React Blog is a stripped-down Next.js blog template, forked from Lee Robinson's open-source leerob.io, that keeps blog posts and newsletter functionality while removing social and commerce integrations.
What is React Blog?
React Blog is a blog template built with React and Next.js, based on the open-source leerob.io site by Lee Robinson. It takes Markdown blog posts and a newsletter signup as inputs and produces a static blog site with post listing, individual post pages, and newsletter subscription. The template runs locally with Yarn and is maintained on GitHub by user draco-malfoy.
Key Features
- Blog posts and views — Everything post/blog and views from leerob.io is kept, so you get Markdown-based blog posts with view tracking.
- Newsletter — Newsletter functionality is retained, allowing visitors to subscribe; all but one blog post and one newsletter Markdown file are removed for a clean start.
- Stripped-down integrations — YouTube, Gumroad, Twitter, Spotify, and Unsplash integrations are removed, making the codebase simpler for a pure blog.
- React and Next.js — The template uses React with the Next.js framework, as stated in the repository description.
- Simple local setup — Clone the repo, run
yarn, thenyarn devto start the development server. - Upstream sync point — The latest sync is with commit a3bc2c3 of leerob.io on Oct 7, 2021.
Who should use React Blog?
- Developers who want a minimal Next.js blog starter without the overhead of social media or commerce integrations.
- Bloggers who want to focus on writing and newsletter subscriptions rather than managing embedded content.
- Learners who want to study how Lee Robinson's site is structured but prefer a smaller codebase to explore.
What can you do with React Blog?
- Launch a personal blog: Replace the sample Markdown files with your own posts and publish a clean blog with post views.
- Set up a newsletter: Use the built-in newsletter section to collect email subscriptions from your readers.
- Customize the design: Since the codebase is a single fork, you can easily modify the React components and Next.js pages to fit your branding.
How does React Blog work?
The readme provides a three-step workflow: clone the repository from GitHub, install dependencies with yarn, and run yarn dev to launch the site locally. The template includes one example blog post and one newsletter Markdown file to demonstrate the content format.
Pros and cons
- Pros: Smaller codebase than leerob.io because YouTube, Gumroad, Twitter, Spotify, and Unsplash integrations are removed; focuses on blog and newsletter only.
- Cons: The template is synced only up to Oct 7, 2021, so it may lack newer features or fixes from the upstream leerob.io repository.
FAQ
Is React Blog free?
Yes, React Blog is an open-source template based on Lee Robinson's leerob.io, which is freely available on GitHub. You can clone, modify, and use it for personal or commercial projects.
What does React Blog remove from leerob.io?
It removes YouTube, Gumroad, Twitter, Spotify, and Unsplash integrations, along with most of the sample content. Only one blog post and one newsletter Markdown file are kept.
Can I use React Blog without Yarn?
The readme instructions use Yarn (yarn and yarn dev). Since it's a Next.js project, you could likely use npm or pnpm with equivalent commands, but the official instructions are Yarn-based.
Does React Blog include analytics?
The template keeps the blog post view tracking from leerob.io, but the readme does not mention any analytics provider such as Google Analytics or Plausible. View tracking appears to be part of the blog post views feature.
