Custom Templates

Custom Templates lets a board reshape how the stock forum surfaces render: the post author rail, topic rows, forum rows, profile cards, every post on the topic view, and in Advanced mode entire pages like the board index, the topic list and the topic view. Templates are written in the same {{ }} dialect widgets already use, edited in the Admin Control Panel, and they are free on every v2 plan. Customizations are stored separately from the stock designs, so a platform update never overwrites them.

Start here: your first customization

You do not need a coding background. A template is just the HTML of one part of your board with placeholders where the real information goes, and the safest way to learn it is to change one small thing.

1. Open Admin > Appearance > Custom Templates on your board.
2. Pick a surface. The Post rail is a good first one: it is the member box that sits beside every post.
3. The editor opens with the current design already filled in. Find the word Posts and change it to Messages.
4. Press Save, then open any topic on your board. The rail now says Messages.
5. Changed your mind? Press Revert to stock and the built-in design takes over again. Your saved version stays restorable, so nothing is ever lost.

That is the whole loop: open, tweak, save, look. Everything else on this page is the same idea with more options.

The words on this page

The template language

Templates are HTML plus variables and a small set of blocks. Variables use dot paths and unknown variables render as an empty string, never an error.

<div class="post-rail">
    <img src="{{ user.avatar_url }}" alt="{{ user.username }}">
    <b>{{ user.username }}</b>

    {{#if user.trust_level}}
        <span class="level">{{ user.trust_level }}</span>
    {{else}}
        <span class="level">New member</span>
    {{/if}}

    {{#each user.achievements}}
        <img src="{{ this.icon }}" title="{{ this.name }}">
    {{/each}}

    Posts: {{ user.num_posts | abbreviate }}
</div>

Hard limits keep rendering safe: templates max 64KB, output max 256KB, blocks nest at most 16 levels and each loop renders at most 100 items. A template that exceeds a limit or fails to parse falls back to the stock design.

Surfaces

Normal surfaces are always editable. Advanced surfaces, including the whole-page templates for the board index and the topic list, sit behind an explicit Advanced mode toggle: deeper customizations are more likely to need a review after a platform update, so they carry a warning and rely on the same Outdated review flow, automatic fallback and restorable versions.

Pages compose from partials through includes. The stock board index template loops categories through {{> category }}, which loops its forums through {{> forum_row }}; the stock topic list includes {{> topic_row }} per topic; the stock topic view includes {{> reply }} per post. Customize just a partial and every page picks it up, including customized pages that kept the include. A page template that drops the include and writes its own row markup takes full control of that page; the partial keeps working everywhere else.

Variables per surface

Each surface exposes a documented set of variables. Names starting with this. are fields of the current {{#each}} item on that surface, for example each topic inside topics on the topic list.

Outlet snippets

Besides replacing a surface, boards can inject small snippets at named outlets without touching the stock design, for example a trust badge under every avatar. Snippets are managed on the same ACP page, can be reordered and toggled individually, and share the variables of their surface.

Copy-paste recipes

Each recipe is one small change. Open the surface, find the line from the starter design, and swap or add as shown. Save, refresh your board, done.

Show where a member is from

Surface: Post rail. Find this pair in the starter:

<dt>Reputation</dt>
<dd>{{ user.reputation }}</dd>

Add this right below it. The {{#if}} wrapper keeps the row hidden for members who left their location empty:

{{#if user.location}}
<dt>From</dt>
<dd>{{ user.location }}</dd>
{{/if}}

Bigger, bolder topic titles

Surface: Topic row. Find:

<a href="{{ topic.url }}">{{ topic.title }}</a>

Replace with:

<a href="{{ topic.url }}" style="font-size:1.05rem;font-weight:700">{{ topic.title }}</a>

A level badge under every avatar

No template editing at all: this one is an outlet snippet, a small addition that leaves the design untouched. On the Custom Templates page choose Add snippet on the Post Rail outlets, pick the post-rail:below-avatar outlet and paste:

{{#if user.trust_level}}
<div style="text-align:center;font-size:.72rem;font-weight:700">{{ user.trust_level }}</div>
{{/if}}

The safety model

• Validated twice: the editor validates while you type and again on save. A template with syntax errors cannot be saved.
• Silent fallback: if a stored template ever fails at render time, members see the stock design and the admin gets a dismissible ACP notice naming the surface and the error.
• Sanitized on save: <script> and <style> tags are stripped and the HTML is sanitized. JavaScript belongs in script-injection extensions, CSS in Theme Studio.
• Escaped by default: {{ var }} output is HTML-escaped; raw output requires the explicit triple-brace form.
• Update-safe: when a platform update changes a stock design you customized, your template keeps rendering untouched. The ACP flags it as Outdated with a line-by-line view of what changed, and you merge what you want, revert to the new stock, or mark it up to date as is.
• Reversible: every save snapshots a version that can be restored, each surface has its own on/off toggle, and Revert to stock never deletes saved versions.

The official cookbook

Six official add-on packs ship in every board's extension directory (ACP, Extensions, Browse) and install in one click, custom profile fields included. Every snippet inside them is reproduced here to copy, paste and remix in your own outlets.

Character Sheets

Provisions 3 profile fields: Character name, Class, Alignment.

Character sheet · outlet post-rail:after-meta

{{#if user.custom_fields}}<div style="margin-top: 0.55rem; padding-top: 0.45rem; border-top: 1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.25); font-size: 0.74rem;">{{#each user.custom_fields}}<div style="padding: 0.1rem 0;"><small>{{ this.label }}</small><br><b>{{ this.value }}</b></div>{{/each}}</div>{{/if}}

Gamer Tags

Provisions 4 profile fields: Steam, Discord, PSN, Xbox.

Gamer tags · outlet post-rail:after-meta

{{#if user.custom_fields}}<div style="margin-top: 0.55rem; padding-top: 0.45rem; border-top: 1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.25); font-size: 0.72rem;">{{#each user.custom_fields}}<div style="padding: 0.08rem 0;"><small>{{ this.label }}:</small> <b>{{ this.value }}</b></div>{{/each}}</div>{{/if}}

Post Rail Flair

Trust level badge · outlet post-rail:after-group

{{#if user.trust_level}}<div style="font-size: 0.7rem; margin-top: 0.2rem;">{{ user.trust_level }}</div>{{/if}}

Credits line · outlet post-rail:after-meta

{{#if user.credits}}<div style="font-size: 0.72rem; margin-top: 0.2rem;"><b>{{ user.credits }}</b> credits</div>{{/if}}

Profile Showcase

Standing line · outlet profile-card:after-stats

<div style="font-size: 0.78rem; margin-top: 0.35rem;">{{#if user.trust_level}}{{ user.trust_level }} &middot; {{/if}}{{#if user.is_online}}Online now{{else}}Last seen {{ user.last_active }}{{/if}}</div>

Member since footer · outlet profile-card:footer

<div style="font-size: 0.74rem; margin-top: 0.4rem;">Member since {{ user.joined_long }}{{#if user.location}} &middot; {{ user.location }}{{/if}}</div>

Thread Meta

Active line · outlet topic-row:after-stats

{{#if topic.last_post.date}}<span style="font-size: 0.72rem;">Active {{ topic.last_post.date }}</span>{{/if}}

Exact start date · outlet topic-row:after-meta

<span style="font-size: 0.7rem;">Started {{ topic.created_at_full }}</span>