| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Hello World | 2026-04-04 |
| Building a DOS Theme for Hugo | 2026-04-03 |
| The Golden Age of Retro Computing | 2026-04-02 |
| Essential DOS Commands | 2026-03-28 |
| 4 file(s) | |
TEXTMODE
A Hugo theme inspired by the DOS text-mode era.
No frameworks. No npm. Just pixels and purpose.
7 color schemes with live switching
Works in text browsers (links, lynx)
Progressive JS enhancements
Hugo image processing
Solarized Dark syntax highlighting
Code copy (block + line)
Zero npm dependencies
[module]
[[module.imports]]
path = "github.com/mgomersbach/textmode"
Or clone into themes/textmode and set theme = "textmode" in your hugo.toml.
Welcome to TextMode, a Hugo theme that brings back the look and feel of DOS text-mode interfaces from the 1980s. Every element is styled to match the aesthetic of classic DOS applications like Norton Commander, Turbo Pascal, and the DOS command prompt.
The theme uses a strict 16-color CGA palette, monospace pixel fonts, box-drawing borders with drop shadows, and zero rounded corners. All interactive components work without JavaScript using pure CSS and HTML5 patterns like details/summary elements and the :target pseudo-class.
When JavaScript is available, you get progressive enhancements: a boot animation that mimics the DOS startup sequence, a block cursor that follows your mouse, dismissible alerts, a typewriter text effect, and code copy buttons that let you copy entire blocks or individual lines with a single click.
The theme is fully responsive and has been tested in text-mode browsers like links, lynx, and w3m. The navigation renders horizontally, file listings use aligned table columns, and all content is accessible without CSS or JavaScript. Seven color schemes are included out of the box, and visitors can switch between them using the theme picker in the navbar.
TextMode requires Hugo Extended v0.114.0 or later and has zero external build dependencies. No npm, no Node.js, no PostCSS. The SCSS is compiled by Hugo’s built-in Sass compiler, and syntax highlighting uses Hugo’s built-in Chroma with a configurable theme. Images in posts can use the figure shortcode which renders them inside DOS window frames with automatic resizing via Hugo’s image processing pipeline.