Researcher

Researcher is a clean, single-column, monospace resume template for Jekyll that turns a forked repository into a personal academic-style homepage with a navigation bar, about page, and optional resume and contact pages. It is maintained on GitHub by Ankit Sultana under the bk2dcradle repository, licensed under GNU GPL v3, and works with GitHub Pages either by forking or through remote theme support.

What is Researcher?

Researcher is a Jekyll-based resume template with a single-column, monospace layout designed for academics and professionals. It takes a forked repository with markdown files and configuration settings, then produces a static website featuring a clean text-focused design. The template runs on Jekyll, outputs static HTML, and can be hosted for free on GitHub Pages.

Key Features

• Single-column monospace design — A clean, text-focused layout that uses a monospace font throughout, giving the site a developer- or academic-oriented aesthetic.
• Navigation via _config.yml — Links on the navigation bar are defined in the nav list in _config.yml, with each entry specifying a name and link, such as About, Resume, or Contact.
• Customizable accent color — The hyperlink accent color is controlled by the accent variable in _sass/vars.scss; note that changing it can cause merge conflicts when pulling updates from the original repository.
• Google Analytics support — Set tracking_id in _config.yml to attach Google Analytics to the site.
• Profile picture support — Add an image tag with the class profile-picture to display a profile photo on the page.
• Institute logo option — In version 1.2.0 and later, set ins_logo in _config.yml to show an institute or university logo at the top; adjust its size by changing max-height in the #ins-logo rule in _sass/_style.scss.
• Add or remove pages freely — Create any markdown file such as foo.md in the repository root and it becomes accessible at /foo, while undesired pages like contact.md can be deleted.
• GitHub Pages ready — Installation works by forking the repository and editing the config; it also supports remote theme usage via remote_theme: ankitsultana/researcher@gem.

Who is it for?

• Academics and researchers — Publish a clean, static personal page that lists publications or research interests without needing a CMS.
• Job seekers in tech — Build a simple online resume with a monospace aesthetic that matches a developer portfolio.
• Jekyll users — Customize a minimal starting point for any personal site, since the template supports markdown content and config-driven navigation.

Use cases

• Graduate students — Set up a personal academic homepage by adding a profile picture, institute logo, and navigation links to a CV or publications.
• Independent developers — Use the monospace design to present a resume and contact page via GitHub Pages at no hosting cost.
• Educators — Create a course or lab page by adding markdown files and adjusting the nav to point to resources.

How does Researcher work?

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Edit _config.yml to set the site title, navigation links, tracking ID, and optionally an institute logo.
3. Modify or add markdown files for page content, then push to GitHub Pages to publish the site.

Pros and cons

• Free and open source — Licensed under GNU GPL v3, so it can be used, modified, and redistributed freely.
• Simple to customize — Most changes happen in a single _config.yml file plus markdown files.
• Monospace design may be limiting — The single-column monospace layout is distinctive but may not suit everyone's visual taste.

Pricing

Researcher is free to use; it is published under the GNU GPL v3 open-source license, and hosting on GitHub Pages is free for public repositories.

FAQ

How do I install Researcher?

Fork the repository and edit away. The template runs on Jekyll and works with GitHub Pages directly. Alternatively, you can set remote_theme: ankitsultana/researcher@gem in _config.yml, though local testing in that mode is not documented.

How do I change the accent color?

Edit the accent variable in _sass/vars.scss. Note that changing the accent color can cause merge conflicts if you later try to merge updates from the original repository.

How do I add a profile picture?

Add an image tag with the class profile-picture in your markdown or HTML, for example using an img tag with src pointing to your image file.

Is Researcher free?

Yes, Researcher is licensed under GNU GPL v3, which allows free use, modification, and redistribution. Hosting on GitHub Pages is also free.

Can I use Researcher as a remote theme?

Yes, you can set remote_theme: ankitsultana/researcher@gem in _config.yml to use it as a remote GitHub Pages theme.