nexus/wiki/concepts/CodeOverConfiguration.md

title, type, tags, last_updated

title	type	tags	last_updated
CodeOverConfiguration	concept	cms development best-practices	2026-05-01

Definition

CodeOverConfiguration is a CMS development principle requiring that all structural changes — custom post types, taxonomies, fields, blocks, and behavioral settings — be registered in code rather than created through the admin UI. Configuration that affects behavior is also stored in code (not the database).

Core Principle

"Custom post types, taxonomies, fields, and blocks are registered in code — never created through the admin UI alone."

WordPress Application

What	Where to register
Custom post types	functions.php → register_post_type()
Custom taxonomies	functions.php → register_taxonomy()
ACF field groups	acf-json/ directory (synced)
ACF blocks	functions.php → acf_register_block_type()
Gutenberg blocks	block.json + JS registration
Theme settings	wp-config.php or functions.php

Example: Post type in code

add_action( 'init', function () {
    register_post_type( 'case_study', [
        'public'        => true,
        'show_in_rest'  => true,
        'supports'      => [ 'title', 'editor', 'thumbnail', 'excerpt' ],
    ] );
} );

Drupal Application

What	Where to store
Content types	YAML config export (drush cex)
Field definitions	YAML config in config/install/
Custom modules	PHP code + YAML routing/permissions
Blocks	PHP attribute-based plugins (Drupal 10+)
Views	YAML config export

Why It Matters

• Version control: All structural changes are tracked in Git
• Reproducibility: A fresh environment gets the same structure from a deploy script
• Team consistency: No one accidentally changes a field label in production
• Deployment safety: Config changes go through CI/CD, not manual admin actions

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Creating post types via the WordPress admin UI without code equivalent
• ❌ Storing CMS settings that affect behavior in the database instead of code
• ❌ Modifying contrib module/theme files directly instead of using hooks/overrides

Related Concepts

• ContentModel-first — the companion principle: define the model first, then implement
• GitWorkflow — version control makes code-as-config viable
• WordPress — WordPress-specific code registration patterns
• Drupal — Drupal-specific YAML configuration export workflow

Sources

• engineering-cms-developer