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# This month in Astro
Welcome to our very first email edition of "This Month in Astro!" 2023 was a huge year for Astro, and 2024 is already shaping up to be even bigger. Let's dive into the update:
## Updates from Mission Control
- We have a [new channel on Discord](https://astro.build/chat) `#dev-integrations`, a new home for anyone building their own Astro integrations.
- Starlight was nominated for a Product Hunt [open-source Golden Kitty Award](https://www.producthunt.com/golden-kitty-awards/hall-of-fame?year=2023#open-source).
- We launched this very newsletter. Not signed up yet? Do so if you want to stay updated on all things happening in the Astrosphere!
- Never want to miss an Astro event? [Subscribe to our Astro Community Calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=c_g6re3u5gkl0mug3ktn1dibqhfk%40group.calendar.google.com).
## New Releases
The first month of the year has already started strong with minor releases from both Astro and Starlight 💪!
- [Astro 4.1](https://astro.build/blog/astro-4/)
- [Astro 4.2](https://astro.build/blog/astro-420/)
- [Starlight 0.16](https://github.com/withastro/starlight/releases/tag/%40astrojs%2Fstarlight%400.16.0)
- [Starlight 0.17](https://github.com/withastro/starlight/releases/tag/%40astrojs%2Fstarlight%400.17.0)
## HiDeoo joins Astro as a Core Maintainer!
For anyone following the development of [Starlight](https://starlight.astro.build/), HiDeoo should be no stranger! HiDeoo has been working on Starlight for quite a while and introduced some amazing features, plugins and the [`starlight-blog` theme](https://github.com/HiDeoo/starlight-blog).
Welcome HiDeoo 🥳 !
## Docs
New this month in both Astro and Starlight docs: dedicated community resource pages. Check out the [community-produced educational content about Astro](https://docs.astro.build/en/community-resources/content/), and the growing list of [Starlight content](https://starlight.astro.build/resources/community-content/). Catch up on some of the classic [talks, interviews, and streams](https://docs.astro.build/en/community-resources/talks/) you might have missed.
Our weekly Discord call "Talking and Doc'ing" is a chance for you to watch Team Docs work in public, jump in a shared Codespace or Gitpod Workspace, and contribute to the docs live, together. This month's topics included:
- **Taking [Lunaria](https://lunaria.dev/), and its documentation, for a test drive.** We started with a new Starlight project, and finished with a site with full translation status tracking!
- **File/URL structure organization.** Soon, the URLs for all our pages will actually correspond to their sidebar section! How did we not break anything with 12 people in the codebase, moving files around and updating links all at once? 🫣
## Community Awards December
- 🌟 $500 to @fryuni for outstanding contributions to Astro core and participating in all areas of the community.
- 🍾 $250 to @100gle for their active involvement in translating the Astro Docs into Chinese.
- 🎈 $250 to @thomasbnt for their active involvement in translating the Astro Docs into French.
- 🎊 $250 to @vxoblope for helpful contributions to Astro Docs and active community involvement.
- 🎉 $250 to @rishirajjain for contributing to the Astro ecosystem.
Check them out and learn more about the Community Awards on [our community website](https://community.astro.build).
---
## Content
Because you can never get tired of watching and reading Astro Content.
- [Astro's Year in Review](https://zenn.dev/morinokami/articles/astro-2023-2024) by @shf0811
- [A lazy man's Obsidian + Astro workflow integration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz3GOp4hN50) by @nikolovlazar
- [Using HTMX with Astro Partials](https://blog.trevfox.dev/posts/htmx-and-astro-partials/) by @vxoblope
- [How to Implement Feature Flags in Astro using Unleash](https://dev.to/reeshee/how-to-implement-feature-flags-in-astro-using-unleash-2fg5) by @rishirajjain
- [Migrating to Astro (from Next.js)](https://www.raygesualdo.com/posts/migrating-to-astro-the-beginning/) by @raygesualdo
- [Adding reading time to Astro without the hassle](https://jahir.dev/blog/astro-reading-time) by @jahir
- [Adding comments to your Astro blog with Disqus](https://www.webdesign-sopelnik.de/en/blog/adding-comments-to-your-astro-blog-with-disqus/) by @konigartus
- [Take a Qwik break from React with Astro](https://thenewstack.io/take-a-qwik-break-from-react-with-astro/) by @pauliescanlon
- [Building a Single Page Application with Astro](https://logsnag.com/blog/react-spa-with-astro) by @Sh4yy
Discover even more content created this month in [our monthly blogpost](https://astro.build/blog/whats-new-january-2024/#content).
