d96cd6756b
- Themes now only override CSS variables (no selector overrides) - Removed duplicate styles from header.tmpl (just loads Inter font now) - Cleaned up logo SVG (simpler, no overlapping text) - Improved home page with proper hero layout and sign-in/explore buttons - Added detailed README documenting the setup, deployment, and design principles
mGit Custom Theme
Shared Gitea customizations for all mGit instances. This repo is the single source of truth for branding, themes, and template overrides.
Instances
| Instance | URL | Host |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | mgit.msbls.de |
mvpsm |
| Backup (mirror) | mgit.x.msbls.de |
mgitx |
Both run Gitea 1.24.x via Dokploy with this repo cloned to /home/m/gitea-custom/.
How It Works
Gitea supports customization by mounting files into its $GITEA_CUSTOM directory (/data/gitea/ in Docker). The Dokploy compose files bind-mount subdirectories from this repo:
volumes:
- /home/m/gitea-custom/public:/data/gitea/public:ro
- /home/m/gitea-custom/templates:/data/gitea/templates:ro
- /home/m/gitea-custom/options:/data/gitea/options:ro
A cron job on each host runs every 30 minutes to pull changes and restart Gitea if the repo was updated.
File Structure
gitea-custom/
├── public/
│ └── assets/
│ ├── css/
│ │ ├── theme-mgit-dark.css # Dark theme (CSS variables only)
│ │ └── theme-mgit-light.css # Light theme (CSS variables only)
│ └── img/
│ ├── logo.svg # Main logo (200x200)
│ └── favicon.svg # Favicon (32x32)
├── templates/
│ ├── custom/
│ │ ├── header.tmpl # Injects Inter font from Google Fonts
│ │ ├── footer.tmpl # Custom footer script
│ │ ├── body_inner_pre.tmpl # Empty (available for banners)
│ │ └── extra_links.tmpl # Empty (available for nav links)
│ └── home.tmpl # Custom homepage
└── options/ # Reserved for locale overrides
Themes
Two custom themes are provided — mGit Dark and mGit Light. They use Gitea's built-in CSS variable system and only override color tokens and font stacks. This approach is forward-compatible with Gitea upgrades because we don't override Gitea's own selectors.
Color palette: Tailwind CSS slate (grays) + blue (primary). Fonts: Inter (proportional), JetBrains Mono (monospace).
To make these themes available, add them to app.ini on each instance:
[ui]
THEMES = gitea-auto,gitea-light,gitea-dark,mgit-light,mgit-dark
DEFAULT_THEME = mgit-dark
In Dokploy, set these as environment variables:
GITEA__ui__THEMES=gitea-auto,gitea-light,gitea-dark,mgit-light,mgit-dark
GITEA__ui__DEFAULT_THEME=mgit-dark
Making Changes
- Edit files in this repo and push to
main - Changes auto-deploy within 30 minutes via cron on each host
- For immediate deployment:
ssh <host> "cd /home/m/gitea-custom && git pull"then restart the Gitea container
To restart Gitea after changes:
docker restart $(docker ps -q --filter "ancestor=docker.gitea.com/gitea:1.24.4")
Template Hooks
Gitea provides these injection points in templates/custom/:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
header.tmpl |
Injected in <head> — use for fonts, analytics, extra CSS |
footer.tmpl |
Injected before </body> — use for scripts |
body_inner_pre.tmpl |
Before top nav — use for announcement banners |
extra_links.tmpl |
Extra items in the top nav bar |
home.tmpl |
Full homepage override (in templates/, not templates/custom/) |
Adding New Assets
- CSS themes: Add
public/assets/css/theme-<name>.cssand register inTHEMES - Images: Add to
public/assets/img/— accessible at/assets/img/<file> - Locale overrides: Add to
options/locale/locale_en-US.ini
Design Principles
- Work with Gitea, not against it — only override CSS variables, avoid selector overrides
- Keep it minimal — less custom CSS = fewer things that break on upgrades
- Both themes must stay in sync — same structure, only color values differ