OrchardCore Theme Creator
SkillDev toolsLets your agent create new OrchardCore themes with proper structure, layouts, and assets.
Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.
No other account needed.
Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.
Then ask your AI: use the OrchardCore Theme Creator skill
About this capability
Creates new OrchardCore themes with proper structure, manifest, layouts, and assets. Use when the user needs to create a new theme, customize layouts, or set up frontend assets.
What this skill tells your AI
The instructions your AI receives, as published by orchardcms/orchardcore in .agents/skills/orchardcore-theme-creator/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.
This skill guides you through creating new OrchardCore themes following project conventions.
Prerequisites
- OrchardCore repository at
D:\orchardcore - .NET SDK 10.0+ installed
- Node.js 22.x and Yarn 4.x (for asset compilation)
Theme Creation Workflow
Step 1: Create Theme Directory
mkdir src/OrchardCore.Themes/YourTheme
cd src/OrchardCore.Themes/YourTheme
Step 2: Create Required Files
Every theme needs these files:
- Manifest.cs - Theme metadata
- YourTheme.csproj - Project file
- Views/Layout.cshtml - Main layout
- Views/_ViewImports.cshtml - Razor imports
Step 3: Create Manifest.cs
using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Manifest;
using OrchardCore.Modules.Manifest;
[assembly: Theme(
Name = "Your Theme",
Author = ManifestConstants.OrchardCoreTeam,
Website = ManifestConstants.OrchardCoreWebsite,
Version = ManifestConstants.OrchardCoreVersion,
Description = "Your theme description."
)]
Extending a base theme:
[assembly: Theme(
Name = "Your Theme",
BaseTheme = "TheBlogTheme", // Inherit from base
// ... other properties
)]
Step 4: Create Project File
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Razor">
<PropertyGroup>
<AddRazorSupportForMvc>true</AddRazorSupportForMvc>
<Title>Your Theme</Title>
<Description>Your theme description.</Description>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<FrameworkReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.App" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\OrchardCore\OrchardCore.Theme.Targets\OrchardCore.Theme.Targets.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
Step 5: Create Layout
Create Views/Layout.cshtml:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="@Orchard.CultureName()">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<title>@RenderTitleSegments(Site.SiteName, "before")</title>
<resources type="StyleSheet" />
</head>
<body>
<zone Name="Header" />
<main>
<zone Name="Messages" />
<zone Name="Content" />
</main>
<zone Name="Footer" />
<resources type="FootScript" />
</body>
</html>
Step 6: Add Assets (Optional)
Create asset structure:
Assets/
├── scss/site.scss
├── js/site.js
└── package.json
Assets.json
See references/assets.md for configuration details.
Step 7: Build and Activate
# Build theme
cd D:\orchardcore
dotnet build src/OrchardCore.Themes/YourTheme
# Build assets (if added)
yarn && yarn build
# Run application
cd src/OrchardCore.Cms.Web
dotnet run -f net10.0
# Activate theme in Admin → Design → Themes
Quick Reference
Available Zones
| Zone | Purpose |
|---|---|
Header | Site header |
Navigation | Main menu |
Messages | Alerts/notifications |
Content | Main content |
Sidebar | Side widgets |
Footer | Site footer |
Base Themes
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
TheBlogTheme | Blog template |
TheAdmin | Admin UI |
TheAgencyTheme | Business template |
Naming Conventions
| Item | Convention |
|---|---|
| Theme folder | YourThemeName (PascalCase) |
| Namespace | YourThemeName |
| CSS file | site.css |
| JS file | site.js |
References
references/theme-structure.md- Directory layout and templatesreferences/assets.md- SCSS, JS, and asset pipelineAGENTS.md(repo root) - Build commands
Signals
- GitHub stars
- 8k
- Forks
- 3k
- Last commit
- Sep 2026
Advanced
- Catalog kind
- skill
- Gateway key
orchardcore-theme-creator- Source
- github.com/orchardcms/orchardcore