Doordarshan is a Zola theme for a retro Indian terminal/notebook aesthetic: monospace-heavy typography, warm terracotta accents, compact navigation, and a layout that works for blogs, personal sites, project logs, and small digital gardens.
- Live demo: https://oddship.github.io/doordarshan-zola/
- Theme repository: https://github.com/oddship/doordarshan-zola
- homepage hero with configurable avatar, title, tagline, and CTA links
- optional recent-updates rail on the homepage
- blog list + archive flow for dated posts
- wiki/garden-style pages area with sidebar navigation
- project-section templates with GitHub/demo/website links and archived status
- theme-owned contact, search, 404, and homepage defaults
- light/dark theme toggle
- Oatbase-powered tokens, forms, dialogs, prose, cards, lists, editor controls, lightbox, footnotes, and reading progress
- RSS, Open Graph, Twitter card, favicon, and JSON-LD metadata defaults
- namespaced config contract under
extra.doordarshan.* - compatibility fallbacks for legacy flat keys during migration
- explicit hook for site-owned JavaScript via
extra.doordarshan.scripts.additional
Prefer HTTPS for widest compatibility:
git submodule add https://github.com/oddship/doordarshan-zola.git themes/doordarshanIf you use SSH keys with GitHub, this works too:
git submodule add git@github.com:oddship/doordarshan-zola.git themes/doordarshanThen in your site config.toml:
theme = "doordarshan"
compile_sass = true
build_search_index = truegit clone https://github.com/oddship/doordarshan-zola.git themes/doordarshanAt minimum, most sites using the theme should set:
theme = "doordarshan"
compile_sass = true
build_search_index = trueSearch pages use Zola's generated search index, so build_search_index = true is expected when extra.doordarshan.features.site_search = true.
The theme assumes a small, explicit content topology:
content/
├── _index.md
├── blog/
│ ├── _index.md
│ └── your-posts.md
├── pages/
│ ├── _index.md
│ ├── guides/
│ │ ├── _index.md
│ │ └── page.md
│ └── projects/
│ ├── _index.md
│ └── project.md
├── contact.md
├── search.md
└── now.md # optional
Only two section roots are important to the theme contract:
blog/_index.mdpages/_index.md
You can move them by changing extra.doordarshan.sections.blog and extra.doordarshan.sections.pages.
Doordarshan vendors the browser-ready Oatbase
bundle under static/vendor/oatbase/ and applies its dedicated doordarshan
theme preset. Oatbase owns the reusable component and accessibility layer;
Doordarshan's Sass is the site-specific composition and retro terminal identity.
The exact vendored revision and license notices are documented beside the bundle.
| Route / content type | Template | Notes |
|---|---|---|
/ |
templates/index.html |
Theme-owned homepage hero + optional recent items |
| blog section | templates/section.html |
Standard blog listing |
| blog archive | templates/blog-archive.html |
Linked from the main blog section |
| generic pages/posts | templates/page.html |
Supports reading metadata and optional page.extra.toc |
| pages root | templates/pages-list.html |
Garden/wiki index with featured subsections |
| pages subsections | templates/pages-section.html |
Sidebar layout |
| project sections | templates/projects-section.html |
Project index with status badges |
| project pages | templates/projects-page.html |
Supports project links + context block |
| contact page | templates/contact.html |
Theme-owned; content file can stay thin |
| search page | templates/search.html |
Theme-owned; language-aware search index loading |
| 404 page | templates/404.html |
Uses configured section roots for fallback links |
| now page | templates/now.html |
Optional opinionated now-page template |
The preferred config surface is namespaced under extra.doordarshan.
| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
blog |
string | "blog/_index.md" |
Source section path for blog content |
pages |
string | "pages/_index.md" |
Source section path for pages/wiki content |
| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
pages_search |
bool | true |
Enables sidebar search inside the configured pages section |
site_search |
bool | true |
Enables the standalone /search/ page |
| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
social_image |
string | "" |
Fallback OG/Twitter image path |
| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
show_recent |
bool | false |
Enables recent content rail on the homepage |
recent_limit |
integer | 5 |
Number of recent items to show |
links |
array | none | CTA links shown in the hero |
homepage.links entries use:
[[extra.doordarshan.homepage.links]]
label = "Blog"
url = "/blog/"| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
additional |
array[string] | [] |
Site-owned scripts loaded after theme assets |
Use this for clearly site-specific behavior rather than baking it into the theme.
| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
intro |
string | "" |
Intro copy for the contact page |
email |
string | "" |
Contact email address |
response_time |
string | "" |
Small expectations note |
links |
array | none | External profile/contact links |
contact.links entries use:
[[extra.doordarshan.contact.links]]
label = "GitHub"
url = "https://github.com/example"
description = "code & projects"| Key | Type | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
nav_brand |
string | "" |
Left-side brand label in the header |
avatar |
string | "" |
Homepage avatar image path |
homepage_title |
string | "" |
Hero title override |
homepage_tagline |
string | "" |
Hero subtitle override |
handwritten_font |
string | "" |
Optional secondary font stylesheet URL |
favicon |
string | "" |
Favicon path |
github_url |
string | "" |
GitHub link used in footer + structured data |
twitter_handle |
string | "" |
Twitter/X handle for social metadata |
| Key | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
enabled |
bool | Enables analytics injection |
script_url |
string | Analytics script URL |
website_id |
string | Analytics site ID |
When the namespaced analytics block is present, it is authoritative. If it is absent, the theme can still fall back to legacy extra.umami keys.
