This comprehensive guide covers all configurable parameters for customizing your site’s appearance, behavior, and content display options.

Theme Features

The Sans theme provides optional features that can be enabled or disabled according to your requirements. Configure these settings in hugo.toml:

1
2
3
4

[theme]
  showDarkModeToggle = true
  showSearchIcon = true
  showGoToTop = true

Note: Search functionality configuration is covered in detail in the Search Documentation.

Typography Configuration

Site-Wide Font Settings

Customize the typography for your entire site by specifying font families in hugo.toml:

1
2

[fonts]
  siteFont = 'sans-serif, Monotype Corsiva'

Font Stack Guidelines:

• List fonts in order of preference
• Include web-safe fallback fonts
• Separate multiple fonts with commas
• Enclose font names with spaces in quotes

Table of Contents

Configuration Overview

The table of contents (TOC) provides document navigation and can be customized through several parameters in hugo.toml:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

[toc]
  numberingInTOC = false
  numberingInPost = true

[markup]
  [markup.tableOfContents]
    endLevel = 5
    ordered = false
    startLevel = 2

TOC Parameters

Hierarchical Numbering Example

When numberingInTOC = true, the TOC displays with continuous hierarchical numbering:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Contents ▼

1. MANY COLUMNS
├── 1.1. FOOTNOTES
│   ├── 1.1.1. Abcd
│   │   └── 1.1.1.1. foot
│   └── 1.1.2. FOOTnotes 2
└── 1.2. HELLLO
    └── 1.2.1. Main Footnotes

Ordered Numbering Example

When ordered = true in markup settings, numbering restarts at each level:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Contents ▼

1. MANY COLUMNS
├── 2. FOOTNOTES
│   ├── 1. Abcd
│   │   └── 1. foot
│   └── 2. FOOTnotes 2
└── 3. HELLLO
    └── 1. Main Footnotes

Enabling TOC in Posts

By default, the table of contents is disabled for individual posts. To enable it, add the following to the post’s front matter:

1

toc = true

Important Considerations

Parameter Conflict: The numberingInTOC and ordered parameters serve different numbering systems and should not both be enabled simultaneously. Choose one approach:

• Use numberingInTOC = true for continuous hierarchical numbering
• Use ordered = true for restarted numbering at each level

Post Display Configuration

Control the metadata and information displayed with each post through the [posts] section:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12

[posts]
  readingSpeed = 212
  showDate = true
  showWordCount = true
  showAuthors = true
  showTags = true
  showCategories = true
  showReadingTime = true
  dateFormat = "2 Jan 2006"
  showTagCloud = false
  showCategoryCloud = false
  showAuthorCloud = false

Post Parameters Reference

Reading Speed Calibration

The readingSpeed parameter determines reading time estimation:

• Default value: 212 words per minute (average adult reading speed)
• Adjust based on content: Technical content may require lower values (150-180)
• Language considerations: Non-English content may have different optimal values

Taxonomy Clouds

Taxonomy clouds (tags, categories, authors) appear in the sidebar on large screens, providing quick navigation to related content. These are automatically hidden on smaller viewports for optimal mobile experience.

Section List Configuration

Configure how content is displayed on list pages (archives, category pages, etc.):

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10

[sections]
  showDate = true
  showTags = false
  showCategories = false
  showAuthors = false
  showCoverImage = false
  showSummary = true
  showReadMore = false
  summaryLength = 500
  dateFormat = "2006-01-02"

Section Parameters Reference

Important: The summaryLength value specifies character count, not word count. Adjust accordingly for desired summary length.

About Page Configuration

Control social media link visibility on the About page:

1
2

[about]
  showSocialLinksPage = true

Social media links are configured in the [social] section as described in the Homepage Configuration guide.

RSS Feed Configuration

Enable or disable RSS feed functionality and its associated icon:

1
2

[rss]
  showRSS = false

When enabled, an RSS icon appears in the footer, providing users access to your site’s RSS feed for content syndication.

Code Highlighting

Configure syntax highlighting for code blocks with extensive customization options:

1
2
3
4
5

[markup]
  [markup.highlight]
    style = "monokai"
    lineNos = true
    lineNumbersInTable = true

Syntax Highlighting Parameters

Available Highlight Styles

Mathematical Expression Support

The configuration also enables passthrough for mathematical expressions:

1
2
3
4
5

[markup.goldmark.extensions.passthrough]
  enable = true
  [markup.goldmark.extensions.passthrough.delimiters]
    block = [['\[', '\]'], ['$$', '$$']]
    inline = [['\(', '\)']]

This allows LaTeX-style mathematical notation in your content using delimiters like $$...$$ for block equations and \(...\) for inline expressions.

Pagination Settings

Control content pagination for list pages and blog-style homepages:

1
2
3
4

[pagination]
  disableAliases = false
  pagerSize = 4
  path = 'page'

Pagination Parameters