operations.
What is Kiaalap?
Kiaalap is a front-end template created by Colorlib and distributed by DashboardPack, with original design by Aigars Silkalns. It takes source HTML, SCSS, and JavaScript files and produces a responsive, static dashboard site through the Vite 8.2 build system. The template includes pages for student, professor, course, department, library, and fee management, plus three dashboard layouts, an analytics dashboard, and widget collections.
Key Features
- Modern tech stack — Built on Bootstrap 5.3.8 with zero jQuery dependencies, using Vite 8.2 for development, Handlebars partials for page structure, and Chart.js 4.5 for charts.
- Education-specific pages — Pre-built pages cover All Students, Student Profile, Add Student, All Professors, All Courses, All Departments, and Library Assets Management.
- Zero CDN dependencies — Every script and stylesheet is served locally from node_modules, so the template works offline and makes no external network requests.
- On-demand library loading — Heavy dependencies such as Swiper, FullCalendar, and Tom Select load only on pages that use them, keeping the shared payload around 97 kB gzipped.
- Handlebars templating — Reusable partials for head, sidebar, header, footer, and scripts keep all 65 pages consistent; page-specific context lives in vite.config.js.
- Data tables and forms — Simple-DataTables 10.3 provides vanilla JavaScript sorting and pagination, and the template includes both basic and advanced form examples.
- Custom dashboard grid — Additional grid classes like
.dashboard-grid.grid-cols-4 adapt from four columns down to one on mobile.
- UI component library — Includes buttons, alerts, modals, tabs, accordions, charts (bar, line, area, pie, sparkline), Leaflet maps, invoice templates, and authentication pages.
Who is it for?
- School administrators — Track student records, course enrollments, and fee payments through the dedicated dashboard pages and tables.
- EdTech developers — Extend the Handlebars template and Vite build to create a custom education management system without starting from scratch.
- UI developers — Customize colors by editing Sass variables in
src/scss/_variables.scss and adjust navigation via src/partials/sidebar.hbs.
- Freelancers — Deliver a polished admin interface for education clients quickly by repurposing the demo data and structure.
What can you do with Kiaalap?
- Student management — Add or edit student profiles, view enrollment details, and monitor academic progress using the All Students, Add Student, and Student Profile pages.
- Course and faculty management — Create courses, assign professors, and manage department structures through the dedicated academic pages.
- Library operations — Track digital and physical library assets with the Library Assets Management page.
- Communication and events — Use the mailbox system and FullCalendar-based event calendar to coordinate messages and academic schedules.
How does Kiaalap work?
Kiaalap is a static HTML template with a Vite development server. First clone the repository and run npm install. Use npm run dev to start a development server that opens at localhost:3000, or npm run build to generate production files in the dist/ directory.
Pros and cons
- Pros — Free and open source under the MIT license; actively maintained with a v3.0.0 release that resolved all Dependabot alerts; no jQuery or CDN dependencies; on-demand loading keeps the base bundle small.
- Cons — It is a front-end template only, so live student data requires integrating your own backend or API. The Handlebars build step means you need Node.js 18+ to work on the source files.
Alternatives
- AdminLTE — a popular open-source admin dashboard template with a different control-panel focus.
- Gentelella — a free Bootstrap admin dashboard template also from Colorlib (formerly a Bootstrap 3 template, later updated to Bootstrap 5).
FAQ
Is Kiaalap free?
Yes, Kiaalap is free and open source under the MIT License. You can use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, and sell copies, provided you acknowledge Colorlib as the original author.
Does Kiaalap use jQuery?
No. The current version is completely rewritten with zero jQuery dependencies. It uses vanilla JavaScript (ES6+), Bootstrap 5.3.8, and libraries such as Simple-DataTables that are also jQuery-free.
What are the system requirements?
You need Node.js 18 or newer and npm or yarn. The template is built with Vite 8.2, and the development server runs at localhost:3000.
How do I change the colors?
Edit the Sass variables in src/scss/_variables.scss. The build process compiles the updated SCSS into the final CSS files.
Can I use Kiaalap offline?
Yes, all assets are loaded from local node_modules rather than third-party CDNs, so the template works without an internet connection once installed.
