Semantic HTML structure
HugoHTMLStarter
sine-die — Hugo Starter Template
By sinetris
sine-die is a Hugo theme that uses semantic HTML and minimal CSS, offering light and dark modes, a menu bar, a glossary template, and Pagefind-based search.
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Recorded 2026-10-04View source
What stands out
A quick read of the recorded project description.
Minimal CSS framework with responsive design and light/dark modes
Customizable color palette and menu bar
Provides a glossary template
Optional Pagefind-based search
Accessibility-conscious, including ARIA APG breadcrumb and menu bar patterns
Template Details
sine-die is a Hugo theme developed by sinetris, positioned as a simple, clean look for static sites. It emphasizes semantic HTML and uses a minimal CSS framework, with built-in responsive design, light and dark modes, a customizable color palette, and a menu bar. The theme also provides a glossary template and takes accessibility into account. Search is implemented with Pagefind and is optional.
Using the theme requires an existing Hugo site, Git installed, and Dart Sass configured; enabling search additionally requires Node.js or Python 3 and Pagefind. The theme documentation covers basic configuration, with more details on the project website.
The theme code is released under the MIT license and includes breadcrumb and menu/menubar example patterns from the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide, which are distributed under the W3C Software and Document License. Third-party assets such as demo images, fonts, and icons require separate license verification.
HugoHTMLLauncher
Is it right for your project?
Use Cases
- Applying a clean, semantic theme look to a Hugo site
- Static sites that need light/dark mode switching and responsive layout
- Sites that want to add a glossary page for content
- Sites that need client-side search and can accept the Pagefind indexing workflow
Suitable For
- Developers who already have a Hugo site and want to change its theme
- Site maintainers who value semantic HTML and accessibility
- Users who prefer minimal CSS and do not want to introduce a large front-end framework
- Documentation-style sites that need common page structures such as a glossary, breadcrumbs, or a menu bar
Getting started & customization
Use these recorded setup notes alongside the repository instructions for your chosen version.
- 1
You need an existing Hugo site and Git installed.
- 2
The theme uses Dart Sass, which must be configured according to the Hugo documentation.
- 3
Search is optional; enabling it requires Node.js or Python 3 and Pagefind.
- 4
Basic configuration instructions are in the repository's docs/README.md, with more details on the project website.
- 5
The theme code is MIT-licensed, but third-party assets such as demo images, fonts, and icons require separate license verification.
License & source material
Usage conditions & limitations
Free to use · keep license noticeThis entry covers the free version in the public repository under the MIT license; the free scope applies to that version's code and does not imply that external services or third-party assets are free.
Must comply with when using
- You may use, modify, commercialize, and distribute this version's code for free.
- When distributing copies or substantial portions of the code, retain the original author's copyright notice and the full MIT license notice.
- The code is provided as is; warranties and limitations of liability are governed by the original license and applicable law.
Additional costs & items to verify
- Search is optional; enabling it requires additionally installing Node.js or Python 3 and the Pagefind tool, which are external dependencies and are not needed if search is not enabled.
- The theme uses Dart Sass; when building the site, Dart Sass must be installed and configured according to the Hugo documentation, otherwise styles will not compile properly.
- The breadcrumb and menu/menubar patterns in the theme are derived from ARIA APG examples and are distributed under the W3C Software and Document License, not MIT; redistribution must comply with that license as well.
- Demo images, fonts, icons, and other third-party assets must be checked against their respective licenses and cannot be assumed to be covered solely by the code's MIT license.
- External services such as domains, hosting, databases, payments, or AI may incur separate charges.
View Original Text Basis
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge
Original License Text
(optional) For the [Search functionality][sine-die-search-functionality] - [Node.js][node-js] or [Python 3][python] (used by Pagefind) - [Pagefind][pagefind]
Original README
- [Dart Sass][hugo-dart-sass]
Original README
https://github.com/sinetris/sine-die/blob/main/LICENSEhttps://github.com/sinetris/sine-die/blob/main/README.mdThis software includes material copied from or derived from the example patterns provided in the [ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG)][aria-apg] and distributed under the [W3C<sup>®</sup> Software and Document License][w3c-software-license].
Original README
Compiled by DeepSeek based on repository license and README ·2026-10-04. Results only cover the materials read; dependencies, images, fonts, and subsequent term changes are subject to their respective original texts.
Project checks & description sources
Template Information
- Source platforms
- Hugo Themes
- Documentation and maintenance reference score
- More documented · 80 / 100
- Technologies
- Hugo · HTML
- Website type
- Starter
How this score is calculated
Our heuristic uses license records (up to 30), a demo link (12), a preview (10), stars (15), recorded maintenance (15), description completeness (8), feature records (5) and classification data (5). It is not a code, security or performance test, or a Google score. A link does not establish tested functionality.
What to verify for this project
- Repository update recorded
- 2026-09-07
- Screenshot last checked
- 2026-10-04
A demo link is listed. Check it with your own content and viewport sizes; its presence does not confirm that forms, authentication or payments work.
