Brand Navigation

Customization Theme component

AI-generated summary

This topic introduces Brand Navigation, a Discourse theme component developed by CodeWorksLabs that adds a branded navigation bar with direct links and dropdown menus, as well as optional text or icon links to the site header. philh details its features, including support for light/dark logos, one-level submenus, and placement above or below the standard Discourse header. The current version is available as a prerelease (v1.0.0-rc.5), with installation guides, configuration bundles, and known issues documented in the linked repository and docs. Feedback and bug reports are directed to the dedicated support forum or GitHub Issues, while feature requests can be tracked via the project roadmap. denvergeeks expressed enthusiasm for the component’s development, and philh noted the project is nearly complete pending user feedback, particularly regarding the settings importer for users migrating from other similar components.

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Brand Navigation — branded menus and header links
:information_source: Summary Brand Navigation adds a branded navigation bar with direct links and dropdown menus, and adds optional text and icon links to Discourse’s header.
:eyeglasses: Preview Screenshots and live examples
:hammer_and_wrench: Repository CodeWorksLabs/brand-navigation
:question: Install Guide How to install a theme or theme component
:open_book: New to Discourse Themes? Beginner’s guide to using Discourse Themes

Install this theme component

Brand Navigation gives your community a branded navigation bar for links to your website, community resources and related projects. It supports dropdown menus and can also place direct text or icon links in Discourse’s own header.

Examples

The Bridge: a navigation bar above the forum header, with additional links beside Discourse’s header controls.

Brand Navigation on The Bridge
Brand Navigation on The Bridge1665×101 16.2 KB

Repeal OBBBA Forum: a red navigation bar with community menus and social links in the Discourse header.

Brand Navigation on Repeal OBBBA Forum
Brand Navigation on Repeal OBBBA Forum1665×101 15.9 KB

Features

  • Brand identity: show a name, logo, or both, with separate light and dark logos. Place the bar above or below the Discourse header.
  • Links and menus: add direct links and one level of submenus. A parent can link to a page with a separate menu arrow, or act only as a submenu button. Items can include icons and optional submenu descriptions.
  • Header links: place social links, forum links and external links in Discourse’s core header.
  • Audience and device controls: show items to everyone, signed-in visitors, or signed-out visitors, and choose desktop or mobile visibility.
  • Mobile layouts: use a compact menu, a full bar, or hide the component on mobile.
  • Appearance and configuration: inherit Discourse’s palette or set component colors, adjust header-link text and icon sizes, reorder items in the structured editor, and export or import a JSON configuration.

Getting started

Install Brand Navigation · Add links, menus and colors · Back up or move settings

Status

Release v1.0.0-rc.5 is available as a prerelease. See known issues and the testing record for details.

Feedback and support

Questions, screenshots and configuration ideas are welcome in this topic. For installation, configuration and troubleshooting help, start a topic in Brand Navigation Support on the CodeWorksLabs Forum.

Bugs, compatibility reports and documentation corrections can also be filed through GitHub Issues.

Roadmap and feature requests

Follow the Brand Navigation roadmap for proposed, planned, in-progress and released work.

Have an idea for improving Brand Navigation? Share it in Feature Requests.

Brand Navigation is independently maintained by CodeWorksLabs and licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.

Thanks

Thanks to the authors of Discourse Brand Header, Discourse Header Submenus, Custom Header Links (icons), and Pavilion’s Dropdown Header for the ideas and examples that informed Brand Navigation. See attribution and licensing and the authorship and provenance record for the full credits.

4 Likes
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This looks amazing. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds and develops!

1 Like
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Thanks for that. A few things to add but mostly done awaiting user feedback. I am looking forward to how it works for folks, especially interested in how the settings importer works for those moving from one of the other components.