Jekyll Default Layout

July 31, 2026 · View on GitHub

Silently sets default layouts for Jekyll pages and posts

Usage

Add the following to your site's Gemfile:
```
gem 'jekyll-default-layout'
```
And the following to your site's _config.yml:
```
plugins:
  - jekyll-default-layout
```

Note: If you are using a Jekyll version less than 3.5.0, use the gems key instead of plugins.

What it does

If no layout is specified for a Markdown post or page, the plugin automatically sets the "home", "post", "page", or "default" layout if it exists.

What layout is used:

/index.md - the home layout, the page layout, or the default layout, if they exist, in that order
A page - the page layout or the default layout, if they exist, in that order
A post - the post layout or the default layout, if they exist, in that order
A collection document - a layout matching the collection name or the default layout, if they exist, in that order

HTML pages

By default, the plugin only applies layouts to Markdown files. To also apply layouts to HTML files that don't specify one, opt in via your _config.yml:

jekyll-default-layout:
  html_pages: true

Disabling

For a specific post or page, add layout: null to the front matter.