> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.themeupstudio.com/crimson/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.themeupstudio.com/crimson/custom-pages/authors.md).

# Authors

Crimson includes a dedicated **Authors** page that lists all authors who have published **at least one post/page** on your Ghost site.

In Crimson, this page is available at `/authors/` slug.

On the Crimson demo, you’ll notice authors are displayed with their **post counts**, and the list is ordered so the most active authors appear first.

<figure><img src="/files/m1OqUpzQ8g75Jv398lHM" alt=""><figcaption><p>Authors page in Crimson</p></figcaption></figure>

### What the Authors page does

Authors page lists all authors.

#### Who appears on this page?

Only authors who have published at least one post will appear (Ghost only returns authors that have posts associated with them).

#### How are authors sorted?

Crimson sorts authors by **number of posts published** (highest first). This is done by requesting the authors’ post counts and ordering by it (Ghost supports `include=count.posts` and ordering by `count.posts`).

***

### How Crimson enables the Authors page

Crimson uses a **custom route** in `routes.yaml` so `/authors/` loads a custom template file (in this case, `authors.hbs`).&#x20;

Ghost’s routing system supports mapping a URL to a specific theme template.&#x20;

The `routes.yaml` entry looks like this:

```yaml
routes:
  /authors/:
    template: authors
```

#### What this means

* **`/authors/`** is the page URL visitors will open.
* **`template: authors`** tells Ghost to render the page using **`authors.hbs`** from the theme.

***

### Prerequisites

#### 1) Upload Crimson’s routes.yaml (required)

Crimson relies on `routes.yaml` for custom pages like Authors.

If you haven’t uploaded it yet:

1. Go to **Ghost Admin → Settings → Labs**
2. Upload the `routes.yaml` that comes with Crimson

***

#### 2) Content API key (required for “Load more authors”)

Ghost 6 removed `limit=all` and added a **max page size of 100 items** per API request, so pages that list “everything” (like Tags/Authors) need **pagination**.

To support loading more authors, you must set the Content API variables in **Code Injection** (as explained in the [Code Injection](/crimson/getting-started/code-injection.md) docs).

***

### How the “Load more authors” feature works

Ghost’s APIs now return a maximum of **100 items per request**, and `limit=all` no longer returns everything.

So Crimson uses this approach:

1. The Authors page loads an initial set of authors (fast first load)
2. A **Load more** action fetches the next set using the **Ghost Content API** endpoint for authors (`/authors/` browse endpoint)
3. Crimson appends the next batch of authors to the page using JavaScript

This means your Authors page can scale even if you have **more than 100** authors.

***

### How many authors load initially or per page?

By default, Crimson loads the number of authors based on Ghost’s global `posts_per_page` setting defined in your theme’s `package.json`.&#x20;

#### Change the initial authors loaded (advanced)

If you want the Authors page to show more (or fewer) authors before clicking “Load more”:

1. Unzip your Crimson theme ZIP locally
2. Open `package.json`
3. Find `config.posts_per_page`&#x20;
4. Change the value
5. Re-zip the theme and upload it again in **Settings → Design & Branding → Change theme → Upload theme**

{% hint style="warning" %}
This will also change the number of posts and tags being loaded in a single request. Keep this number reasonable (example: 8–15). A very high number can slow down initial page load. For Crimson, I suggest to keep it **12**.
{% endhint %}

***

### How to add the Authors page to your navigation

Once `/authors/` is active, add it like any normal Ghost navigation item:

1. Go to **Ghost Admin → Settings → Navigation**
2. Add a new item:
   * **Label:** Authors
   * **URL:** `/authors/`
3. Save

You can place it in:

* **Primary navigation** (main header)
* **Secondary navigation** (category strip / header below primary)
* **Footer navigation** (often under “Archive Pages” or “Company”)

***

### Troubleshooting

<details>

<summary><code>/authors/</code> shows 404</summary>

* Confirm you uploaded Crimson’s `routes.yaml` correctly.
* Confirm your active theme is Crimson.
* Confirm `authors.hbs` exists in your theme (template route must match a template file name).

</details>

<details>

<summary>Authors page is empty</summary>

* Ensure at least one post is published.
* Ensure posts have authors assigned (Ghost only returns authors that have posts associated).

</details>

<details>

<summary>“Load More Authors” doesn’t work</summary>

Most common causes:

* Content API variables were not added in [Code Injection](/crimson/getting-started/code-injection.md) (Crimson expects them).
* The API URL is incorrect (Ghost notes the admin domain/protocol matter for consistent behavior).
* You’re using a caching/CDN layer that blocks the API request (rare, but possible).

</details>