# Systems

CivicTheme has several unique architectural approaches for developing themes that promote component-centric development and maintainability. Understanding these systems is essential for building sites that work effectively within the CivicTheme ecosystem.

## Overview

CivicTheme's development approach is built around these core systems:

* **Component-centric architecture** - Organised folders for styles, JavaScript, and templates
* **Template separation** - Component Twig templates separated from Drupal `*.html.twig` files
* **Preprocess functions** - Custom functions to populate component template properties
* **Color system** - Custom color overrides and theming capabilities
* **Build system** - Custom asset compilation and development workflow

## System Documentation

Each system has detailed documentation that explains implementation patterns and best practices:

### [Build System](/development/drupal-theme/systems/build.md)

Learn about CivicTheme's custom build system, including asset compilation, configuration, and development workflows.

### [Colors](/development/drupal-theme/systems/colors.md)

Explore the color override system and how to customise CivicTheme's design tokens.

### [Components](/development/drupal-theme/systems/components.md)

Understand the component-centric approach, including template separation, preprocess functions, and how to map Drupal data to component properties.

### [Mapping](/development/drupal-theme/systems/mapping.md)

Discover how Drupal entities are mapped to component templates and properties.

## Related Documentation

### Component Development

* [Templates](/development/drupal-theme/templates.md) - How to use CivicTheme UI Kit components in Drupal
* [Namespaces](/development/drupal-theme/namespaces.md) - Component namespace system and organisation
* [Assets](/development/drupal-theme/assets.md) - Asset management and component structure

## Learning Path

To effectively work with CivicTheme systems:

1. **Start with the basics**: Read [Templates](/development/drupal-theme/templates.md) to understand component separation
2. **Understand the build system**: Review [Build System](/development/drupal-theme/systems/build.md) for development workflow
3. **Learn component mapping**: Study [Components](/development/drupal-theme/systems/components.md) for data flow patterns
4. **Customise appearance**: Explore [Colors](/development/drupal-theme/systems/colors.md) for theming

## Key Benefits

Learning these systems enables you to:

* Build **component-centric** sites that are maintainable and scalable
* Create **reusable patterns** that work across different projects
* Leverage **CivicTheme's ecosystem** effectively
* Maintain **consistent design** and development standards
* **Extend functionality** without breaking existing patterns

## Getting Help

* [Getting Help](/getting-started/getting-help.md) - Community resources and support
* [Contribution Model](/contributing/contribution-model.md) - How to contribute to the ecosystem
* [GitHub Organisation](https://github.com/civictheme/) - Source code and issues


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.civictheme.io/development/drupal-theme/systems.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.