Creator — Building a Ghost Theme (Work Log)

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Building Creator, a free open-source multipurpose Ghost theme — documented step by step, in the open.

Build log 07 Jul 2026 1 min read

Part 7 — Handlebars basics in Ghost

First real templating day. Handlebars is the language Ghost themes are written in.

Expressions

{{title}}
{{@site.title}}
{{@config.version}}

Block helpers

{{#if feature_image}}
  <img src="{{feature_image}}">
{{/if}}

Global data

  • {{@site}} — site-wide settings (title, description, nav).
  • {{@config}} — Ghost config values.
  • {{@custom}} — theme custom settings from package.json.

What clicked

Handlebars is logic-light on purpose — data prep happens in Ghost, the template just presents. Fighting that is the #1 beginner mistake.

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