Koha System

How to Preview, Publish, and Roll Back Theme Builder Changes

Safe workflow for previewing, publishing, and rolling back Koha Theme Builder™ changes with approval and quality checks.

2 min read

This guide explains the safest workflow for previewing, publishing, and reversing Theme Builder changes.

Why this matters

Publishing affects the live OPAC immediately for patrons. A review workflow reduces avoidable incidents.

What preview means

Preview lets you validate design and content before making changes live.

What publish means

Publish applies approved Theme Builder changes to the live OPAC.

Safe workflow

  1. Make changes in Theme Builder.
  2. Use preview mode.
  3. Check homepage, search, bib detail, and account pages.
  4. Check desktop and mobile layouts.
  5. Run link validation for edited navigation and CTAs.
  6. Ask approver to review.
  7. Publish in a low-risk time window.
  8. Verify live OPAC behavior.

Before you publish Confirm content accuracy, spelling, and branch scope. Most post-publish issues are avoidable with a two-person check.

Rollback guidance

If your environment has rollback/version controls enabled:

  1. Open Theme Builder history or rollback section.
  2. Select the previous known-good version.
  3. Preview the rollback state.
  4. Publish rollback.
  5. Verify live pages.

If rollback/version controls are not enabled:

  1. Revert changed values manually.
  2. Re-apply last approved configuration.
  3. Publish and verify.

Common mistakes

  • Publishing directly from first draft
  • Reviewing only the homepage
  • Skipping mobile checks
  • Forgetting branch-scoped validation

Preview and publish visuals

Preview target example (Cloister homepage)

Published variation example (Stonebridge homepage)

Cross-screen validation target (Cloister account page)

Next Steps

After Deployment
Post-Installation Setup
Recommended
Security Best Practices
Keep It Running
Monitoring & Maintenance

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