Solana is a Jekyll theme for static blogs and portfolios that runs directly on GitHub Pages, offering a flat, sunshiny design with automatic category and tag archives, email obfuscation, and Reddit-powered comments.
What is Solana?
Solana is a theme for the Jekyll static site generator, created by Ryan Lue and released under the MIT license. It takes Markdown posts from the _posts directory and a _config.yml configuration file as input, and outputs a fully static, responsive HTML site. Because it is compatible with GitHub Pages, you can clone the repository, set the baseurl to an empty string, and publish your site at <username>.github.io with no extra build tooling. The theme includes sample posts that show how to format rich text, code blocks, and other Markdown elements.
Key Features
- GitHub Pages ready — Works on GitHub Pages without any plugins; the only required configuration change is setting
baseurlto''. - Automatic categories and tags — A git hook generates category and tag archive pages from the
categoryandtagsfields in each post's YAML frontmatter, a feature not offered by Jekyll core or the plugins approved for GitHub Pages. - Lightweight front end — No jQuery, Bootstrap, or any other JavaScript framework, so pages remain small and fast.
- Responsive design — The layout adapts to smartphones, tablets, and desktops, as shown in the theme's preview animation.
- Email obfuscation — Email addresses are obfuscated in the HTML output to deter harvesting bots.
- Reddit-based comments — Each post can link to a Reddit thread via the
reddit_postfrontmatter field, and you can embed featured comments usingfeatured_commentswith optionalcontextandfreezeflags. - Customizable via
_config.yml— Update the site title, navigation, avatar, favicon, and other settings in one central file; the CSS follows Harry Roberts' Inverted Triangle CSS architecture for maintainable styling. - Simple installation — Clone the repo, swap the git remote, update
baseurl, and push; a local preview is available withbundle installandbundle exec jekyll serve.
Who is it for?
Solana is aimed at individual bloggers, technical writers, and developers who prefer a minimal, static publishing setup. It suits anyone hosting a personal blog or portfolio on GitHub Pages who wants to avoid JavaScript-heavy frameworks and database backends. The Reddit comment integration will appeal to communities that already discuss links on Reddit, such as programming and tech subreddits.
What can you do with Solana?
- Personal bloggers: Publish Markdown posts in
_postswith YAML frontmatter, and Solana automatically creates category and tag archive pages for easier navigation. - GitHub Pages users: Deploy a free, static blog by cloning the theme and pushing to a
<username>.github.iorepository, all within a few minutes. - Community-oriented writers: Add a Reddit thread to each post via the
reddit_postfield to enable discussion, and optionally embed specific comments with featured comments.
How does Solana work?
Start by cloning the repository into a new GitHub Pages repository named after your account, then change the baseurl in _config.yml to an empty string. For local development, install dependencies with bundle install and serve the site with bundle exec jekyll serve; it will be available at http://localhost:4000. New posts are Markdown files named YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md with a title in the frontmatter. To enable the category and tag generators, run the symbolic link command from the project root once, and the git hook will run on every commit.
Pros and cons
- Pros: Free and open source under the MIT license; minimal dependencies (no jQuery or Bootstrap); automatic email protection; generates taxonomy archives automatically.
- Cons: Comments rely on Reddit, so readers without a Reddit account cannot participate; the category and tag archive feature requires manually enabling git hooks; the setup involves editing the
baseurland swapping git remotes, which may be unfamiliar to beginners.
Pricing
Solana is completely free. The theme is open source under the MIT license, so there are no charges for downloading, using, or modifying it. You only pay for GitHub Pages hosting, which is free for public repositories.
Alternatives
Other Jekyll themes you might consider are Minimal Mistakes, which offers a wider range of layout and configuration options, and Hyde, a minimal two-column Jekyll theme with a built-in sidebar. Both are open source and free to use.
FAQ
Is Solana free?
Yes, Solana is free to use, modify, and distribute under the MIT license. There are no premium tiers or paid features.
Does Solana support comments natively?
No, Jekyll is static, so Solana outsources comments to Reddit. After publishing a post, you submit it to Reddit and add the thread URL to the post's YAML frontmatter under reddit_post. Readers then see a link to the Reddit discussion at the end of the post.
How do I install Solana on GitHub Pages?
Clone the repository, create a new GitHub Pages repo named <username>.github.io, replace the remote, change baseurl to an empty string in _config.yml, and push. Your site will be live at https://<username>.github.io within a few minutes.
Can I preview Solana locally?
Yes, with Ruby and Bundler installed, run bundle install in the project directory, then bundle exec jekyll serve. The site will be available at http://localhost:4000 for local preview.
How are categories and tags generated?
Solana uses a git hook to generate category and tag archive pages from the category and tags fields in each post's YAML frontmatter. You must enable the hook once by creating a symbolic link from .git/hooks/pre-commit to .scripts/pre-commit.rb. After that, the pages update automatically whenever you commit.
