Gatsby Starters

The Gatsby CLI tool lets you install starters, which are boilerplate Gatsby sites maintained by the community and intended for jump-starting development quickly.

Installing starters

Execute the gatsby new command to clone a boilerplate starter, install its dependencies, and clear Git history.

Using Git repo URLs

When creating a new Gatsby site, you can optionally specify a starter to base your new site on; they can come from any publicly available Git repo, such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. You can supply the [URL_OF_STARTER_GIT_REPO] directly:

For example, to create a site in a blog directory with Gatsby Starter Blog from its GitHub URL:

This downloads the files and initializes the site by running npm install.

Using GitHub usernames and repos instead of URLs

Alternatively, you can also supply a GitHub username and repository:

Here is an example with the [GITHUB_USER_NAME/REPO] format:

This also downloads the files and initializes the site by running npm install.

If you don’t specify a custom starter, your site will be created from the default starter.

Note: If you work for an Enterprise-level company where you are unable to pull from public GitHub repositories, you can still set up Gatsby. Check out the docs to learn more.

Using a local starter

Another option is to supply a path (relative or absolute) to a local folder containing a starter:

Here is an example assuming a starter exists on the path ./Code/my-local-starter:

Official starters

Official starters are maintained by Gatsby.

StarterDemo/DocsUse caseFeatures
gatsby-starter-defaultDemoAppropriate for most use casesGeneral Gatsby site
gatsby-starter-blogDemoCreate a basic blogBlog post pages and listings
gatsby-starter-hello-worldDemoLearn GatsbyGatsby bare essentials
gatsby-starter-blog-themeDocsBlog posts and pagesGatsby themes
gatsby-starter-theme-workspaceDocsBuilding Gatsby ThemesMinimal theme workspace

Modifying starters

Learn how to modify a starter in the Gatsby docs. You can use official and community starters out of the box but you may want to customize their style and functionality.

Making starters

Learn how to make a starter in the Gatsby docs. Starters can be created for your team(s) only or distributed to the broader community. It’s up to you!

Community starters

Community starters are created and maintained by Gatsby community members.

  • Looking for a starter for a particular use case? Browse starters that have been submitted to the Starter Library.

Note: Showcase and starter contributions are currently paused while the Gatsby team develops a new workflow for sharing your Gatsby sites with the community.