## Tips & Tools
The latest community-built utilities and integrations to help you build with Astro.
Don't miss [The Bag of Tricks for View Transitions](https://events-3bg.pages.dev/) 👜✨ built by Astro maintainer @martrapp for an amazing showcase of view transitions demos and patterns. Find new animations and transitions to add to your project, and submit your own ideas!
Want to build your own Astro integration? Take a look at [The Astro Integration Kit](https://github.com/florian-lefebvre/astro-integration-kit) 🛠️ built by Astro maintainer @florian_lefebvre. It provides you with an easy-to-setup template, complete with documentation, to bootstrap your new integration. Get building, and join the fun in `#dev-integrations`.
Discover even more from this month, including auth, e-commerce, blog, dev, and image tools in [our monthly blogpost](https://astro.build/blog/whats-new-january-2024/#tips--tools).
## Themes & Templates
Several new Astro themes were added & released this month. Try them out!
| | |
| --- | ----------- |
|[Indie Astro](https://astro.build/themes/details/indie-astro) | [Astrofy](https://astro.build/themes/details/) |
|  [Starlog](https://astro.build/themes/details/starlog/) |  [Dante](https://astro.build/themes/details/dante) |
Discover even more new themes and templates in [our monthly blogpost](https://astro.build/blog/whats-new-january-2024/#themes-templates).
## Personal Sites
Just a few of our favorite websites submitted to our Discord `#showcase` channel and featured on community calls this month.
- [OpenStove](https://openstove.org/) by @soslan117 - All we can say is YUM! Try some recipes from this deliciously designed cookbook site, and submit your own.
- [ktym4a.me](https://ktym4a.me/) by @ktym4a_01942 - See the design no one could stop talking about!
- [time.fyi](https://time.fyi/) by @kamranahmedse - All the time related tools you need, on one Astro site.
- [JavaScript Rising Stars](https://risingstars.js.org/2023/en) by @michaelrambeau - Do you want stats? They've got stats! Trends in the JS ecosystem. Read about Astro, on Astro!
- [Viva la Selva](https://vivalaselva.org/) by @alejostereo - A small but passionate team focused on protecting rare and endangered trees in Colombia.
> "Astro allowed me to make a website with very little money, little experience, and very bad internet signal. And when I needed multiple languages, Astro made it possible. The best thing was that I didn't need a server, and with very, very bad internet connection, I could build the site. So I would go plant trees!" - Alejo Stereo
See all the sites submitted by the community this month in [our monthly blogpost](https://astro.build/blog/whats-new-january-2024/#websites).
## Starlight in the wild
Who says docs have to be boring? Look at what people did with Starlight this month!
| | |
| --- | --- |
| [ahastack.dev](https://ahastack.dev/) |  [crawler.siteone.io](https://crawler.siteone.io/)
|[Typescript Book](https://gibbok.github.io/typescript-book/) | [dgm.sh](https://docs.dgm.sh/guides/introduction/) |
Discover all the new Starlight sites we found this month in [our monthly blogpost](https://astro.build/blog/whats-new-january-2024/#starlight-in-the-wild).
*Want to be on this list next month? Post your Astro websites, projects, apps, tools, blog posts, demos, and videos in our *`#showcase` channel in [*our Discord*](https://astro.build/chat)*!*