---
title: Core Concepts
nav_title: Concepts
description: Foundational concepts for understanding Bengal
weight: 30
icon: star
---
# Core Concepts

Understand how Bengal organizes content, processes files, and generates sites.

## The Build Model

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    subgraph Input
        A[Content .md]
        B[Templates .html]
        C[Assets CSS/JS]
    end

    subgraph Process
        D[Discovery]
        E[Rendering]
        F[Post-process]
    end

    subgraph Output
        G[public/]
    end

    A --> D
    B --> E
    C --> F
    D --> E --> F --> G
```

## Key Concepts

| Concept | What It Means |
|---------|---------------|
| **Page** | A single content file (`.md`) → single HTML output |
| **Section** | A directory with `_index.md` → list page with children |
| **Leaf Bundle** | A directory with `index.md` → page with co-located assets |
| **Template** | [[ext:kida:|Kida]]/Jinja2 HTML that wraps your content |
| **Asset** | CSS, JS, images — processed, optimized, and fingerprinted |
| **Cascade** | Metadata inheritance from section `_index.md` to child pages |

## Mental Model

:::{tab-set}
:::{tab-item} Files → Pages
Your file structure becomes your URL structure:

```text
content/blog/hello.md → /blog/hello/
content/docs/_index.md → /docs/
```

:::

:::{tab-item} Templates → Layouts
Templates wrap content in HTML. Bengal provides 80+ template helpers:

```text
page.content + single.html → final HTML
```

:::

:::{tab-item} Assets → Output
Static files are copied, optimized, and fingerprinted for cache-busting:

```text
assets/css/main.css → public/assets/css/main.a1b2c3.css
```

:::
:::{/tab-set}

:::{tip}
**Start simple**: Most sites only need pages and a theme. Add sections when you need grouping, leaf bundles when you need co-located assets.
:::

## Deep Dives

These concepts are covered in detail in their respective sections:

| Concept | Learn More |
|---------|------------|
| **Content Organization** | [Content Structure](/docs/content/organization/) — frontmatter, sections, bundles |
| **Templates** | [Kida Templating](/docs/theming/templating/kida/) — syntax, caching, performance |
| **Assets** | [Asset Pipeline](/docs/theming/assets/) — CSS, JS, images, optimization |
| **Build Process** | [Configuration](/docs/building/configuration/) — profiles, environment settings |
| **Output Formats** | [Output Formats](/docs/building/output-formats/) — JSON, LLM text, search index |
