---
title: Reference
description: Technical specifications, directives, and architecture
weight: 40
menu:
  main:
    weight: 30
icon: bookmark
---
# Reference

Complete technical documentation for Bengal's APIs, syntax, and internals.

## What Do You Need?

:::{child-cards}
:columns: 2
:include: sections
:fields: title, description, icon
:::

## Reference vs Guides

| Looking for... | Go to... |
|----------------|----------|
| "How do I use tabs?" | [Directives Reference](/docs/reference/directives/) |
| "How do I build a tabbed interface?" | [Theming → Templating](/docs/theming/templating/) |
| "What's the build pipeline?" | [Architecture](/docs/reference/architecture/) |
| "How do I speed up builds?" | [Building → Performance](/docs/building/performance/) |

:::{note}
**Reference** documents *what* is available (exhaustive, lookup-oriented). **Guides** explain *how* to accomplish tasks (goal-oriented). Use reference when you know what you're looking for.
:::
