Inside Theme — Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Hexo 7.0+
• Node.js 18+
• npm or pnpm for dependency management

Installation

Inside is installed as an npm package in your Hexo project root:

1
2

cd your-hexo-project
npm install hexo-theme-inside

Activating the Theme

In your project’s _config.yml, set the theme:

1

theme: inside

Theme Configuration File

Inside stores its own configuration separately from Hexo’s main _config.yml. After installing, copy the theme’s config file to your project root:

1

cp node_modules/hexo-theme-inside/_config.yml _config.inside.yml

All theme-specific settings go into _config.inside.yml. This keeps your Hexo config clean and makes theme upgrades safer.

⚠️ Never edit node_modules/hexo-theme-inside/_config.yml directly — your changes will be overwritten on the next npm update.

Project Structure

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

your-hexo-project/
├── _config.yml           # Hexo global config (title, URL, deployment, etc.)
├── _config.inside.yml    # Inside theme config (appearance, sidebar, features, etc.)
├── source/               # Your content
│   ├── _posts/           # Blog posts (Markdown)
│   ├── about/            # About page
│   └── theme-inside/     # Theme overrides (optional)
└── public/               # Generated static output (after hexo generate)

Your First Post

Create a new file in source/_posts/:

1

hexo new "Hello World"

This generates source/_posts/hello-world.md with default front-matter. Open it:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

---
title: Hello World
date: 2026-03-28 12:00:00
---

Welcome to my blog. This is your first post.

<!-- more -->

The rest of your article goes here.

Generating Static Files

1

hexo generate   # or: hexo g

This compiles everything into public/.

Running Locally

1

hexo server     # or: hexo s

Visit http://localhost:4000 to preview.

Theme Override (Optional)

Inside supports overriding theme source files. Any file placed in source/theme-inside/ with the same path as a theme file will replace the theme default.

This is useful for:

• Custom partials or layout components
• Adding site-specific static assets
• Tweaking behavior without forking the theme

What’s Next?

• Appearance → — Set your colors, fonts, and dark mode
• Sidebar → — Configure your profile and navigation
• Front-matter → — Learn all post/page metadata options