This entire section covers the use of Twig templates in Contao since version 5.0.
Although Twig templates can be used in Contao since version 4.12, Twig templates are only used in Contao core since
Contao 5.0. We did not document the different use of Twig templates in older versions in the manual.
Twig is a template engine for PHP and the default template engine of Symfony. It is fast, secure and easily extensible.
With Twig templates, design can be strictly separated from programming.
Like a PHP template, a Twig template is used to output a module, content item, form, or other component.
Twig templates consistently rely on the powerful template structuring and reuse methods, such as
Extend,
Include,
Embed,
Horizontal reuse or
Macros.
Therefore, templates should no longer be completely overwritten, as was often common or necessary with PHP templates.
Within the manual, we will only cover the most important technique - extending Twig templates for Contao in more detail.
More information about Twig templates in Contao can be found in the
developer documentation.
In Contao 5, Twig templates are provided for many core elements. This means that template adjustments must also be made
in Twig templates.
For a transition period, you can still use the PHP templates. The necessary settings for this can be found in the
upgrade instructions.
We strongly recommend to use this option only in exceptional cases, e.g. to have more time for necessary adjustments
after an upgrade to Contao 5 to have more time for the necessary customizations.
Keep in mind that extensions for Contao 5 may no longer support the use of PHP templates.
Currently, a Twig template is not yet available for every module/content element. In these cases the previous (PHP/legacy) templates are still used.
Twig templates have the file extension .twig. Additionally the output type is specified.
For an output of HTML the file extension html.twig is used.