Developer

For adding custom sections, extending Pro, or calling the connector from your code.

References

Topic	Pages
Inspector fields	Overview, 62 type reference
Built-in sections	Section catalog
Styles and BEM	Design system
Headless JSON	Public API

Section definition

Code sections (Free)

Artifact	Path / name
JSON	core/components/pagebuilder/sections/{key}.json
Chunk	core/components/pagebuilder/elements/chunks/pagebuilder_{key}.tpl
BEM block	pb-{key}

Minimal JSON:

{
  "key": "promo",
  "version": 1,
  "label": "Promo",
  "category": "conversion",
  "chunk": "pagebuilder_promo",
  "fields": [
    {"name": "title", "type": "text", "label": "Title", "required": true}
  ]
}

Sections with category: dev or a key containing _ do not appear in the production catalog.

Pro sections

JSON: pagebuilderpro/sections/. Chunk: pagebuilderpro_{key}. Default "requires": ["pro"]. Commerce: "requires": ["pro", "minishop3"].

UI types in control panel

Table pb_section_types. Processors mgr/sectiontype/*. Package code definitions are not overwritten on upgrade.

Availability and requires

In the type dialog (CMP Blocks) open the Availability tab. Empty lists mean everywhere. The limit applies to the Create catalog. A section already placed on a page stays visible.

Fields: Templates, Parent resources, Resources, Contexts.

"availability": {
  "templates": [4, 7],
  "parents": [10],
  "resources": [100],
  "contexts": ["web", "en"]
}

"requires": ["pro", "minishop3"]

Check: SectionRequirementChecker and event pbOnCheckSectionRequirement.

Register from plugin:

<?php
switch ($modx->event->name) {
    case 'pbOnRegisterSectionDefinitions':
        /** @var \PageBuilder\Section\SectionRegistry $registry */
        $registry = $modx->event->params['registry'];
        $registry->registerFromFile($modx->getOption('core_path') . 'components/mypackage/sections/custom.json');
        break;
}

Build chunks per design system: pb-section wrapper, escape text, partial pagebuilder_partial_image.

Categories, JSON, and cache

A type can have several categories: a categories array and a compatible category field. CMP filters show the type under each selected slug.

The JSON tab in the type editor edits the definition, including nested repeater fields, and applies the edit before save. In a repeater, Copy item deep-copies the row with a new _rowId.

The type flag cacheable defaults to true. If the page has an enabled type with cacheable: false, the document HTML cache is not written. MODX Clear Cache resets the pagebuilder partition (OnSiteRefresh).

Data model

Tables

Table	Purpose
pb_pages	One row per resource: draft and published JSON (revision, published_revision, publish metadata)
pb_section_types	UI type definitions (definition_json)
pb_data_tables / pb_data_table_rows	Resource table data
pb_utm_params	UTM registry in control panel
pb_collections / pb_collection_tabs	Collections
pb_basket_items	Global basket index
pb_user_states	Reserved: schema exists, not used in runtime yet

Pro: pb_library_items, pb_section_events, pb_page_templates. Table pb_revisions may exist in the Pro schema, but there is no page-level version UI. Section journal: pb_section_events + mgr/sectionevents/*.

Document JSON

Page document format:

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "uuid",
      "type": "hero",
      "enabled": true,
      "data": { "title": "Hello" },
      "settings": { "contexts": ["web"] }
    }
  ],
  "trash": []
}

revision enables optimistic locking: the client sends the current number, the server compares. On mismatch the response is revision_conflict.

Render cache

Cache partition: pagebuilder/{resourceId}. Cleared on publish and unpublish. Cache is not used when checking UTM visibility during the request, with use_cache=0, or on render errors.

PHP service

/** @var \PageBuilder\PageBuilder $pb */
$pb = $modx->services->get('pagebuilder');
// or: $modx->services->get(\PageBuilder\PageBuilder::class);

$pageService = $pb->pages();
// PageService: load/save/publish via the same layer as the connector

Pro extensions

Plugin on pbOnRegisterFeatureProviders registers your FeatureProvider alongside ProFeatureProvider. The provider must implement serverContributions() and cmpContributions(). Install Free and Pro from this line together.

Boot, save, and render events: Manager and events.

In pbOnBeforeSave extensions can replace the document before draft or publish write via PageDocumentBag. DocumentChangeSet separately records section enable/disable (no false "update" on a pure toggle).

Public API (Headless)

Read-only JSON for external frontends. Entry point assets/components/pagebuilder/api.php. Enable and keys: Public API and settings.

Writes and drafts: Agent API (Pro) or Sections tab in the manager.

JavaScript API

File	Purpose
pagebuilder-api.js	PageBuilderApi: POST to connector from custom manager UI
pb-fetch-lite.js	Minimal POST without Vue

import { PageBuilderApi } from '/assets/components/pagebuilder/js/pagebuilder-api.js'

const api = new PageBuilderApi({
  baseUrl: '/assets/components/pagebuilder/connector.php',
  modAuth: MODx.siteId,
})
await api.post('mgr/catalog/list', { resource_id: 42 })

For agents and bulk section writes use Agent API.

Resource data tables

Processors:

Processor	Purpose
mgr/datatable/list	Resource tables
mgr/datatable/rows/list	Rows: search, page, limit, filters
mgr/datatable/rows/save / remove	Create, update, delete rows

JSON filters: { "price": { "op": "gte", "value": "10" } }. Operators: eq, contains, in, gte, lte, between, empty, not_empty.

Tables tab or table tab type in Collections. Rows on the site via PageBuilderTableRows snippet.

Inspector

Fields in data come from type JSON. Settings: contexts, utm, in Pro also conditions. In url and button fields {{utm:key}} placeholders work. Details: fields overview.

Related pages

• Public API
• Agent API
• PageBuilder Pro
• Control panel
• Design system