Hexo is the Node.js static site generator behind thousands of developer blogs and documentation sites. With 39,000+ GitHub stars, sub-second build times, 400+ plugins, and a simple Markdown-to-HTML workflow, it remains one of the most deployed SSGs in the world — particularly popular across Asia.
The Hexo theme ecosystem is uniquely rich. Many top themes have thousands of stars, deep configuration systems, and feature sets rivaling full blogging platforms. Since the community is historically centered in China, we’ve noted English documentation availability for every entry below — it’s often the deciding factor for international developers.
These 12 themes are ranked by GitHub stars, covering blogs, portfolios, documentation wikis, and even Vue 3 SPAs. All are free, open-source, and compatible with current Hexo versions.
Category: Blog | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: Apache-2.0
The most popular actively maintained Hexo theme, packed with dark mode, i18n, three search integrations (Algolia, local, DocSearch), and support for nearly every comment system (Disqus, Gitalk, Valine, Waline, Twikoo, Giscus). Also includes MathJax/KaTeX rendering, image galleries, and PWA support.
Best for: Developers who want a single, do-everything Hexo theme with excellent English documentation.
Category: Blog (Material Design) | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: GPL-3.0
Material Design aesthetics with a focus on readability and visual polish. Ships with dark mode, local search, 7+ comment systems, MathJax/KaTeX, Mermaid diagrams, and lazy loading. Nearly tied with Butterfly in popularity but takes a more design-cohesive approach.
Best for: Developers who want a polished Material Design blog with thorough English docs and straightforward Stylus customization.
Category: Blog (widget-rich) | CSS: Bulma CSS | License: MIT
Built on Bulma CSS with Inferno.js rendering, Icarus offers a flexible widget system for configuring multiple sidebar layouts. Supports Algolia/Baidu/Google CSE search, 5+ comment systems, and KaTeX/MathJax. Arguably the best English documentation of any Hexo theme.
Best for: Developers who prioritize excellent English documentation, architectural flexibility through widgets, and a permissive MIT license.
If you’re exploring frontend frameworks beyond static site generators, our roundup of the best Tailwind admin dashboard templates covers production-ready admin panels built with Tailwind CSS across React, Vue, and other frameworks.
Category: Blog (Material Design) | CSS: Custom CSS | License: Apache-2.0
A card-based Material Design layout that arranges posts in a responsive grid with featured images, giving blogs a magazine-like appearance. Includes i18n, search, MathJax, word count stats, and multiple comment systems. Stable codebase (last updated July 2024), works with current Hexo versions.
Best for: Bloggers who want a visually striking, card-based layout that stands out from standard Hexo list/timeline formats.
Category: Blog/Portfolio | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: MIT
A minimalist, English-first theme prioritizing clean typography and fast loading. Ships with four color schemes (dark, light, white, classic), local search, analytics support (Google, Baidu, Cloudflare, Umami), and a dedicated projects page for portfolios. One of the few Hexo themes suitable for developer portfolios.
Best for: Developers who believe less is more and want a minimalist blog or portfolio where content takes center stage.
Category: Blog | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: AGPL-3.0
The most historically significant Hexo theme with ~27,000 cumulative stars across all repositories. This actively maintained fork offers four distinct layout schemes (Muse, Mist, Pisces, Gemini), 20+ languages, dark mode, comprehensive SEO, and MathJax/Mermaid rendering. Excellent English docs at theme-next.js.org.
Best for: Developers who want the most battle-tested Hexo theme with the largest cumulative user base and the most mature plugin ecosystem.
Category: Blog | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: GPL-3.0
A Butterfly fork that adds AI-powered post summaries, PJAX-based seamless page transitions, custom context menus, and enhanced analytics. Inherits all of Butterfly’s features (dark mode, search, comment systems) with a more polished navigation experience. Documentation is Chinese-primary.
Best for: Developers who want Butterfly’s capabilities with cutting-edge extras (AI summaries, PJAX) and don’t mind Chinese-primary docs.
Building admin panels alongside your blog? Our guide to the best Next.js admin dashboard templates covers the top free options for React-based admin interfaces.
Category: Blog/Magazine | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: MIT
A content-rich theme for blogs and magazine-style sites. Offers multiple layout options, a tag plugin system for enhanced formatting, and a flexible widget system for sidebar customization. A v7.0.0-alpha targeting Hexo 8.x signals continued active development.
Best for: Teams running multi-author publications or content-heavy sites that need more structural variety than a standard blog template.
Category: Blog | CSS: Custom CSS | License: GPL-3.0
One of the most visually polished Hexo themes, featuring a distinctive sidebar layout with author bio, gorgeous cover images, and Fancybox-powered galleries. Created by French developer Louis Barranqueiro with native English docs. Actively maintained with commits as recent as January 2026.
Best for: Bloggers who prioritize visual design quality and want a distinctive cover-image-driven layout with full English documentation.
Category: Blog | CSS: Tailwind CSS | License: GPL-3.0
The only top Hexo theme built with Tailwind CSS. Features dark/light toggle, MathJax/Mermaid rendering, article encryption, Aplayer music integration, Font Awesome 6.2.1 Pro icons, and multi-language support. Actively maintained (February 2026) with a genuinely modern design.
Best for: Tailwind-first developers who want a Hexo blog that matches their utility-class workflow and looks like it was designed in 2025.
For more Tailwind-powered projects beyond Hexo, our collection of the best Vue admin dashboard templates includes several options built with Tailwind CSS and Vue 3.
Category: Blog/Wiki | CSS: Custom Stylus | License: MIT
Designed for knowledge management, not just blogging. Includes a full wiki/knowledge-base system, column/notes organization, dynamic timelines, multi-author support, and remote Markdown rendering. No other theme on this list offers comparable documentation and wiki capabilities. Chinese-primary docs.
Best for: Developers who need Hexo to function as a documentation platform or personal wiki rather than a traditional blog.
Category: Blog (SPA) | CSS: Tailwind CSS + SCSS | License: MIT
The most technically unconventional entry: a full Vue 3 SPA powered by Pinia and Vue Router instead of traditional multi-page HTML. Delivers instant page transitions, smooth animations, and no full-page reloads. Includes dark/light mode, i18n, search, and comments via Gitalk or Valine. Solid English docs.
Best for: Developers who want their Hexo blog to feel like a modern Vue 3 web application with instant client-side navigation.
The Hexo theme ecosystem covers more ground than most developers realize — from feature-rich blogs and minimalist portfolios to documentation wikis and Vue 3 SPAs. Themes with the best English support include Butterfly, Fluid, Icarus, NexT, Cactus, and Tranquilpeak. Combined with Node.js tooling and sub-second build times, these mature, highly-configurable themes make Hexo a compelling choice for static sites in 2026.
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