Navigation items use:
[[extra.doordarshan.nav.menu]]
name = "Home"
url = "/"
weight = 1[extra.doordarshan.sections]
blog = "blog/_index.md"
pages = "pages/_index.md"
[extra.doordarshan.features]
pages_search = true
site_search = true
[extra.doordarshan.assets]
social_image = "/images/social-card.png"
[extra.doordarshan.homepage]
show_recent = true
recent_limit = 5
[[extra.doordarshan.homepage.links]]
label = "Blog"
url = "/blog/"
[[extra.doordarshan.homepage.links]]
label = "Projects"
url = "/pages/projects/"
[[extra.doordarshan.homepage.links]]
label = "Contact"
url = "/contact/"
[extra.doordarshan.scripts]
additional = ["js/site-only.js"]
[extra.doordarshan.contact]
intro = "Want to get in touch?"
email = "hello@example.com"
response_time = "Usually within a day or two."
[[extra.doordarshan.contact.links]]
label = "GitHub"
url = "https://github.com/example"
description = "code & projects"
[[extra.doordarshan.contact.links]]
label = "Mastodon"
url = "https://fosstodon.org/@example"
description = "fediverse"
[extra.doordarshan.identity]
nav_brand = "~/site"
avatar = "/images/avatar.svg"
homepage_title = "Your Name"
homepage_tagline = "Short homepage tagline"
handwritten_font = "https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Shrikhand&display=swap"
favicon = "/images/favicon.ico"
github_url = "https://github.com/example/"
twitter_handle = "@example"
[extra.doordarshan.analytics]
enabled = false
script_url = ""
website_id = ""
[[extra.doordarshan.nav.menu]]
name = "Home"
url = "/"
weight = 1
[[extra.doordarshan.nav.menu]]
name = "Blog"
url = "/blog/"
weight = 2
[[extra.doordarshan.nav.menu]]
name = "Pages"
url = "/pages/"
weight = 3
[[extra.doordarshan.nav.menu]]
name = "Contact"
url = "/contact/"
weight = 4The theme also recognizes a few useful page/section-level extras.
| Key | Used by | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
page.extra.toc |
page.html |
Shows the generated table of contents block |
page.extra.og_image |
head metadata | Per-page social card override |
| Key | Used by | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
page.extra.status = "archived" |
project page/section templates | Shows archived badge |
page.extra.github_url |
project page template | GitHub link |
page.extra.demo_url |
project page template | Demo link |
page.extra.website_url |
project page template | Website link |
page.extra.context |
project page template | Renders a “Why I starred this”/context block |
| Key | Used by | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
section.extra.featured = true |
pages index/sidebar | Highlights a subsection |
section.extra.hidden = true |
pages index/sidebar | Hides a subsection from navigation |
section.extra.section_title |
pages sidebar | Overrides sidebar title label |
section.extra.og_image |
head metadata | Per-section social card override |
Zola lets you override any file from the theme by shadowing it in your site root.
Examples:
templates/page.html -> replace theme page template
templates/partials/head.html -> customize metadata/head markup
static/js/site.js -> add site-specific behavior
static/images/favicon.ico -> override theme fallback asset
Use config for the first layer of customization, then override individual templates or static files when you need deeper control.
This repository is also a buildable Zola site used for:
- the GitHub Pages demo
- gallery screenshots
- local theme development
Run it locally with Zola:
zola serveDoordarshan includes an optional development-only editor under dev/. It is outside the directories Zola copies into a production build.
With Zola serving drafts on port 1111, run this from the site root:
zola serve --drafts --interface 127.0.0.1 --port 1111
node themes/doordarshan/dev/admin-server.jsOpen http://127.0.0.1:1112/admin/. The local gateway serves the actual Zola preview at /, adds in-page editing controls, and can create or edit drafts under content/blog/ and content/pages/. Set ADMIN_PORT or ADMIN_PREVIEW_URL to override the two local ports. The server always binds to loopback and never commits, pushes, or deploys content.
Build it for production:
zola buildThe demo published from main is deployed through .github/workflows/pages.yml.
That workflow:
- pins the Zola package source
- computes
--base-urldynamically from the repository URL by default - accepts a
PAGES_BASE_URLrepository variable for forks or custom domains - avoids canceling in-progress runs so manual Pages publishes do not show up as failed-looking canceled CI
The theme accepts both:
- namespaced keys under
extra.doordarshan.* - legacy flat keys such as
extra.nav_brand,extra.menu_main,extra.github,extra.twitter_handle,extra.favicon,extra.handwritten_font, andextra.umami
Preference order is:
- non-empty namespaced values under
extra.doordarshan.* - legacy flat keys
- theme fallback/default
Analytics is a special case: if extra.doordarshan.analytics is present at the site level, it is authoritative, including enabled = false. Legacy extra.umami is only consulted when the namespaced analytics block is absent.
config.toml sample-site config and Pages demo config
content/ committed standalone demo content
sass/ theme styles
static/ theme assets and JavaScript
templates/ theme templates
screenshot.png gallery screenshot for getzola/themes
.github/workflows/pages.yml GitHub Pages deploy for the sample site
MIT