Theme settings explained
Theme settings are global defaults for the downloaded or published theme. They affect how templates and sections behave across the site, instead of changing only one selected section or block.
Use Theme settings for site-wide decisions such as post list defaults, typography, color mode, content width, lightbox behavior, and media features. Some options also add feature-specific CSS or JavaScript to the theme build. After changing them, download a new ZIP or publish again so Ghost receives the updated theme.
General
- Posts per page — How many posts load per paginated list when sections use the Routes source (see Post list filters).
- Enable Lightbox — Image and gallery lightbox behavior on the live site. Enabling it includes the lightbox assets the theme needs.
- Code syntax highlight — Styling for fenced code blocks. Enabling it includes the syntax-highlighting assets the theme needs.
- Featured Video / Featured Video Preview — Pro options for working with internal tags for video heroes and cards. Enabling video features includes the theme assets needed for that behavior — see Video as featured.
- Page Transition — A Pro option for adding a global transition effect between page navigations. Setting it to None omits the page transition CSS from the theme.
Color scheme
Light, Dark, and System set the theme’s default appearance. System follows the visitor’s operating-system preference and is Pro-gated on Free accounts.
Neutral vs themed palettes change how accent color is applied. Sections set to Default inherit these globals.
For preview-only controls and visitor dark mode toggles, see Color & dark mode.
Typography
Font pairings become the heading and body stacks in the downloaded or published theme.
Container widths
Wide, Standard, Narrow, and Full max widths drive layout utilities in the theme.