The catalog identifies Hugo as the primary stack. Check the actual dependency manifest and lockfile for versions and hosting requirements. These notes use recorded metadata, not a code audit or a deployment test.
Use a selection guide →How this description was prepared
AI-assisted description based on catalog records and repository material. Repository authors are not automatically the reviewers of this description.
Review declaration: [email protected] · 2026-10-04
Inspect the recorded source material
SHA-256: 3cba9701308ec611e330162f031caff6282004179fd672525b594f8fa80bf795
2026-10-04T02:46:46.354Z
Source file / repository<!-- markdownlint-disable MD041 -->
[](code_of_conduct.md)
[](https://results.pre-commit.ci/latest/github/sinetris/sine-die/main)
<p align="center">
<img
src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sinetris/sine-die/main/assets/images/sine-die-logo-full.svg"
style="width: 80%;"
alt="Sine Die logo"
/>
</p>
<p align="center">
<img
src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sinetris/sine-die/main/userguide/assets/images/responsive-previews.png"
style="width: 90%"
alt="Responsive Web Design Demo"
/>
</p>
---
Table of Content
- [Description](#description)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Documentation](#documentation)
- [Credits and Acknowledgements](#credits-and-acknowledgements)
- [License](#license)
## Description
A simple and clean [Hugo][hugo] theme.
- Semantic HTML
- Minimalist CSS framework
- Lightweight
- Responsive Web Design
- Light/Dark Mode
- Easily customizable color palette
- Menubar
- Glossary templates
- Accessibility friendly
- Search functionality
## Prerequisites
- A [Hugo site][hugo-quick-start]
- [Git installed][git-getting-started]
- (optional) For the [Search functionality][sine-die-search-functionality]
- [Node.js][node-js] or [Python 3][python] (used by Pagefind)
- [Pagefind][pagefind]
- [Dart Sass][hugo-dart-sass]
## Documentation
Basic configuration instructions are available in the [documentation README][sine-die-documentation]
file.
More details are available on the [Sine Die website][sine-die-website].
## Credits and Acknowledgements
- [Pagefind][pagefind]: highly configurable client-side search
library with a script to index pages generated with any static site generator
using as low bandwidth as possible. It also provides a UI component that
supports searching, filtering, and metadata out of the box.
- [MDN Accessibility][mdn-accessibility]: web accessibility reference in
[MDN Web Docs][mdn-web-docs]
- [ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG)][aria-apg]: learn to use the accessibility
semantics defined by the [ARIA][aria] specification.
- [Material Design][material-design]: Google’s open-source design system.
- The color scheme for this theme is inspired by the [Material design color system][material-design-color-system].\
Their color palette is very similar to what I intended to cerate, and having
a good reference was definitely a great help.
- This theme also use [Material Symbols][material-symbols] for the icons.
## License
Licensed under the [MIT license][sine-die-license].
This software includes material copied from or derived from the example patterns
provided in the [ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG)][aria-apg] and distributed
under the [W3C<sup>®</sup> Software and Document License][w3c-software-license].
Specifically:
- [Breadcrumb Pattern][aria-apg-patterns-breadcrumb]
- [Menu and Menubar Pattern][aria-apg-patterns-menubar]
[aria-apg-patterns-breadcrumb]: <https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/breadcrumb/> "APG - Breadcrumb Pattern"
[aria-apg-patterns-menubar]: <https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/menubar/> "APG - Menu and Menubar Pattern"
[aria-apg]: <https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/> "ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG)"
[aria]: <https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria/> "Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA)"
[git-getting-started]: <https://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-Installing-Git/> "Git: Getting Started"
[hugo-dart-sass]: <https://gohugo.io/functions/css/sass/#dart-sass> "Hugo: Install Dart Sass"
[hugo-quick-start]: <https://gohugo.io/getting-started/quick-start/> "Hugo: Quick start"
[hugo]: <https://gohugo.io> "Hugo: open-source static site generators"
[material-design-color-system]: <https://m3.material.io/styles/color/the-color-system/key-colors-tones> "Material design color system"
[material-design]: <https://m3.material.io> "Material Design"
[material-symbols]: <https://fonts.google.com/icons> "Material Symbols"
[mdn-accessibility]: <https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility> "mdn - Accessibility"
[mdn-web-docs]: <https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web> "mdn web docs"
[node-js]: <https://nodejs.org> "Node.js"
[pagefind]: <https://pagefind.app/> "Pagefind"
[python]: <https://www.python.org/> "Python"
[sine-die-documentation]: <https://github.com/sinetris/sine-die/blob/main/docs/README.md> "sine-die: Documentation"
[sine-die-license]: <https://github.com/sinetris/sine-die/blob/main/LICENSE> "sine-die: License"
[sine-die-search-functionality]: <https://github.com/sinetris/sine-die/blob/main/docs/README.md#search-functionality> "sine-die: Search functionality"
[sine-die-website]: <https://sinetris.github.io/sine-die/> "sine-die: website"
[w3c-software-license]: <https://www.w3.org/copyright/software-license/> "W3C Software and Document License"
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