Ghost Themes

Custom themes for Ghost, designed and built by Salaheddin AbuEin.

Every theme is plain HTML5, CSS3 and ES6+ JavaScript with Handlebars templates. There are no front-end frameworks. They aim to be simple, responsive and accessible, and most are installable as progressive web apps (PWAs).

These are my independent projects, built outside my full-time role. For freelance enquiries, visit abuein.dev.

Themes

Theme	Description	Live site	Version
247lep	Plumbing and heating services	247lep.co.uk	1.1.0
2n1	UK-based holding company	2n1.co.uk	1.0.1
abuein-dev	Personal site with RTL support	abuein.dev	0.1.0
auntysuzy	Sole traders, with a Snipcart shop	auntysuzy.co.uk	0.1.0
bdde-zawake	Arabic/RTL e-commerce for Zawake	zawake.com	1.0.0
dar-abuein	Publishing with RTL (Arabic) support	abuein.com	1.0.0
elite-drivers-hertfordshire	Airport transfers and ground transport	servex.business	0.5.0
grace-gs	Grace Governance Solutions	gracegs.com	1.0.0
greenrock	"Under construction" PWA	greenrockps.com	1.0.0
lor-beauty	Premium skincare brand	lor.beauty	1.0.0
palestine-riders	Exploring Occupied Palestine on two wheels	palestineriders.com	1.0.0
rapid-is	Rapid Information Systems	rapid-is.co.uk	1.0.0
starter-kit	Boilerplate for new themes	—	1.0.0
swifton-databases	Swifton Databases Limited	swifton.co.uk	1.0.0
tufan	Indie publishing and community media PWA	tufan.uk	1.0.0
z23	Art galleries	zawyeh.dev	0.1.0

Versions below 1.0.0 are still in development.

Requirements

• Node.js 22.17+ or 24 (see .nvmrc)
• Ghost-CLI — npm install -g ghost-cli@latest
• A local Ghost install — ghost install local

The same commands work on Ubuntu and Windows (cmd, PowerShell or Git Bash).

Getting started

git clone https://github.com/sabuein/ghost-themes.git
cd ghost-themes
npm install

npm install runs once at the repo root. The repo uses npm workspaces, so every theme shares one node_modules.

Next, tell the tooling where your local Ghost lives. Copy ghost.local.example.json to ghost.local.json and edit it. Git ignores this file, so each machine keeps its own paths:

{
    "ghostDir": "~/my/instances/ghost-25",
    "zipDir": "~/Desktop",
    "themes": {
        "elite-drivers-hertfordshire": { "ghostDir": "~/my/instances/ghost-servex" }
    }
}

On Windows, use forward slashes, for example "C:/Users/you/my/ghost-cms". The GHOST_DIR and THEME_ZIP_DIR environment variables override the file.

Commands

Every theme has the same scripts. Run them from the repo root with -w <theme>, or from inside the theme folder without it.

Command	What it does
npm run link -w 2n1	Link the theme into your Ghost content/themes (a junction on Windows, so no admin rights are needed)
npm run unlink -w 2n1	Remove that link
npm start -w 2n1	ghost start
npm stop -w 2n1	ghost stop
npm restart -w 2n1	ghost restart
npm run debug -w 2n1	ghost run -D (foreground, development mode)
npm run log -w 2n1	ghost log
npm run update -w 2n1	ghost update
npm run scan -w 2n1	Validate the theme folder with gscan
npm run zip -w 2n1	Build (if the theme has a build step) and write <zipDir>/2n1.zip
npm run scan:zip -w 2n1	Zip, then validate the zip exactly as Ghost will receive it
npm test -w 2n1	Same as scan

Root-level shortcuts run across every theme: npm run scan, npm run build, npm run zip.

All of this runs through one script, tools/theme.mjs. Some files never go in a zip: node_modules, .git, assets/labs, *.zip, logs and lock files. To exclude more files for one theme, list them in that theme's package.json:

"themeZip": { "exclude": ["assets/videos/**", "server/**"] }

Uploading a theme

1. npm run scan:zip -w <theme>
2. In Ghost Admin, open Settings → Design & branding → Change theme → Upload theme.
3. Pick <theme>.zip from your zipDir and activate it.

Repository layout

ghost-themes/
├── tools/
│   ├── theme.mjs              # shared, cross-platform theme tooling
│   └── templates/             # README and LICENSE templates for new themes
├── ghost.local.example.json   # copy to ghost.local.json (git-ignored)
├── package.json               # workspaces + shared dev dependencies
├── <theme>/
│   ├── package.json           # Ghost theme config + the standard scripts
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── LICENSE
│   └── …                      # .hbs templates, partials/, assets/, locales/
└── …

Resources

Ghost

• Theme structure
• Handlebars helpers · translate
• Custom settings
• gscan online

Progressive web apps

• Learn PWA (web.dev)
• PWABuilder · docs
• Overview of PWAs (Microsoft Edge)
• Web app manifest (MDN)

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run npm run scan -w <theme> before opening a PR, and use Conventional Commits scoped to the theme, for example fix(2n1): ….

Author

Salaheddin AbuEin — abuein.dev · GitHub · LinkedIn

Licence

MIT © Salaheddin AbuEin, unless a theme's own LICENSE says otherwise.