Twister is a free multimedia-focused Jekyll theme by Digitalmind for publishing video, audio, image, and gallery posts on static sites.
What is Twister?
Twister is a Jekyll theme that takes standard Jekyll posts with YAML front matter and renders them as dedicated multimedia layouts for video, audio, images, and galleries. Developed by Digitalmind, it runs on any Jekyll-powered static site and is free to use. The theme is hosted on GitHub, where issues and feature requests are managed.
Key Features
- Multimedia post types – Twister includes dedicated post types for video, audio, image, and gallery content, so each media format gets its own layout.
- Grunt build tasks – A provided Gruntfile contains tasks that compile, concatenate, minify, and deploy the site, streamlining the build workflow.
- Front matter generator – A built-in generator helps you create YAML front matter for posts without needing to memorize every variable name.
- Extensive documentation – The official docs cover installing dependencies, customizing variables, creating posts, publishing, and hosting with plugins on GitHub Pages.
- Customization variables – A large set of variables lets you adjust the theme’s appearance and behavior.
- GitHub issue support – The theme’s GitHub page is the designated channel for feedback, bug reports, and feature requests.
Who is it for?
- Multimedia bloggers – Publish video, audio, and image posts without building custom layouts from scratch.
- Jekyll developers – Use the Grunt pipeline and front matter generator to speed up theme development.
- GitHub Pages users – The documentation explains how to host Twister on GitHub Pages, even with plugins, making it a low-cost hosting solution.
What can you do with Twister?
- Video creators – Create video posts with a dedicated layout for embedding or hosting video.
- Podcasters – Publish audio posts using a layout built for audio players and episode metadata.
- Photographers – Showcase work through image and gallery post types.
How does Twister work?
Twister is installed as a Jekyll theme in an existing project. You write posts with YAML front matter that sets the post type and variables, and the theme renders the corresponding layout. Grunt tasks then compile, concatenate, minify, and deploy the site, while the front matter generator helps assemble the front matter.
Pricing
Twister is free. The repository description explicitly calls it a free multimedia Jekyll theme.
FAQ
Is Twister free?
Yes, Twister is free to use. The repository metadata describes it as a free multimedia Jekyll theme.
What post types does Twister support?
Twister supports video, audio, image, and gallery post types, each with a dedicated layout for the media kind.
Can I use Twister with GitHub Pages?
Yes. The documentation includes instructions for hosting Twister with plugins on GitHub Pages.
How do I customize Twister?
Twister exposes a large set of variables that you can edit to change the layout and behavior. The documentation explains each variable.
Where can I get support?
Open an issue on the GitHub page for problems or requests. For general feedback, contact Digitalmind via their website.
