alabaster
A light, configurable Sphinx theme
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Alabaster is stable, permissively licensed, has zero vulnerabilities, and installs with no dependencies. It is widely used across major projects. Dormant maintenance is not a concern for a mature theme; install it when you need a Sphinx theme or when Sphinx pulls it in automatically.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or newer and Sphinx 6.2 or newer.
- Low install friction with no runtime dependencies.
- Maintenance is dormant (749 days since last release), but the package is stable and the repository is not archived.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — Licensed under a permissive BSD license, allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
last release 2024-07-26 (749 days) · last repo commit 2024-07-26 · 777 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 30,396,617 downloads/mo, #802 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install alabaster
# In conf.py:
html_theme = 'alabaster'- Specific configuration options and customization capabilities beyond 'configurable' are not detailed.
- Whether Alabaster remains the default Sphinx theme in current Sphinx versions is not confirmed.
What it is and what it does
Alabaster is a Sphinx documentation theme designed to provide a visually clean and responsive appearance for project documentation. It started as a third-party theme but has been bundled with Sphinx since version 1.3, though it remains separately maintained. The package requires Python 3.10 or newer and Sphinx 6.2 or newer.
The theme is used to style Sphinx-generated documentation sites and handles the visual presentation layer—layout, typography, and responsive behavior. Since it has no runtime dependencies beyond Sphinx itself, installation is straightforward and adds minimal overhead to a documentation build.
Use it for
- Apply a clean, professional appearance to Sphinx-generated project documentation without custom CSS work.
- Build responsive documentation that displays well on mobile and desktop devices using Sphinx.
- Use the default Sphinx theme for new documentation projects that ship with Sphinx.
- Customize documentation styling through Alabaster's configuration options within the Sphinx ecosystem.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Alabaster is stable, permissively licensed, has zero vulnerabilities, and installs with no dependencies. It is widely used across major projects. Dormant maintenance is not a concern for a mature theme; install it when you need a Sphinx theme or when Sphinx pulls it in automatically.
Install
alabaster on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant (749 days since last release), but the package is stable and the repository is not archived.
Requires Python 3.10 or newer and Sphinx 6.2 or newer.
License in practice
Licensed under a permissive BSD license, allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install alabaster
# In conf.py:
html_theme = 'alabaster'Verify before relying
- Specific configuration options and customization capabilities beyond 'configurable' are not detailed.
- Whether Alabaster remains the default Sphinx theme in current Sphinx versions is not confirmed.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Dormant 749 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 30,396,617 / month, #802 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableFramework :: SphinxFramework :: Sphinx :: ThemeIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: DocumentationTopic :: Documentation :: SphinxTopic :: Software Development :: Documentation |
Evidence: alabaster-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “documentation theme”
- alabasterAlabaster is a clean, responsive Sphinx theme for documentation that…
- sphinx-basic-ngProvides a modern, minimal Sphinx theme skeleton for building custom…
- shibuyaShibuya is a Sphinx documentation theme that renders HTML…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Documentation packages
Docutils converts plaintext documentation in reStructuredText format into multiple output formats including HTML, XML, and LaTeX using a modular processing system.
Sphinx generates professional documentation from reStructuredText source files, producing HTML, PDF, EPUB, and other formats with automatic cross-references, code highlighting, and hierarchical navigation.
Griffe extracts the complete structure and signatures of Python programs to generate API documentation or detect breaking changes in your project's public API.
Install it if you need to programmatically inspect Python code structure, generate API docs, or enforce API stability in CI.
A Sphinx extension that outputs documentation in serialized HTML formats (JSON and pickle) alongside standard HTML.
A Sphinx extension that generates HTML help files from reStructuredText documentation source.
A Sphinx extension that converts documentation source files into QtHelp format, enabling integration with Qt-based help systems and documentation viewers.
However, be aware that maintenance is dormant—if you rely on it long-term, monitor Sphinx compatibility and consider whether QtHelp remains the right format for your…
See also furo · sphinx-bootstrap-theme · shibuya · sphinx-press-theme · pydata-sphinx-theme · sphinx-rtd-theme · python-docs-theme · sphinx-immaterial · sphinx_design · sphinx-book-theme