al-folio
A simple Jekyll starter website template for academics, with plugins for extra features.
- Stars
- 16.3k
- Forks
- 13k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- HTML
- Last update
- 11 days ago
- Type
- App
What it is
al-folio is a free starter for building a personal academic website using Jekyll, a static site generator. You create your own site from the template and edit its content and settings. In v1.x it is described as a thin starter rather than a full theme, with runtime features provided by separately versioned Ruby gem plugins that you update through your Gemfile.
- Publish a personal academic homepage with pages for your profile and publications
- Write a blog using the included writing features
- Show GitHub repositories and stats on your site
- Build a CV page
Great for
- Academics and researchers who want a personal website with a clean, responsive layout
- People comfortable editing configuration files and using Git and GitHub
- Users who want to host a static site on GitHub Pages
- Anyone willing to follow the documented install and customization guides
Not ideal for
- People who want a no-code website builder, since setup involves Jekyll, Ruby gems and Git (the README describes agent-assisted setup but does not describe a no-code path)
- Existing forks that need a migration, since the README recommends a dedicated migration path rather than a simple update
- Users who want a plugin feature without checking which gems it needs, since v1 moved runtime features into separate plugin repositories
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Git · GitHub account (for the recommended 'Use this template' workflow and GitHub Pages hosting)
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/alshedivat/al-folio - 2
Run it
- Create your own copy using the 'Use this template' button rather than forking, as the README recommends.
- Read docs/QUICKSTART.md for the quick setup steps.
- Follow docs/INSTALL.md for installation and deployment details.
- Customize your site using docs/CUSTOMIZE.md.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the bundled AI agent skills described in AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md for setup and migration.
- Read docs/BOUNDARIES.md to see which changes belong in the starter and which belong in plugin repos.
- Browse the plugin catalog to find features such as search, citations, analytics, comments and math support.
- Keep plugins up to date by bumping pinned versions in your Gemfile.
Downloads
Strengths
- Clean, simple, responsive design, as described in the project description and README preview
- MIT licensed and free to use and modify
- Plugin-based v1 design lets you get fixes by bumping a pinned gem version
Trade-offs
- Requires Jekyll and Ruby-based tooling, which is a learning curve for non-developers
- v1 is a restructured starter, so existing customized forks need migration work according to the README
- Some features depend on separate plugin repositories that you must track yourself
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| al-folio (this) | 16.3k | App | intermediate | 11 days ago | Academics and researchers who want a personal website with a clean, responsive layout |
| academicpages.github.io | 17.8k | Other | beginner | 4 days ago | Academics who want a personal homepage listing publications and talks |
| minimal-mistakes | 13.6k | Library | intermediate | 28 days ago | People who want a personal site or blog built with Jekyll |
| jekyll-theme-chirpy | 10.3k | Library | intermediate | 2 months ago | Developers who want a technical blog without designing a site from scratch |
| tabler | 42k | Library | beginner | 7 days ago | Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly |
| bootswatch | 14.7k | Library | beginner | 5 months ago | Developers who already use Bootstrap and want a different look quickly |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.