Varbase Recipes

Varbase 11.0.x adopts a modern, recipes-based architecture built on Drupal Recipes, replacing the traditional module-based installation approach used in earlier Varbase versions. Drupal Recipes are a standardized way to package and apply sets of modules, configurations, and permissions as reusable, composable units.

What Are Drupal Recipes?

Drupal Recipes allow distributions like Varbase to define discrete bundles of functionality that can be applied individually or composed together. Each recipe declares its dependencies, installs the required modules, applies configuration, and sets up permissions, all in a single, repeatable operation.

This approach provides several advantages over the previous module-based architecture:

• Composability: Recipes can depend on and build upon other recipes, creating a layered architecture.

• Selective installation: Sites can apply only the recipes they need rather than installing the entire distribution.

• Maintainability: Each recipe is an independently versioned Drupal.org project, making updates and patches more straightforward.

• Compatibility: Varbase recipes build on top of Drupal CMS recipes, ensuring alignment with the broader Drupal ecosystem.

The Varbase Starter Recipe

The Varbase Starter recipe serves as the main site template that orchestrates the entire Varbase installation. It bundles all core Varbase recipes along with Drupal CMS recipes, Easy Email, and the Vartheme BS5 theme. For most projects, applying the Varbase Starter recipe is the recommended starting point.

Varbase Recipes Overview

The following recipes comprise the Varbase 11.0.x recipe ecosystem:

Recipe	Description
Varbase Starter	Main site template recipe that orchestrates the full Varbase installation
Varbase Admin Base	Default admin experience with Gin theme, navigation, audit trail, and admin tools
Varbase Content Base	Core content configuration including node types, taxonomy, views, and essential content modules
Varbase Media Base	Media types, image styles, responsive images, media library enhancements, and file handling
Varbase Editor Base	CKEditor 5 with rich text editing capabilities, plugins, and enhancements
Varbase Security Base	Password policies, CAPTCHA, honeypot, antibot, security kit, and flood control
Varbase SEO Base	SEO modules including metatag, pathauto, redirect, sitemap, and structured data
Varbase Workflow Base	Content moderation, scheduled publishing, and workflow notifications
Varbase Performance Base	Page caching, asset aggregation, image optimization, and lazy loading
Varbase Blog Base	Blog post content type with featured images, tags, categories, and listing pages
Varbase Webform Base	Default webform modules, configurations, and professional contact form template
Varbase API Base	JSON:API with authentication, authorization, and OpenAPI documentation
Varbase Auth Base	Social Single Sign-On with default social authentication providers
Varbase i18n Base	Internationalization, language management, and translation support
Varbase Dev Base	Development modules and configurations for local development environments
Varbase Page Base	Page content type with SEO fields, editorial workflow, and menu configuration
Varbase Users Base	Default user roles, account settings, and user management configurations
Varbase Search Base	Search functionality using Search API
Varbase Privacy	Cookie consent and privacy settings
Varbase Demo Content	Demo content for new Varbase sites
Varbase Media Assets	Default demo media assets including images, videos, and documents

Applying a Recipe

Recipes are applied using Drush. The general workflow is:

1. Require the recipe package via Composer:

composer require drupal/recipe_name

1. Apply the recipe using Drush:

ddev drush recipe ../recipes/recipe_name

Refer to each recipe's documentation page for specific installation commands and details.