Recent changes
Wednesday November 04 2026
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Case study: a pull request to an upstream author Updated Markdown page
A real pull request to another organization's project, read section by section: what was broken, the one-line fix, the kept security intent, tests that fail without it, and what was not checked.
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Case study: porting a package from another project with credit Updated Markdown page
How two extensions brought in outside code and credited it - sevenx_dse embedding a database tool from a chain of forks, expchangeclass merging two forks - and what to check in your own port.
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Commit messages the project can build a changelog from Updated Markdown page
The commit message format of Exponential - Added, Updated, Fixed, Removed, Renamed - why it exists, how the kernel's commit-msg hook checks it, and how to write a subject and body that explain what changed and why.
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Contributing back with pull requests Updated Markdown page
Send a fix or feature to the kernel or someone else's extension as a pull request: one change per branch, tests, a description of what was broken and how you checked it, and what to do after.
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Extending without forking Updated Markdown page
Change how the kernel or someone else's extension behaves from your own extension - settings, template overrides, design order, handlers, events, module replacement - so their updates keep reaching you.
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Forking on GitHub, step by step Updated Markdown page
Fork an extension's repository on GitHub, clone it, add the original as upstream, work on a branch and install your fork into an Exponential site with Composer, with the commands and what you should see.
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Growing the community through code Updated Markdown page
How code itself grows a community - publishing what you built, good first issues, documentation and translations, help pages inside your extension, and the community sites where people look for extensions.
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Keeping a fork in sync with its source Updated Markdown page
Bring the original's new commits into your fork with git fetch and merge or rebase, resolve conflicts, and keep your own changes small so syncing stays easy - with the commands and a routine.
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Pull request etiquette Updated Markdown page
The habits that get pull requests merged and make maintainers glad to see your name - small and focused, explained, tested, patient, open to change - and what to avoid.
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Rebranding ethically Updated Markdown page
What you may and may not do when you put your own name on a fork - new names, kept credit, honest descriptions, no borrowed trademarks - with a checklist and examples from extensions this project forked.
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Reviewing other people's work Updated Markdown page
How to review a pull request to an Exponential extension usefully - what to check in order (purpose, safety, behavior, tests, style), how to try it locally, and how to write comments that help.
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The maintainer path Updated Markdown page
What maintaining an extension means week to week - issues, pull requests, releases, PHP and kernel updates, security reports, hand-over - and a routine that keeps it to a few hours a month.
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When to fork, and when not to Updated Markdown page
A fork is a copy you promise to maintain. When a fork is the right answer - an abandoned original, a fix waiting for review, a different direction - and when an override, an issue or a pull request is better.
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Writing good issues Updated Markdown page
Report a bug or ask for a feature in a way a maintainer can act on - versions, steps to reproduce, expected and actual result, logs without secrets - with a template and what to leave out.
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Part 6: Theme developers Updated Markdown page
Part 6 of the book: themes are extensions. Build one with the RAD wizard or by hand, connect it to siteaccesses, load its assets under a Content Security Policy, support dark mode, distribute it.
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A theme by hand Updated Markdown page
Build the smallest complete theme file by file - metadata, the design registration, a siteaccess, a pagelayout, a stylesheet and an override - and check each step, so you know what every file of a theme does.
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A theme with the RAD wizard Updated Markdown page
Start a theme with the Design extension wizard of Setup > RAD and grow its skeleton into a real theme - siteaccess, frontend lists, base design, page parts, view templates - with three corrections.
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Dark mode and design tokens in themes Updated Markdown page
Give a theme one set of design tokens with light and dark values, follow the visitor's system setting, add an optional toggle without inline scripts, and check contrast, as the admin4 design does.
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The anatomy of a design extension Updated Markdown page
Every folder and file of a theme extension - templates, override templates, stylesheets, scripts, images, the settings that register it and its override rules - shown on the public sevenx_themes_simple theme.
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Distributing a theme Updated Markdown page
Publish a theme others can install - licenses of the code, fonts, icons and images it carries, metadata, Composer, content class packages, screenshots and a README - with a checklist before the first release.