A free Next.js blog template that stays out of your way
Write posts in Markdown, get a fast static site with RSS and dark mode. MIT licensed — use it for anything.
Most Next.js blog templates are either a bare `create-next-app` with a posts folder, or a full platform with a database, auth and an admin panel you never asked for. Nova sits deliberately in between: a complete, styled blog where the entire workflow is writing a Markdown file and pushing.
Because it builds to a static export, there is nothing to keep online — no server, no database, no monthly bill. The same build deploys to Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel or a plain S3 bucket, and a blog with hundreds of posts still builds to files a CDN serves in milliseconds.
Nova is MIT licensed with no strings: use it for a personal blog, a company changelog or a client project. It is one of six free templates we maintain — the same foundations we build client sites on at Pixel & Oak.
What’s inside
Markdown posts
Drop a .md file in the content folder and it becomes a post — front matter for title, date and tags, no CMS to configure.
RSS built in
A generated feed ships with the site, so readers and aggregators can follow the blog from day one.
Dark mode
Class-strategy dark mode with the reader’s preference respected on first paint.
Static export
Builds to plain HTML with `output: "export"` — host it on Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, GitHub Pages or any static host, free.
Tag and archive pages
Posts are organised for readers and crawlers alike: tags, archives and clean per-post URLs.
Performance first
No client-side rendering of content and no heavy dependencies, so scores stay high as the post count grows.
Get it running
Four commands from clone to a production build. The build outputs static files — host them anywhere, free.
git clone https://github.com/haider484991/nova-nextjs-blog-template.git
cd nova-nextjs-blog-template
npm install
npm run dev # develop at localhost:3000
npm run build # static site in out/ — deploy to any static hostQuestions
Is Nova really free?
Yes — the full template is on GitHub under the MIT license. There is no cut-down version, no email wall and no locked features. Keep the license file in the repo and you can use it for anything, including commercial and client work.
Do I need a CMS or database?
No. Posts are Markdown files committed to the repository. If you later want a CMS, any git-based one (Decap, Tina and similar) can edit the same files without changing the template.
Where can I host it?
Anywhere that serves static files. The template uses Next.js static export, so `npm run build` produces an `out/` folder you can put on Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel or GitHub Pages — all of which host it for free.
Can you set it up or customize it for me?
Yes. We adapt any of our templates to your brand — design, content structure, custom sections — usually within two weeks. Send a note through the contact form and mention Nova.
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