Umbraco Controllers

This teaches Claude how to work with Umbraco's controller pattern for backoffice customization. Controllers are separate classes that handle logic and lifecycle management for UI elements, things like timers, subscriptions, API calls, and cleanup. The skill includes a workflow that fetches live docs first, then generates TypeScript code extending UmbControllerBase with proper lifecycle methods. Examples cover timer controllers, manual registration, and context access. The practical bit is it shows how to manage side effects cleanly when elements connect and disconnect from the DOM. One thing to note: it explicitly warns against using raw fetch for API calls, pushing you toward generated OpenAPI clients with Umbraco's auth context instead.

skills.sh installs: 418
GitHub stars: 27
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add umbraco/umbraco-cms-backoffice-skills --skill umbraco-controllers --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Umbraco Controllers

What is it?

Controllers are separate classes that contain or reuse logic across elements while maintaining connection to an element's lifecycle. A Controller is assigned to a Host Element and supports lifecycle methods (hostConnected, hostDisconnected, destroy) for managing side effects, timers, subscriptions, and cleanup. Controllers can host other controllers, enabling composition and reuse of functionality.

Documentation

Always fetch the latest docs before implementing:

Main docs: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/extend-your-project/backoffice-extensions/foundation/umbraco-controller
Write Custom Controller: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/extend-your-project/backoffice-extensions/foundation/umbraco-controller/write-your-own-controller
Foundation: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/extend-your-project/backoffice-extensions/foundation

Workflow

Fetch docs - Use WebFetch on the URLs above
Ask questions - Need custom controller? What lifecycle events? What cleanup needed?
Generate code - Implement controller extending UmbControllerBase based on latest docs

SKILL.md on GitHub