Simple is a minimal open-source theme for the Hexo static site generator that renders standard Markdown posts into a clean, lightweight blog layout. It is developed by GitHub user chuguixin and distributed through the chuguixin/Simple repository, which currently holds 19 stars.
What is Simple?
Simple is a Hexo blog theme built with Less for stylesheets and Jade for templates. It takes ordinary Hexo content written in Markdown and outputs static HTML pages with a minimal design focused on readability. The theme requires Hexo as its platform and is configured entirely through _config.yml files — first in your site's root and then in the theme's own directory. A live demonstration of the theme can be viewed at http://jser.it.
Key Features
- Less-based styling — The theme's stylesheets are written in Less, so installing the hexo-renderer-less package is mandatory for the styles to compile correctly.
- Jade templating — Page layouts are authored in Jade (now known as Pug), which is why hexo-renderer-jade must be installed during setup.
- Single-file configuration — All theme customization lives in a single _config.yml file inside the themes/Simple directory, keeping the setup straightforward.
- Git-based installation — The theme installs by cloning the GitHub repository directly into themes/Simple, with two npm commands needed to activate the renderers.
- Live preview — The demo site at http://jser.it lets you see the theme in action before committing to it.
- Open-source availability — The full source code is publicly accessible on GitHub at https://github.com/chuguixin/Simple, allowing forking and modification.
Who should use Simple?
- Hexo bloggers — People who write blog posts in Hexo and want a no-frills theme that presents content plainly.
- Developers learning Hexo — Those who want to study a minimal, working Hexo theme built on Less and Jade to understand how theming works.
- Minimalist writers — Authors who prefer a quiet design that doesn't distract from their articles.
What can you do with Simple?
- Personal blogging: Publish Markdown posts and have them rendered as a simple, fast static blog.
- Tech writing: Host technical articles and code-focused content with a clean layout that suits long-form reading.
- Custom theme development: Fork the repository and modify the Less and Jade files as a starting point for your own Hexo theme.
How does Simple work?
Installation starts by cloning the repository into your Hexo site's themes folder with git clone https://github.com/chuguixin/Simple.git themes/Simple. Next, run npm install hexo-renderer-less --save and npm install hexo-renderer-jade --save to add the required renderers. Finally, edit your Hexo site's root _config.yml to set theme to Simple, and optionally adjust the theme's own _config.yml in the themes/Simple directory.
