Vaultex is a dark Hexo theme built around the Obsidian.md UI paradigm — a two-sidebar app shell with a file explorer on the left, a table of contents and tag cloud on the right, and a clean content area in the middle. Zero external runtime dependencies.
What Makes Vaultex Different
Most Hexo themes are either minimal one-column layouts or generic Bootstrap-based templates. Vaultex takes a different approach: it models itself after a note-taking application rather than a traditional blog. This gives it a distinctive feel — one that feels at home for developers who live in tools like VS Code, Obsidian, or Logseq.
The App Shell
The layout consists of four distinct zones:
- Activity bar — the slim icon strip on the far left (social links, etc.)
- Left sidebar — file explorer with collapsible sections: Navigation, Categories, Recent Notes, Links
- Content area — where posts and pages render
- Right sidebar — table of contents, related posts, and tag cloud
Each zone is independently collapsible on desktop and collapses into a drawer overlay on mobile.
Self-Hosted Everything
Vaultex ships with no CDN dependencies. Fonts (Inter + Source Code Pro), icons (SVG), and syntax highlighting themes are all bundled and served from your own domain. This means the site loads even without internet access to third-party CDNs.
Key Features at a Glance
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| File explorer | Collapsible left sidebar with category tree |
| Full-text search | Ctrl+Shift+F — instant search with keyword highlighting |
| Quick switcher | Ctrl+O — popup to jump to any post by URL |
| Table of contents | Auto-generated from headings, active tracking |
| Syntax highlighting | 70+ themes via highlight.js |
| Responsive | Mobile-first, collapsible sidebars |
| Print styles | Clean print layout, sidebars hidden |
Getting Started
Install Vaultex by cloning it into your Hexo themes/ directory and setting theme: vaultex in your root _config.yml. Then add the required plugins:
1 | |
Configure the theme in themes/vaultex/_config.yml and you’re ready to go.
This preview site exists to demonstrate every feature of the theme. Browse the posts using the file explorer on the left, search with Ctrl+K, and explore categories and tags in the right sidebar.