hexo-theme-redefine: a Hexo theme you install with npm and rebuild with Tailwind

It is a fork of hexo-theme-keep, and says so

Redefine builds on what the README calls the solid foundation of hexo-theme-keep. That relationship explains both the feature set and the constraints: what you get is a known theme with a different aesthetic, not a theme designed from scratch.

The functional additions over the base are writing tools and plugins. The feature list names a note module, a friend link page, Mathjax support, code block language display, Mermaid JS support, Aplayer support, Shuoshuo support and an article header image banner. Structural pieces include a drop-down menu for link lists, a customizable footer with site uptime display, and customizable fonts.

Two entries are worth pulling out. Light and dark mode switching is listed as a plain feature rather than a linked doc page, which suggests it is close to default behaviour. SEO friendly is likewise listed without elaboration, so if SEO is your main goal, take that claim at face value and verify the output yourself.

The theme is published to npm as `hexo-theme-redefine`, at version 2.9.0 in `package.json`, and the README carries badges for the required Hexo version of at least 5.0.0 and Node version of at least 12.0.

Installing with npm, and the git clone path that costs you updates

Installation is one npm command inside the site directory, and it only works after your Hexo version is up to 5.0 or newer:

cd your-hexo-site
npm install hexo-theme-redefine@latest

Then point the site at the theme in `_config.yml`:

theme: redefine

The alternative is cloning the repository directly into the theme folder:

cd your-hexo-site
git clone https://github.com/EvanNotFound/hexo-theme-redefine.git themes/redefine

That path is not equivalent and the README makes the difference concrete in its update section. If you installed from npm, updating is the same `npm install hexo-theme-redefine@latest`. If you cloned, updating means running `git pull` inside `themes/redefine`. The clone route puts a nested Git repository inside your site, which is exactly the situation where people forget to pull and wonder why a fix never arrives.

Full configuration is documented separately at the Redefine Docs site, and the README says to read it before installing rather than after.

Tailwind is a build step, not a CDN link

The theme includes Tailwind CSS, and the interesting detail is that the compiled stylesheet is built in the theme's own repository rather than generated in your site.

`package.json` shows the pipeline. `build` runs `build:css` and then `build:js`. `build:css` invokes the Tailwind CLI with `source/css/tailwind.source.css` as input and `source/css/build/tailwind.css` as output, minified. `build:js` runs a Node script at `source/js/build.js`. There is also a watch mode that adds `--watch` to the same command, and a preview script pointing at a local preview host.

What that means practically is that customising the theme's styling means editing `source/css/tailwind.source.css` and running a build, not overriding a stylesheet in your own site. The dev dependencies pin the toolchain at Tailwind 4.1.11, PostCSS 8.4.47, Terser 5.36.0 and ESLint 8.47.0. Husky runs on `prepare`, so installing from a git clone sets up git hooks, which is one more reason the npm route is the calmer option.

The repository layout follows from this: `source/` holds the CSS and JS inputs, `layout/` holds the Hexo templates, `_config.yml` is the theme configuration, and `languages/` holds translations.

Font Awesome Pro is bundled, and that is a licensing decision

The feature list names Font Awesome 6.2.1 Pro, with styles such as Duotone, Regular, Thin and Sharp. The feature list explicitly names Font Awesome 6.2.1 Pro, and you should check the applicable icon-font terms separately.

That has a direct consequence for anyone using this theme. The theme's own licence is GPL-3.0, and the repository carries a LICENSE file. But the licence covering the icons is a separate question, and it is yours to check before you publish a site. The GPL-3.0 licence applies to the theme; the terms covering the icon font should be checked separately.

There is a related project worth knowing about: Typora Theme Redefine, a separate repository that lets you preview the theme's styles inside Typora. You can check out that separate repository to preview the styles in Typora.

One more thing about the repository itself. The README ends with a block of Chinese-language advertising copy promoting a shared ChatGPT Plus account service. That is unrelated to the theme, and its presence in a README you will read during installation is a small signal about how the file is maintained.

Maintenance, translations and the release gap

The theme is under regular release, and the licence is GPL-3.0 which is worth knowing for a theme since templates are creative work that people do fork.

The release history has a visible rhythm. v2.9.0 was published on 2026-02-21, before v2.8.5 on 2025-07-16 and v2.8.4 on 2025-07-05. Two releases in July 2025 followed by one in February 2026 suggests bursts of work rather than a steady drip, which is normal for a single maintainer project.

The last push was on 2026-08-30, several weeks after the 2.9.0 tag. So there is unreleased work on `main`, and if you install from npm you get 2.9.0 while a git clone gives you whatever is on `main`. That is the flip side of the earlier point about update paths.

Documentation lives at a separate site, `redefine-docs.ohevan.com`, organised into pages for modules, page templates, plugins, basic settings, home and navbar, footer and article customization. Every feature in the README links to a specific page there, which means the README is an index rather than a specification. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese READMEs are all in the repository.

Against other Hexo themes and against not using Hexo at all

The nearest comparison inside the ecosystem is hexo-theme-keep itself, since Redefine is built on it. The choice is aesthetic plus the extra modules, and if you already run keep with a custom layout, switching costs you whatever you have customised on top.

Other Hexo themes exist in the same category and the differences come down to three things: whether the theme bundles its own CSS build, which writing plugins are pre-wired, and how many third party assets it ships. A theme that pulls in only open source icon fonts avoids the licensing question entirely; a theme with a Tailwind pipeline makes restyling much easier later.

The bigger question is whether you want Hexo at all. Hexo renders Markdown through Node and produces static HTML, which is fast and simple for a personal blog. If you need something outside that model, a static site generator with a different ecosystem, or a platform you do not self-host, this theme does not apply.

For an existing Hexo site with plugins already in place, though, the cost of this theme is one npm install and one line of `_config.yml`.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt Redefine if you already run Hexo 5.0 or newer and want a theme with dark mode, Mathjax, Mermaid and a writing-oriented layout without assembling plugins yourself. Skip it if you need a lightweight static site or cannot ship Font Awesome Pro under its own licence terms. Verify first that your Hexo version is at least 5.0, since the README states the theme requires that upgrade before npm installation works.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. evannotfound/hexo-theme-redefine on GitHub
2. License: GPL-3.0
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases