@Claudio, I've tried it and it works great for me!
Your 2nd screenshot for Dark Mode highlights why I opened this GitHub issue about it
https://github.com/gantry/gantry5/issues/3336

It's really nice to see movement with the Gantry project again!

Happy new release to everyone!
The future looks much brighter than couple of months ago

Awesome! The dark mode has been improved — it really enhances the user experience now!

Yes! I tried it in two different installations. It works great. And you don't need the backwards compatibility plugin any more.
Nadja

Hi everyone! Great to see this long-awaited update finally released.
Has anyone already tried it out?

@Michael That's some very good news indeed!

There is an update for those of you who haven't seen the announcement yet.

Tiger12 is now the official steward of Gantry and gantry.org, the powerful theming framework that has shaped websites across WordPress, Joomla, and Grav for over a decade. Gantry has long been trusted by developers and organizations for its flexibility, speed, and clean design principles. We’ve crafted with it. We’ve relied on it. And now—we’re building its future.

Gantry’s success is built on the vision and dedication of Andy Miller and the team at RocketTheme. Their innovative work laid the foundation for a framework trusted by thousands. We are honored that they have officially chosen us to carry this legacy forward and continue the development of Gantry into the future.

Please see full announcement here:
https://tiger12.com/gantry/

Project roadmap coming soon!

https://github.com/gantry/gantry5/discussions/3320#discussioncomment-13631438

Hey Peter,

I understand your worries, I really do.
My business (InspireTheme) is fully dependent on the Gantry 5 framework

As DAS and the other guys have mentioned already, nobody knows what the future holds.
We can only hope for the best.

That being said, here are some facts that hopefully will relax you a bit:

1. You can safely run a Joomla 5 website (Gantry 5 works perfectly fine with Joomla 5) until October 2027. This is when the official support will end.
2. If we (the volunteers) are able to make the Gantry 5 framework compatible with Joomla 6, then you can safely run your websites until October 2029.

So let's wait and see.

Hello,

Hopefully I can offer some prospective. From what I understand, Joomla still powers millions of websites. I have 11 -- and I love Joomla. From what I can, it's being continually upgraded, so I remain confident in Joomla's future.

Understandable to be wary of a framework going away. It happened to me with another company's template and framework, so I adopted Gantry and mostly RocketTheme and loved it. But, there's trouble there.

I'm still sticking with the Gantry framework for now and not panicking. I can't tell what the future holds. I hope someone picks up the ball and really runs with it. Of course, I'm sticking with Joomla. I might look at template/framework options in addition to what's here at InspireTheme, and while I'm doing that, I am hoping we will get solid support on Gantry and it can simply continue on.

DAS

Dear all,
I'm in the process of updating a couple of non-profit academic archaeology websites at the moment, having been an ardent user of Joomla from version 2 onwards for those and a number of other websites. I'm not a 'power-user' by any means of Joomla, and although I was an advanced user of VBA in Excel programming for my data analyst work, I can't really say I am so advanced in the likes of PHP, Yaml and twigs (whatever they may be!). That said, I've embraced the idea of templates and extensions to Joomla to 'improve' the basic websites I've done for the archaeology groups, in the same was as Douglas DAS has suggested earlier. I am currently working on migrating one of the sites I'm involved with, from Joomla version 2 to 5 (yes, it was THAT old, and uses a now-extinct version of PHP!), and have almost got the site ready to roll-out. That site uses Gantry 5 and a pre-built commercial template (not an Inspire Theme one, to be honest). And the not so distant future might hold the migration of a Joomla version 3 site again to version 5. So it's something of a shock to see that Gantry is now possibly on the way out and about to die its death. I've just about got used to working out how some of main features of the Gantry layout works, although I still don't understand some of the coding structure behind it. That was going to be a task for the near future in my retirement. And given that the websites are for non-profit academic organisations on limited budgets, and I am not a web-developer by profession, but now retired, I'd baulk at the worry of not only having to drop all my Gantry knowledge, as little and as self-taught as it is, and have to invest time, energy and no doubt a considerable fund to pick up some new framework system. Of course, the groups DO have a small budget to buy some commercial extensions and templates, but they are not big budget corporations and with rooms full of coders, developers and web-designers. In fact, I am probably the most advanced 'guru' as far as web development that they have!

I guess, really, I am saying that I don't want Joomla, Gantry and all the work to go. Of course, others may rightly suggest that websites can't be done 'on the cheap' and that quality sites require a substantial amount for being created, and further the funds paid for those websites help sustain the likes of developers and systems such as Joomla and Gantry. That is indeed correct, but there are also the 'little people' in this world, who might just have one or two self-built, non-vanity sites that serve a genuine informative purpose, who have picked up ideas and are prepared to spend a little in order to get a 'nice' or business-like set up, but who cannot constantly update or switch back and forth down new avenues in the constantly evolving systems landscape, other than sticking to the path(s) they already know. Of course, academic groups such as ours could simply toss back the idea of the better quality websites and return to those 'good old days' of simple HTML and animated .GIFs, with simple links between pages. But then how would we use our sites to promote our groups in a 'professionally looking' and business-like way? And more importantly, we'd contribute absolutely nothing to the wider IT developer industry, since we'd not need to buy and adapt off-the-peg templates, extensions or 'systems (and if the truth be known, might even be able to get away with self-hosting our own sites, or at least piggy-backing along with someone else's site).

So, what is the answer for me and my sites for these small academic groups? Do I panic, and throw all the work in setting up the new sites away, and look for a new framework? If I did that, is there any guarantee that that new framework will also die the death in a few years time, leading me (or whoever else is maintaining the site(s)) to have to switch direction again, having barely learnt the now defunct 'new' systems? Personally, I'd rather continue with Joomla, and Gantry (or at least some sort of similar clone to it), rather than having to constantly re-invent the website wheel every few years, learning new systems and techniques (and my hair getting greyer by the minute at the same time)! I'm also sure that this holds true for many others in my function as 'web-developers', even if we are more in the mould of 'hobbyist', 'spare-time' or similar web designers, who get little for their time and effort, but are creating sites for small non-profit or community groups.

Peter Robinson
Portugal
Hierakonpolis-online
Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA), Canada

Greatly appreciate this conversation.
As a long time user of Gantry (95% of client sites) and InspireTheme (90% of client sites), I have been closely following events. I am also in the camp that I am willing to pay/pay more for a sustainable product. I will cling to the "light in the tunnel" as well as thank those who are continuing the work. If ever a tester is needed, happy to help out.

Thank you Ivo for keeping the InspireTheme community informed and supported.

Hey Claudio, DAS,

Thank you for offering your help, guys! I really appreciate that.

It is a tough moment indeed, but I'm still positive about the future.
First of all, Joomla 5 will receive bug fixes until October 2026 and will receive security fixes until October 2027.
This means that we all have enough time to analyze the situation and see what will happen.

Second, there is a "light in the tunnel" for the Gantry 5 future!
There is a guy named Peter who is working on a new Gantry 5 version (that will support Joomla 5 natively, without the compatibility layer) and he might take care of the project in general (as much as his resources allow it, of course).
There is also Michael Koontz, who is part of the InspireTheme community, who is helping with anything he can! He has forked the Gantry 5 documentation and he is hosting it online. You can find it here for now.
I will also assist with what I can.

So stay calm and let's see what will happen.
Keeping Gantry 5 compatible with the new Joomla and PHP versions is quite possible, to say the least

Claudio,

Exactly. Back in the 1980s and 1990s I was a programmer. I don't want to get deep into any of that anymore, so when I started using Joomla and I saw all the extensions out there, I couldn't believe how great it was/is. But all the time I was saying, "This stuff is way too cheap. They can't stay in business like this." And that is what I think is coming true.

DAS

Hi again,

There’s one more aspect I feel is essential to mention, especially when we talk about sustainability—and this applies not only to Gantry but also to Joomla itself.

Even when a project is open source, which is a huge value in itself, the real question remains: how many people are actually contributing? How many have the time, skills, and dedication to open issues, test pull requests, or help resolve bugs?

In the past, I was actively involved in a Joomla template project on GitHub that had real value and a strong user base. However, when Joomla 3.x reached end-of-life, things changed. Eventually, momentum faded, and so did motivation.

And I’ll be honest: I’ve never personally tested a pull request on Joomla. So, I know firsthand how easy it is to rely on others’ work, even when we deeply care about a platform. That’s the hard truth of open source: if the community doesn’t step up, even the most promising projects risk dying out.

To give a more recent example of my involvement: beyond using InspireTheme's templates as they are, I often make extensive stylistic modifications. In some projects, my custom SCSS files have grown quite large, with hundreds of lines of personalized code to meet specific design needs. More recently, I'd even started to modularize my SCSS using @import, creating a more organized and scalable structure for my projects. This forum has been invaluable for my progress.

After so many years, I'd finally found the time and motivation to study how to build a Gantry template from scratch, truly feeling like I was moving from an "advanced user" to a "beginner developer." I’m saddened to realize I might have to put this on hold just as I was beginning.

Of course, doing things for passion is great, but if there’s a sustainable business model behind it, all the better. We can’t expect people to live off “gratitude.” Sustainable development needs real support, including financial backing.

I really appreciated your point, DAS — I also believe that more sustainable pricing could be key to keeping high-quality templates and extensions alive.

Best,
Claudio

Claudio, I really like your note here. Your thoughts mirror my own -- and I am a big believer in Joomla.

I hope that InspireTheme will consider picking up the ball here more. I'd like to see more templates as there were some ideas at RocketTheme that are fantastic and could be implemented here.

I'd also like to throw this out -- people self-identify as serious users willing to pay more. I believe that the developers of templates and extensions are frankly charging too little. This is why they're going out of business and also not incentivized to develop more. I, for one, am willing to pay more -- and I always do to developers when I purchase since I'll buy the most expensive subscription plans/options.

DAS

Hi Ivo,

I'm writing to you as a community member and InspireTheme user, with a mix of concern and hope regarding the future of this ecosystem.

The news of RocketTheme's closure has deeply shaken many of us. Their GitHub repository, now archived and read-only, seems to confirm the decision. Although signs of a slowdown in updates — particularly in responses on RocketTheme's forums (even though I'm not an active member there) — had been noticeable for some time, I confess that nothing led me to expect a full closure, especially of such a central project like Gantry.

Added to this is the concern over abandoned RocketTheme extensions such as RokGallery — a problem you brilliantly addressed by reintroducing your templates with your own particles, clearly demonstrating your commitment to supporting the community.

My main concern — and I believe that of thousands of professionals — is not just the production of individual themes, but the survival of an entire ecosystem. Thanks to the solid foundation provided by your InspireTheme templates, I was recently able to explore and study the structure of a theme of my own, after years of using them.

My direct experience with RocketTheme templates like Quasar and Afterburner dates back a long time. The real uncertainty now lies in the future compatibility of the Gantry framework itself. If no one takes over its development, there's a serious risk it will no longer be compatible with future versions of Joomla or PHP — putting years of professional work in jeopardy.

It's difficult to fully grasp the situation. On one hand, many developers are stepping away from Joomla-related projects, suggesting that the platform may be losing traction, or that past revenues are no longer sustainable. This trend seems to affect not only RocketTheme, but many other extension and component developers as well. It’s part of the natural evolution of the web, which forces every profession to adapt.

On the other hand, I follow Joomla's development plans with interest and see a clear and proactive direction — with improvements like the optimization and unification of core modules (category and article management being one simple example). This makes me feel that Joomla is still evolving and has meaningful potential.

In light of all this, I wanted to share my concern. You've already clarified that you'll offer support as long as it's viable. I recall reading — maybe in a forum thread, though I can't say for sure whether it was in response to a question I asked — that no new templates were planned. In hindsight, it makes me wonder: had you already sensed that something uncertain was happening with Gantry, or were you also caught in a complicated situation?

I'm glad to hear you considered the idea of taking over the project. I truly appreciate your honesty and transparency. I know such decisions involve immense effort and resources, and I fully understand how costs can become unsustainable.

That said, if InspireTheme ever needed support in other ways, I’d be more than willing to offer my help — certainly not as a developer, but perhaps in areas where I could still contribute meaningfully to the project or the community.

As for me, my situation isn’t as dramatic as it may be for those managing hundreds of Gantry-based sites, but I do maintain about ten high-quality projects. Many of the businesses I worked with have unfortunately closed over the years, and their websites are gone. The others are still online and, thankfully, all migrated to the latest Joomla 5.3.1. That includes the last two redesigns I did — originally built in Joomla 3 — which were migrated and reorganized without major issues. Those projects date back nearly nine years, or at least to when I first joined InspireTheme.

In the coming months, however, I’ll be redesigning another site, and that changes everything. What should I do? Move to another framework? Or even switch CMS, considering that WordPress’s strategy continues to prosper? But then again — the same fear remains: what if those developers close shop too?

I'm not a fan of WordPress and never will be. I've worked with it, but for me, it doesn't compare to Joomla — though others may disagree. Everyone has their preferences, but as a certified administrator with over 15 years of Joomla experience, I'd rather change professions than abandon it.

Ultimately, this will mean more work for us — converting sites made with Gantry to other solutions. But which ones, in a landscape where everything from design and development to SEO is evolving so rapidly?

Thank you for your time and for all the valuable work you've done so far.

Best regards,
Claudio

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late reply, I was traveling and had very limited internet access.

Anyway, the closing of Rockettheme is a very sad moment, indeed.
I still remember building my first Joomla websites with their templates...
And as you know, we've always been saying that Rockettheme is our big brother

That's being said, our whole business is built on the Gantry 5 framework.
I thought about the option to take the project over but we do not have the resources to do so.
I mean, we do not have deep enough PHP knowledge and we do not have the time that needs to be invested in such a project so it can keep up with the ever changing web landscape.

I definitely do not want to take advantage of the situation for some short term gains by giving promises that I cannot keep.
I have always tried to be loyal and honest with you guys.

That being said, I hope that Peter Szalatnay (or somebody else) will take the project over as it really has a big potential.

And to answer the question about Joomla 6 and InspireTheme future as a whole - guys, we will be here as long as the Gantry 5 framework is here.
If the Gantry 5 framework works on Joomla 6 our templates and particles will work as well.
So let's hope that Gantry 5 will overcome this difficult situation and will be here in the future as well...

I am the person who started this thread and the one thing I hope is that companies like Inspire Theme will take this as a business opportunity and pick up the ball. I really like the RocketTheme templates and Gantry framework. Most of my sites are built around them. I am not as much of a fan of InspireTheme's designs but I use one and it works well. That said, I think Inspire could really move forward with a lean operation perhaps and make it work -- and I am willing to support that by subscribing, etc. In fact, I always paid for RocketTheme's top accounts because I believe in that support. So let's see what the future will hold.

DAS

I have been worried for a while that RocketTheme would close down. All my client websites are built on Gantry 5, and 95% of them on Inspire Theme templates.

Last night, I got an email from RocketTheme that they are closing down. At first, I was in a panic, what will I do now? I have been upgrading many client websites to Joomla 5, which is a slow process, and now will I have to change frameworks!!!

I am hoping someone else will take up Gantry 5 and move it forward. I have my fingers crossed.

Regards
Lynda

Nadja Lamisch wrote:

Thanks. but I am not goog enough to take it over. I can only offer my support.
Regards
Nadja

I posted that, not specifically for you, but for everyone to know they are looking for volunteers. Maybe Ivo, along with other folks like Joomlead will step up and work on the project as a community to keep it going. I don't have any programming experience or I'd offer my help too.

kind regards,
Michael

Thanks. but I am not goog enough to take it over. I can only offer my support.
Regards
Nadja

On the official FB Rocket Theme page, Andy has posted in the comments that they are looking for a volunteer to take it over.
https://www.facebook.com/rockettheme

I want to stepin here too.
I really love Gantry5 and I was hoping since a long time that Gantry5 will continue. But now it is archived on github.
Ivo, I know you as a very dedicated and I really hope you can continue with Gantry5.
I am happy to help ensure that Gantry5 continues to exist and to assist in its further development

Regards
Nadja

Grzegorz Wójcik wrote:

RocketTheme is closing down. Will your templates work with Joomla 6?

I came here immediately after learning that Rocket Theme was closing down as well. I'm hoping that Peter Szalatnay, who was working on a fully Joomla 5 compatible Gantry 5 update will release it, and maybe even fork it on GitHub so it can continue with help from the community.

RocketTheme is closing down. Will your templates work with Joomla 6?

Hey John,

Sorry for the late reply.

I don't really have any updates, apart from the ones you already know. That Gantry 5.5.20 has been worked on for quite a while, it is not in a testing phase, and should be released in the very near future (hopefully in a couple of weeks).

I cannot speak for Rockettheme but I assure you that we are here to stay.
We are here for our users for the foreseeable future and I believe Gantry 5 will be here as well

Ivo, you have always been very responsive. This RT and Gantry concern continues to grow. I see someone is working on a new version of Gantry, 5.5.20. That's good news but it hasn't released yet and it is troubling since many of the latest Joomla enhancements have affected Gantry.

This thread is over a year old but the concerns are still here. I've pretty much given up on RT and was hoping Gantry could survive on its own with you continuing your development. Are there any updates from your side of this issue?

Hey Thomas,

Thank you very much for the kind words! It is really much appreciated
I am glad that you are enjoying our products! If you have any problems or questions, just open a new discussion here in the forum and we will assist you as soon as possible!

Have a great day and thank you once again

Let me say well, that's a relief! .. and refreshing :-) I have moved to using the I T templates for a couple of sites now with great results! https://fishthefingerlakes.com is one of them and my client and I love the way it came out.

Some of the comments addressed above were in my R T forum post so I appreciate the elaboration on the concerns of the post.

I'm here, all in loving it and midway through project using the 'Glory' template and I'm about to attempt my first install of a particle!

Keep up the good work, know that your work is much appreciated...

No problem at all, DAS.