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.
This skill guides you through creating new OrchardCore themes following project conventions.
D:\orchardcoremkdir src/OrchardCore.Themes/YourTheme
cd src/OrchardCore.Themes/YourTheme
Every theme needs these files:
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
)]
<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>
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>
Create asset structure:
Assets/
├── scss/site.scss
├── js/site.js
└── package.json
Assets.json
See references/assets.md for configuration details.
# 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
| Zone | Purpose |
|---|---|
Header | Site header |
Navigation | Main menu |
Messages | Alerts/notifications |
Content | Main content |
Sidebar | Side widgets |
Footer | Site footer |
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
TheBlogTheme | Blog template |
TheAdmin | Admin UI |
TheAgencyTheme | Business template |
| Item | Convention |
|---|---|
| Theme folder | YourThemeName (PascalCase) |
| Namespace | YourThemeName |
| CSS file | site.css |
| JS file | site.js |
references/theme-structure.md - Directory layout and templatesreferences/assets.md - SCSS, JS, and asset pipelineAGENTS.md (repo root) - Build commands