Aurora Theme for Flarum
An aurora-inspired theme for Flarum featuring animated
gradient backdrops, glassmorphic panels, glowing accents, and a dark night-sky
palette.
Flarum 1.x users: this branch targets Flarum 2.0. For Flarum 1.8.x see the
1.x branch.
Screenshots
Forum index
Animated aurora backdrop, glassmorphic discussion cards, gradient text on unread titles,
a glowing pill for unread counts, stat widgets inside the welcome hero, and the
user-facing palette picker popover (shown open).
Discussion view
Glassy posts with gradient usernames, accent-bordered blockquotes, themed inline code
and code blocks, and gradient-glow avatars.
Admin settings
Live color swatches, a gradient preview, and toggles for glassmorphism, glow, and
background animation.
Highlights
- Animated aurora backdrop — drifting radial gradients in violet, cyan,
teal, pink, and magenta on a deep night-sky base.
- User palette picker — a circular gradient button in the header opens a
popover with six presets (Aurora, Sunset, Ocean, Forest, Nebula, Ember).
Choice persists per-visitor via localStorage and applies instantly.
- Hero widgets — Members, Discussions, Posts, and Online-now stat tiles
embedded inside the welcome hero, with live trend lines.
- Glassmorphic surfaces — frosted header, sidebar, discussion cards,
composer, modals, and dropdowns.
- Gradient buttons & badges — primary buttons shimmer; unread counts pulse
with a cool glow.
- Glowing avatars & focus rings — soft cyan/pink halos on hover and focus.
- Gradient scrollbar & text — gradient-clipped headings, usernames, and
scrollbar thumb.
- Configurable — admin settings for gradient colors, accent color, and
toggles for glassmorphism, glow, and background animation.
- Accessible — honors
prefers-reduced-motion, visible focus rings.
Palette presets
| Preset | Gradient |
| ------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Aurora | #7c3aed → #4f46e5 → #22d3ee → #14b8a6 (default) |
| Sunset | #f97316 → #f43f5e → #d946ef → #7c3aed |
| Ocean | #1e40af → #3b82f6 → #06b6d4 → #22d3ee |
| Forest | #15803d → #10b981 → #22d3ee → #0ea5e9 |
| Nebula | #a855f7 → #d946ef → #6366f1 → #3b82f6 |
| Ember | #b91c1c → #ea580c → #f59e0b → #fbbf24 |
Add or override a preset by extending PALETTES in js/src/forum/palettes.js.
Installation
composer require ernestdefoe/aurora
Then enable Aurora Theme under Admin → Extensions.
Configuration
Open Admin → Extensions → Aurora Theme to customize:
| Setting | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary gradient — start | #7c3aed | First color of the primary gradient. |
| Primary gradient — end | #22d3ee | Last color of the primary gradient. |
| Accent color | #f472b6 | Warm accent used for hover halos. |
| Enable glassmorphism | on | Frosted-glass panels with backdrop blur. |
| Enable glow effects | on | Soft glows on hover, focus, and unread items. |
| Animate aurora background | on | Drifting gradient blobs in the backdrop. |
Development
git clone https://github.com/ernestdefoe/aurora.git
cd aurora/js
npm install
npm run build # production bundle
npm run dev # watch mode
Project layout
extend.php Flarum extension bootstrap
composer.json Package manifest
less/
forum.less Forum-facing styles
admin.less Admin-facing styles
variables.less Color palette, radii, easings
mixins.less .aurora-glass, .aurora-text-gradient, ...
animations.less drift, shimmer, pulse, float, fade-up
js/
forum.js, admin.js Webpack entry points
src/forum/index.js Frontend bootstrap: settings, scroll header, ripple
src/forum/palettes.js Palette presets + apply/load/store helpers
src/forum/palette-picker.js Header button + popover injection
src/forum/hero-widgets.js Welcome-hero stat tiles
src/admin/index.js Admin entrypoint (re-exports extend)
src/admin/extend.js Flarum 2 Admin extender — settings registry
dist/ Compiled bundles (committed)
resources/locale/
en.yml English admin strings
Compatibility
- Flarum core
^2.0.0-beta (built against 2.0.0-rc.1)
- PHP
^8.3
- Modern browsers with
backdrop-filter support. Older browsers gracefully
degrade to solid dark surfaces.
Need Flarum 1.x? Switch to the 1.x
branch — it targets flarum/core ^1.8.0 and uses the legacy app.extensionData
settings API.
License
MIT © Ernest Defoe
