Customization
what the console changes, and what needs a rebuild.
Most of Kiln is changed in the operator console at /admin, without touching files. This page is a short white-label walkthrough, the full list of what the console changes, and honestly what needs a code change and a rebuild.
01Put your brand on it (no code)
Do this once, signed in to the console as the owner. Nothing here needs a terminal.
- Brand. Console → Brand: product name (used on the sign-in page, header, e-mails, review page and favicon letter; empty means "Kiln"), tagline, accent colour (re-colours the builder's buttons and highlights, the review page and the favicon), logo (replaces the name in the builder's header), support e-mail and website. Optionally Builder title in the browser tab.
- Legal. Console → Legal: your Terms of service URL and Privacy policy URL. They are linked on the builder's sign-in page. Kiln does not write these documents for you.
- Badge. Console → Hosting → Badge on sites of plans that keep it and Badge link, for example "Made with YourBrand". Empty text: no badge anywhere. Plans with No badge on sites do not show it.
- Who may sign up. Console → Access → Anyone can sign up (off: invite only) and Credits a new self-serve workspace gets.
- Check. Open the builder's sign-in page at
/appin a private browser window: it shows your name, tagline, colour and legal links.
Every settings save is kept as a version. Compare versions and roll back in the console's history; settings can also be exported and imported as a file (secrets are never exported). Every change is in the audit log.
02What you can change without touching code
| Change | Where |
|---|---|
| Product name, tagline, logo, browser-tab title | Brand |
| Accent colour (re-colours the builder app and the review page) | Brand |
| Footer badge on client sites, and its link | Hosting |
| Open or invite-only sign-up, welcome credits | Access |
| AI provider, endpoint URL, model, effort, image source | AI |
| The credit price of every AI action | Credits |
| Promotion codes at checkout | Client billing |
| Plans, their prices, limits and monthly credits; credit packs | Plans, Credit packs |
| Sites domain, public URL, Cloudflare account | Hosting |
| Terms and privacy links | Legal |
03What needs a code change and a rebuild
- The layout, styles and texts of the builder app (
web/src/), beyond the name, logo and accent colour. - New section types or changes to existing ones (
src/shared/blocks.tsandsrc/shared/render.ts), and the stylesheet of published sites (src/shared/site-css.ts). - New built-in templates (
src/shared/templates.ts) or style presets and fonts (src/shared/theme.ts). Agency staff can add their own templates from the builder without code (Save as template). - The text of e-mails and the review page (
src/server/).
After a code change run npm run build and restart. See Architecture for the folder map.
04After a code change
Run the build again and restart Kiln:
npm run build
sudo systemctl restart kiln # or: pm2 restart kiln, or stop and start npm startThe folder map (which file holds what) is in Architecture. If you change Kiln's code, keep your copy in a Git repository: an update replaces the program files, and you merge your changes into the new version (see Updating).
Run these commands in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) with Ubuntu. Native Windows (without WSL) is not supported.