Material Kit Gatsby is a Gatsby starter that ports Creative Tim's free Material Kit React design system into a static Gatsby site styled with Material-UI, currently maintained on GitHub by CosmicWill.
What is Material Kit Gatsby?
Material Kit Gatsby is a Gatsby starter project based on Creative Tim's popular Material Kit React. It takes the React components and Material-UI styling from that free design system and reimplements them inside a Gatsby static site generator setup. The starter currently includes a subset of the original Material Kit React components, and the repository's README states that additional components are planned. It is built for developers who want a Material Design aesthetic with Gatsby's performance and tooling.
Key Features
- Gatsby foundation — Built as a Gatsby starter, so you get static site generation, a component-based architecture, and a development workflow via the Gatsby CLI.
- Material-UI components — Uses Material-UI (the React component library) for styling and interaction, carrying over the look and feel of Material Kit React.
- Creative Tim design base — Ports the free Material Kit React design, including its component structure and visual language.
- Subset of components — Currently only a portion of the full Material Kit React component set is included; missing components are listed as a to-do item.
- Netlify deployment — Provides a one-click Deploy to Netlify button that lets you instantly spin up a live site from the GitHub repository.
- Roadmap for improvements — The README lists concrete next steps: organizing CSS closer to components, moving the primary color into a Material-UI theme instead of CSS, and adding the remaining Material Kit React components.
Who is it for?
- Gatsby developers who want a Material Design themed starting point instead of building from scratch.
- Creative Tim users familiar with Material Kit React who need a Gatsby version for static site projects.
- Front-end designers prototyping marketing or landing pages using Material-UI and Gatsby together.
What can you do with Material Kit Gatsby?
- Launch a Material Design landing page: Use the starter as the base for a product or portfolio site, then customize the included Material-UI components.
- Learn Gatsby with Material-UI: Study how a Gatsby starter integrates Material-UI and component-based architecture in a minimal codebase.
- Deploy a demo quickly: Use the Netlify deploy button to publish a live instance of the starter without local setup.
How does Material Kit Gatsby work?
The starter follows a standard Gatsby workflow. First, install the Gatsby CLI globally via npm install --global gatsby-cli. Then clone the repository with git clone https://github.com/CosmicWill/Material-Kit-Gatsby.git, navigate into the project directory, and run gatsby develop to launch a local development server with hot reloading. For production, the included Deploy to Netlify button automates hosting.
Pros and cons
- Pros: Free and open source, based on a widely used design system, uses Gatsby's static site advantages, includes Netlify deployment.
- Cons: Still in progress, so it only contains a subset of Material Kit React components; CSS is not yet fully organized per component; the primary color is defined in CSS rather than a Material-UI theme (both acknowledged in the README's to-do list).
Alternatives
- Material Kit React — the original React version from Creative Tim, which includes the full component set but is not a Gatsby starter.
- gatsby-starter-default — Gatsby's official default starter, which gives a minimal foundation without Material-UI styling.
FAQ
Is Material Kit Gatsby free?
Yes, the starter is free and open source, and it is based on Creative Tim's free Material Kit React. No pricing or premium tier is mentioned in the repository.
How do I install Material Kit Gatsby?
Install the Gatsby CLI globally, clone the repository from GitHub, then run gatsby develop in the project folder. The exact commands are listed in the README.
Does it include all Material Kit React components?
No. The README states that it "only contains a subset of everything in the original." Adding the remaining components is listed as a planned task.
Can I deploy Material Kit Gatsby to Netlify?
Yes. The README includes a Deploy to Netlify button that connects the GitHub repository to Netlify and deploys the site automatically.
