Install your theme

Your theme is a standard Astro project. If you’ve installed any Node project before, this will feel familiar. If you haven’t, the steps below are everything.

Prerequisites

You need Node.js 20 or later and a package manager (npm ships with Node; pnpm and yarn work too).

node --version
# v20.x.x or higher

If that doesn’t print a version, install Node from nodejs.org (LTS release) and reopen your terminal.

1. Download from Gumroad

After purchase, Gumroad sends you a receipt email containing a download link, and your theme is also available any time from your library at gumroad.com/library.

Click the download link to get a .zip file named after the theme — for example, aurora.zip.

Unzip it wherever you keep your projects:

cd ~/projects
unzip ~/Downloads/aurora.zip
cd aurora

You should now be inside a folder that contains package.json, astro.config.mjs, and a src/ directory.

2. Install dependencies

From inside the theme folder:

npm install

This downloads Astro, Tailwind, and the theme’s own dependencies into node_modules/. First install takes 30–90 seconds depending on your connection.

Using pnpm or yarn?

pnpm install and yarn install both work — no lockfile is shipped, so the package manager you run sets the lockfile for your project. Pick one and stick with it.

3. Run the dev server

npm run dev

You’ll see something like:

  astro  v5.x

  ┃ Local    http://localhost:4321/
  ┃ Network  use --host to expose

  ✓ Server listening on http://localhost:4321/

Open http://localhost:4321 in your browser. You should see the theme’s homepage, identical to its live preview.

Edits to .astro, .css, and .ts files hot-reload in the browser without a refresh.

4. Build a production version

When you’re ready to ship:

npm run build

This compiles everything into a static dist/ folder you can deploy to any static host.

To preview the production build locally before deploying:

npm run preview

Common install snags

npm install fails with EACCES or permission denied

You’re probably running Node as root or have a permission issue on your global npm prefix. The fix is to use nvm so each Node version lives in your home directory — no sudo ever needed.

Port 4321 is already in use

Another Astro project is already running. Stop it, or run on a different port:

npm run dev -- --port 4322

White page, no errors

Hard-refresh the browser (Cmd+Shift+R on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows/Linux). Astro’s dev server occasionally serves a stale module graph after a long-running session.

What’s next

You have a working theme. Now make it yours:

1. Project tour — a 5-minute walk through the folders so you know what each file does.
2. site.ts reference — change the site name, navigation, and brand color in one file.
3. Customize → Brand colors & fonts — repaint the theme to match your identity.