Install hexo with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• hexo

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in September 2012, and npm registry metadata records the first hexo package publication in October 2012. The project presented itself early as a fast, simple, powerful blog framework powered by Node.js, with GitHub Flavored Markdown support, Octopress plugin compatibility, one-command deployment, and an extension API.

Hexo's architecture grew around a split between the core package and a CLI/package ecosystem. The documentation recommends installing hexo-cli globally for typical users, while advanced users may install the hexo package and run it with npx or a local node_modules binary path.

The configuration model became a recognizable part of Hexo sites: site settings live in _config.yml or an alternate config file, themes can have themes/<theme>/_config.yml, and Hexo 5 introduced dedicated _config.[theme].yml files as a way to keep theme overrides outside a forked theme.

Adoption history

Hexo's adoption path followed the Node/npm static-site-generator wave: npm gave JavaScript users a native install path, GitHub Pages and one-command deployment appealed to blog authors, and the official site grew plugin and theme indexes that made Hexo feel like an ecosystem rather than a single binary.

The official README points users to Awesome Hexo, the plugin list, the theme list, Google Group, Discord, Gitter, and Telegram, showing a community and extension culture around the package. The Homebrew formula adds a system package-manager path for users who prefer brew-managed developer tools.

How it is used

Typical use starts with installing hexo-cli, running hexo init blog, entering the generated directory, starting hexo server, creating posts with hexo new, and generating static output with hexo generate. The docs describe Hexo as transforming Markdown or other markup into static files with a theme.

Hexo is especially attractive to package users who want a blog generator in the JavaScript ecosystem but do not want a full web application runtime on the deployed site. The package-manager shape is familiar: npm or Homebrew for the CLI, package.json for plugins, _config.yml for site behavior, and generated public/ output for deployment.

Why package nerds care

Hexo matters to package nerds because it is both a CLI and an ecosystem anchor. The package is not only a generator binary; it creates a project layout, loads plugins/themes, and delegates deployment to installable packages, so package managers become part of the authoring workflow.

It also illustrates the static-site-generator migration from Ruby-era tools such as Jekyll and Octopress toward JavaScript tooling. Hexo kept the blog-oriented mental model while making npm the extension distribution channel.

Timeline

• 2012-09: GitHub repository metadata records creation of hexojs/hexo.
• 2012-10: npm registry metadata records hexo 0.0.1 publication.
• 2015: Hexo 3.x era aligns with the documentation's Node.js version table and the mtime-based updated behavior described for 3.0.0.
• 2020: Hexo 5 adds support for dedicated _config.[theme].yml files for theme configuration.
• 2024-2026: Documentation version tables show continued major-version maintenance across Node.js support lines.

Related projects

• Related projects include Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby, Eleventy, Octopress, and the Hexo official plugin/theme repositories. Within Hexo itself, hexo-cli, deployer plugins, generator plugins, and theme packages are part of the practical ecosystem.

Sources

• GitHub README describes features, quick-start commands, documentation/community links, plugins, themes, and Homebrew installation.
• Official Hexo documentation describes Hexo's purpose, installation, Node/Git requirements, npm and CLI usage, and version support table.
• Official configuration documentation describes _config.yml, alternate config files, theme _config.yml files, and _config.[theme].yml.
• npm registry metadata supplies the first-publication date and repository linkage.