vida is a Jekyll theme for personal blogs and simple static websites, published as a free, MIT-licensed GitHub repository with a live demo hosted on GitHub Pages.
What is vida?
vida is a Jekyll theme created by GitHub user syaning, whose account also hosts the live demo at syaning.github.io/vida. As a theme, it plugs into a Jekyll static site: you supply content in Markdown and Jekyll's build process produces styled HTML pages without a database or server-side application. The repository describes itself as "a simple and beautiful jekyll theme," and the whole project is distributed under the MIT license, so the source can be freely copied, modified, and reused for personal or commercial projects.
Key Features
- Jekyll framework — the theme runs on Jekyll, a Ruby-based static site generator, and consists of layouts, includes, and styles that Jekyll compiles into plain HTML output.
- Simple design — the project's own description is "simple and beautiful," indicating a minimal visual style aimed at text-first content such as blog posts.
- MIT license — the source is released under MIT, permitting free use, modification, and redistribution without royalties.
- Live demo — a working preview is available at syaning.github.io/vida, so you can see the default appearance before installing the theme.
Who is it for?
- Personal bloggers — publish Markdown posts and get a static blog with no hosting backend to maintain.
- Jekyll learners — examine a small, MIT-licensed theme to understand how Jekyll layouts, includes, and configuration files fit together.
- Developers starting a simple site — fork the repository as a starting point and customize the templates and styles for their own domain.
What can you do with vida?
- Launch a blog quickly: clone the repository or install it as a Jekyll theme, add Markdown posts, and run the Jekyll build to produce a static site.
- Host on GitHub Pages for free: because the demo is served from the syaning.github.io address, the theme is compatible with GitHub Pages' free static hosting.
- Modify the design freely: with an MIT license, you can edit or extend the theme's layouts and styles without restriction.
How does vida work?
vida follows the standard Jekyll workflow. You install the theme into a Jekyll project, write your posts and pages as Markdown files, run the Jekyll build command to generate HTML, and deploy the output to any static host such as GitHub Pages.
FAQ
Is vida free?
Yes. vida is distributed under the MIT license, which allows free use, modification, and redistribution for personal or commercial purposes. There is no cost to download or use the theme.
What does vida do?
vida is a Jekyll theme that supplies the visual design and page layout for a Jekyll-powered static site. It takes the Markdown content you write and outputs styled HTML pages after running the Jekyll build.
What is vida built with?
vida is built on Jekyll, a Ruby-based static site generator. The theme is made of Jekyll layouts, includes, and style assets that turn Markdown content into static HTML.
Is there a demo of vida?
Yes. A live demo is hosted at syaning.github.io/vida, showing the theme's default look so you can decide whether it fits your project before installing it.
Pricing
vida is free. The repository carries an MIT license, so there is no purchase price, subscription, or paid tier.





