Developing Themes

The theme directory could include the theme.yaml, version.yaml and assets/images/theme-preview.png files. These files are optional for the local development but required for themes published on the OctoberCMS Marketplace.

# Theme information file

The theme information file theme.yaml contains the theme description, the author name, URL of the author's website and some other information. The file should be placed to the theme root directory:

themes/
    demo/
    theme.yaml    <=== Theme information file

The following fields are supported in the theme.yaml file:

Example of the theme information file:

name: "OctoberCMS Demo"
description: "Demonstrates the basic concepts of the front-end theming."
author: "OctoberCMS"
homepage: "http://octobercms.com"
code: "demo"

# Version file

The theme version file version.yaml defines the current theme version and the change log. The file should be placed to the theme root directory:

themes/
    demo/
    ...
    version.yaml    <=== Theme version file

The file format is following:

1.0.1: Theme initialization
1.0.2: Added more features
1.0.3: Some features are removed

# Theme preview image

The theme preview image is used in the back-end theme selector. The image file theme-preview.png should be placed to the theme's assets/images directory:

themes/
    demo/
    assets/
        images/
        theme-preview.png    <=== Theme preview image

The image width should be at least 600px. The ideal aspect ratio is 1.5, for example 600x400px.

# Theme customization

Themes can support configuration values by defining a form key in the theme information file. This key should contain a configuration array or reference to a form field definition file, see form fields for more information.

The following is an example of how to define a website name configuration field called site_name:

name: My Theme
# [...]

form:
    fields:
        site_name:
            label: Site name
            comment: The website name as it should appear on the front-end
            default: My Amazing Site!

Note: If using nested fields with array syntax (contact[name], contact[email etc.) you need to add the top level to the ThemeData model's jsonable array using the following:

\Cms\Models\ThemeData::extend(function ($model) {
    $model->addJsonable('contact');
});

The value can then be accessed inside any of the Theme templates using the default page variable called this.theme.

<h1>Welcome to {{ this.theme.site_name }}!</h1>

You may also define the configuration in a separate file, where the path is relative to the theme. The following definition will source the form fields from the file config/fields.yaml inside the theme.

name: My Theme
# [...]

form: config/fields.yaml

config/fields.yaml:

fields:
    site_name:
        label: Site name
        comment: The website name as it should appear on the front-end
        default: My Amazing Site!

# Combiner variables

Assets combined using the |theme filter and combiner can have values passed to supporting filters, such as the LESS filter. Simply specify the assetVar option when defining the form field, the value should contain the desired variable name.

form:
    fields:
        # [...]

        link_color:
            label: Link color
            type: colorpicker
            assetVar: 'link-color'

In the above example, the color value selected will be available inside the less file as @link-color. Assuming we have the following stylesheet reference:

<link href="{{ ['assets/less/theme.less']|theme }}" rel="stylesheet">

Using some example content inside themes/yourtheme/assets/less/theme.less:

a { color: @link-color }

# Theme dependencies

A theme can depend on plugins by defining a require option in the Theme information file, the option should supply an array of plugin names that are considered requirements. A theme that depends on Acme.Blog and Acme.User can define this requirement like so:

name: "OctoberCMS Demo"
# [...]

require:
    - Acme.User
    - Acme.Blog

When the theme is installed for the first time, the system will attempt to install the required plugins at the same time.

# Localization

Themes can provide backend localization keys through files placed in the lang subdirectory of the theme's directory. These localization keys are registered automatically only when interacting with the October backend and can be used for form labels just like plugin localization

Note: Translating frontend content should be handled with the RainLab.Translate (opens new window) plugin.

# Localization directory and file structure

Below is an example of the theme's lang directory:

themes/
    acme/             <=== Theme directory
    lang/             <=== Localization directory
        en/           <=== Language directory
        lang.php      <=== Localization file
        fr/
        lang.php

The lang.php file should define and return an array of any depth, for example:

<?php return [
    'options' => [
        'website_name' => 'OctoberCMS'
    ]
];

You are then able to reference the keys using themes.theme-code::lang.key. In the above example, the full language key you would use to reference the "website_name" localization key would be themes.acme::lang.options.website_name