Quick Start

This quick start covers Path A, the retail plugin on your Joomla site, in export-only mode first because that is how you should learn the panel before you arm live write on production.

Before you install the plugin

Confirm Joomla 4, 5, or 6 with PHP 8.1 or newer. Confirm you can install a system plugin ZIP and log in on the frontend as Super User, because backend admin login alone is not enough when Shared Sessions is off. Download plg_system_rca_themer from https://recreatinganew.com. If you only wanted fixture design without install, use the hosted lab at https://recreatinganew.com/themer instead and read the Frontend article for that path.

Install and enable System - RCA Themer

Open System, then Install Extensions, and upload the RCA Themer ZIP. Open System, then Plugins, and enable System - RCA Themer if Joomla did not enable it automatically. Open plugin options, leave Enable panel on Yes, leave Super Users only on Yes unless you have a documented reason not to, and select your Custom CSS file from the scanned template css folders. template.css is never a write target. Leave Allow live write on No and leave Beta unlocked on Yes for normal free retail use.

Export dirty CSS from a real page

Visit the frontend as Super User and open the floating Styles panel. Click elements, inspect cascade-winning matched declarations, edit values, and export dirty CSS. Paste the export into your selected custom.css through the template editor, FTP, or file manager. Clear Joomla cache and hard-refresh the browser. You know export-only worked when the frontend reflects your changes and you never enabled live write.

When you are ready for live write

Only after export works on non-critical pages, set a long Write secret in plugin options, turn Allow live write on Yes, take a full site backup, visit the frontend as Super User, arm Write to live CSS on the panel, and Save live on a non-critical page first. Live write requires Super User, CSRF protection, matching write secret, selected custom CSS file, and allowlisted paths. Backups land under css/_themer_bak/.

Optional URL gate while testing

If you want panel assets only on demand, set Require ?rca_themer=1 to Yes in plugin options and open frontend URLs with rca_themer=1 in the query while you test on production.