Nordlys is a minimal Astro blog theme that converts Markdown and MDX content into a fast, static blog with built-in search, photo galleries, and accessibility features.
What is Nordlys?
Nordlys is a static-site blog theme built on the Astro framework. It accepts content written as Markdown or MDX files placed in designated content directories, together with a central theme.config.ts file for site-wide settings, and outputs a fully styled, responsive blog. The theme is created by the FjellOverflow team, is available on GitHub, and its preview/demo site at nordlys.fjelloverflow.dev includes self-documenting examples and tutorials.
Key Features
- Lighthouse 100% score — The theme reports a perfect 100% performance score on Google Lighthouse, as verified on the preview site.
- Photo galleries — Built-in gallery layouts let authors embed image collections inside Markdown/MDX posts.
- Built-in search — A client-side search feature is included, so readers can search posts without external search services.
- Configurable color schemes — The theme ships with built-in color schemes and allows custom schemes defined in
theme.config.ts. - Light and dark mode — A toggle lets readers switch between light and dark themes, with both styled out of the box.
- Developer best practices — The codebase is written in TypeScript with strong typing, is linted, and aims for minimal, up-to-date dependencies.
- Image zoom and reading tools — Images support zoom-on-click, and posts include auto-generated tables of contents and reading-time estimates.
- Stack — Built on Astro with Tailwind CSS for styling, using pnpm as the package manager; authored content lives as
.mdor.mdxfiles.
Who is it for?
- Independent bloggers — Publish a clean, fast, accessible blog without configuring a CMS, just by adding Markdown files.
- Front-end developers — Customize a strongly typed, linted Astro + TypeScript codebase, with recommended VS Code extensions listed in the repo.
- Photographers and visual storytellers — Use the photo gallery feature to present image collections in a lightweight portfolio/blog hybrid.
What can you do with Nordlys?
- Launch a personal tech blog — Write posts in Markdown/MDX, set site title, author, and URL in
theme.config.ts, then build a static site with search and dark mode. - Customize the look and feel — Switch built-in color schemes or define a custom scheme, and rely on responsive layouts that work on mobile.
- Publish a self-documenting content site — The demo site itself acts as documentation, showing examples for posts, pages, and projects.
How does Nordlys work?
Nordlys follows a standard Astro workflow. You start by cloning or forking the repository, or by running pnpm dlx create-astro --template FjellOverflow/nordlys. After that, run pnpm install to install dependencies and pnpm dev to launch the local development server. Content is added by creating Markdown or MDX files in the appropriate directories, with frontmatter properties documented in the provided examples.
FAQ
Is Nordlys free?
Yes. Nordlys is an open-source theme hosted on GitHub, and the repository is publicly accessible. The license badge is displayed on the project page, and you can clone or fork the repository for your own use.
What content formats does Nordlys support?
Nordlys supports Markdown and MDX. Blog posts, pages, and projects are written as plain .md or .mdx files. You configure the theme globally via theme.config.ts, and each post's frontmatter controls its individual properties.
Does Nordlys include search functionality?
Yes. The theme ships with built-in search that runs on the client side, so visitors can search posts and pages without configuring a third-party search provider.
Can I customize the color scheme and theme mode?
Yes. Nordlys provides built-in color schemes and supports custom schemes defined in theme.config.ts. It also includes light and dark mode, so readers can choose their preferred appearance.
