Strange Case is a free, MIT-licensed Jekyll theme that turns a static site generator into a personal blog or portfolio with a fixed sidebar cover image.
What is Strange Case?
Strange Case is a simple, clean, and responsive Jekyll theme built for static websites. It takes Jekyll site content (Markdown posts and pages) and outputs a fully static HTML site with a fixed sidebar, a cover image, and minimal design. The theme is maintained by The Phuse on GitHub and is distributed under the MIT license.
What makes Strange Case stand out?
- Fixed sidebar with cover image — The sidebar stays in place while the main content scrolls, giving the site a stable navigation and visual anchor.
- Minimal design — The theme uses a clean layout with little visual clutter, keeping the focus on content.
- Easy configuration — All site settings live in a single
_config.ymlfile; editing it and restarting the Jekyll server applies changes. - Responsive layout — The theme adapts to screen widths and supports mobile browsers, including Mobile Safari.
- Browser support — Works with the latest releases of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Mobile Safari, and Internet Explorer 9 and up.
- MIT license — Free to use, modify, and redistribute, even in commercial projects.
Who should use Strange Case?
- Bloggers — Set up a personal blog with Jekyll and publish posts through Markdown files without a database or CMS.
- Portfolio owners — Showcase creative work using the sidebar cover image and simple project pages.
- Developers — Customize a Jekyll theme by editing HTML, CSS, and
_config.yml; the theme is a solid starting point for bespoke static sites.
What can you do with Strange Case?
- Personal blogging: Create a blog with posts in Markdown, generate static pages with
jekyll serve, and deploy the output to any static host. - Minimal portfolio: Present projects or photographs using the fixed sidebar and cover image to establish a visual brand.
- Learning Jekyll: Understand how a Jekyll theme is structured — layouts, includes, and configuration — by reading and modifying this theme's source.
How does Strange Case work?
- Install Jekyll on your machine.
- Download or fork the theme repository.
- Edit the
_config.ymlfile to set your site title, description, and other options. - Run
jekyll servefrom the site directory to build the site locally. - View the result at http://localhost:4000/strange_case/ and later deploy the generated
_sitefolder.
FAQ
Is Strange Case free?
Yes, the theme is released under the MIT license, so it is free to use, modify, and distribute, including for commercial purposes.
Do I need a database to use Strange Case?
No. Strange Case is a static site theme; it generates plain HTML files from Markdown and configuration, so no database or server-side processing is required.
What browsers are supported?
The theme supports the latest releases of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Mobile Safari, and Internet Explorer 9 and later.
Where can I download Strange Case?
The theme is available on GitHub at the repository thephuse/strange_case, where you can download the source or fork it.
