Write-Only Hugo Theme is a minimal blog theme for the Hugo static site generator, focused on clean markdown-based writing and shipping with optional cheatsheet layouts.
What is Write-Only Hugo Theme?
Write-Only Hugo Theme is a free, MIT-licensed theme built for Hugo, the static site generator. It takes markdown content and a YAML configuration file and produces a static blog site. The theme is maintained by Iago Bozza on GitLab under the writeonlyhugo group, and it includes a live demo hosted on GitLab Pages at writeonlyhugo.gitlab.io/writeonlyhugo-demo/.
The repository itself contains the theme source plus a working example website in the hugoBasicExample folder. That example includes config.yaml and a content folder with standard markdown posts, so you can copy it to start a new site immediately.
Key Features
- Hugo-based static output — uses Hugo's template system to build static HTML pages from markdown content with no database or server runtime.
- Cheatsheet layouts — the assets folder implements dedicated cheatsheet layouts, useful for reference-style pages with code snippets and short tips.
- Starter example site — the hugoBasicExample folder provides a ready-to-run site with config.yaml and sample markdown content; run
hugo server --themesDir ../..from that folder to preview locally. - Description-based summaries — recent layout changes favor front-matter Description over automatic Summary generation for listing pages, giving you control over post excerpts.
- Simple structure — organized into standard Hugo folders (archetypes, assets, layouts, resources) plus a _vendor directory for vendored dependencies and go.mod for Hugo modules.
- GitLab-hosted demo — a live demo site is deployed on GitLab Pages at writeonlyhugo.gitlab.io/writeonlyhugo-demo/, letting you preview the theme before installing.
- MIT license — free to use, modify, and redistribute for personal or commercial projects.
Who is it for?
- Individual bloggers who want a minimal, readable theme to publish markdown-based posts without configuring a complex design.
- Technical writers who need to produce reference-style cheatsheets alongside regular articles, using the theme's dedicated cheatsheet layouts.
- Hugo developers who want a clean starting point or example Hugo module setup with go.mod and vendored dependencies to learn from.
What can you do with it?
- Start a blog quickly by cloning the demo site with
git clone https://gitlab.com/writeonlyhugo/writeonlyhugo-demo.gitand replacing the sample content. - Build a cheatsheet reference using the theme's cheatsheet layouts to present code snippets and commands in an organized layout.
- Learn Hugo theming by reading the theme's standard folder structure and example config, which shows how a minimal Hugo theme is assembled.
How does it work?
You install the theme by cloning the repository into your Hugo themes folder, or by cloning the pre-built demo site as a starting point. The hugoBasicExample folder contains everything needed for a local test: run cd hugoBasicExample && hugo server --themesDir ../.. and open the local URL Hugo prints. The theme reads markdown files from your content folder and applies its layouts to generate static pages.
License
Write-Only Hugo Theme is released under the MIT license, allowing free use in personal and commercial projects.
