Synthwave Theme: A retro-futuristic 80s Theme for Grav CMS

Showcase
1

I sent this on the discord server but I’m copying the info here:

Just dropped my first GRAV theme.
Synthwave: A retro-futuristic 80s Theme for Grav CMS.

screenshot
screenshot907×912 155 KB

It’s a fun little project I built purely for the joy of learning theme development!
It’s got a retro-futuristic vibe I love, with some advanced features like ajax browsing for seamless audio, and now I’m diving into creating the matching skeleton to release soon.

Live demo: History | Synthwave: A retro-futuristic 80s Theme for Grav CMS.
GitHub repo: DrDroid-FR/grav-theme-synthwave.

Feedback welcome

2

New version [1.1.0] - 2026-04-17

### Added

- Custom Hero Decoration feature - replace the default synthwave decorations (sun, city, grid, sky) with:

  • Custom background image

  • Custom background video

  • Custom Twig template (enter filename in theme settings)

  • No decoration (clean background)

- Hero Overlay toggle for better text readability with custom media

- Custom Twig Template field to specify template filename

3

New version [1.1.1] - 2026-04-18

### Added

- Added `_demo/` folder with demo pages and configuration for testing the theme:

  • Demo pages: Home/History, Theme, Typography, Contact
    (I also kept the base GRAV page as reference for everyone, but it’s disabled by default)

  • Theme configuration with custom Twig hero example

  • System configuration for proper plugin setup

  • Form plugin configuration

### Changed

- Updated README with Custom Hero Decoration documentation

4

Just published the Skeleton version of the theme to fully replicate the Demo website:
https://github.com/DrDroid-FR/grav-skeleton-synthwave-site/releases/download/v1.1.1/grav-skeleton-synthwave-site+admin-v1.1.1.zip

5

## [1.2.0] - 2026-04-20

### Added

- Full compatibility with Grav CMS 2.x

- Updated templates to use Grav 2.x-compatible Twig syntax and best practices

- Verified all theme features work correctly on Grav 2.x (AJAX navigation, background music, VHS effects, admin configuration)

- No breaking changes - theme remains fully backward compatible with Grav 1.6.x+