Module Builder with a Marketplace theme

Page Builder works on the pages of a Sprocket Rocket Marketplace theme, and so does Sprocket Rocket AI. Module Builder does not, because HubSpot locks the files the Marketplace installs and Module Builder needs to write module code into the theme.

In Page Builder on an adopted Marketplace theme, the Module Builder item in the rail is dimmed. Point to it and the app explains: Marketplace files are protected, so Module Builder is unavailable here. Build modules in a shared asset folder beside this theme, then place them with Add from folder. Get help asks the documentation assistant what to do. Nothing is wrong with the installation. The Marketplace theme is read-only.

You have two ways forward. Which one fits depends on whether your site is already built.

Your site is already built on the Marketplace theme

Keep the Marketplace theme and add a shared asset folder beside it. Module Builder works in the folder, and Page Builder can place the folder's modules on your existing Marketplace pages.

1. Create an installation in the same portal and turn on Install as a shared asset folder. A shared asset folder installs modules and their supporting files, not a full theme.
2. Open the shared asset folder in the app and use Module Builder to create or edit modules there.
3. If you have not already, adopt the Marketplace theme: select Add theme and choose A theme already in HubSpot.
4. Open the Marketplace installation, open a page in Page Builder, select Add modules in the rail, and choose Add from folder. Pick the module from the shared asset folder and place it on the page.
5. Publish the page as usual.

Your existing pages, templates, and theme settings stay on the Marketplace theme. Only the modules you build in the folder come from the app.

What the folder path cannot do

• Edit modules that came with the Marketplace theme. Those files stay locked. To change one, build a replacement in the shared asset folder and swap it in with Add from folder.
• Build pages in the folder. Pages stay on the Marketplace installation. The folder holds modules only.
• Restyle the Marketplace theme. Folder modules read colors, typography, and spacing from the theme they are placed on, so they match your site without extra setup.

Requirements

The shared asset folder relies on the base styles and theme settings of the Sprocket Rocket theme the page uses.

• The page must use a Sprocket Rocket Marketplace theme. Modules placed on a different Marketplace theme render without their layout and styles.
• The Marketplace theme should be on a recent version. On an older install, folder modules can appear unstyled or misaligned because the theme is missing base styles that newer modules expect. Update the Marketplace theme first, then add the module again.

Updating a theme carries some risk on a live site. Review important pages after the update and before you publish new modules.

You have not built the site yet

Create a normal app installation and build there from the start. The app installs its own Sprocket Rocket theme, which gives you Page Builder, Module Builder, Sprocket Rocket AI, updates, and backups without a folder beside the Marketplace theme.

Your Core or Stack purchase still counts. Connect the portal and the app assigns the matching license. See Connect a Marketplace purchase.

Moving pages does not move modules

There is no migration from a Marketplace theme to the app's theme.

• Installing the app's theme does not change existing pages.
• Changing a page's template to one from the app's theme does not change the modules on that page. The page still renders, because both themes share the Sprocket Rocket styles, but every module on it is still the Marketplace copy. Those stay locked, so Module Builder still cannot edit them.
• To move a page fully onto the app's theme, place the app's modules on it and remove the Marketplace ones.
• Do not uninstall the Marketplace theme while any page still uses its modules, including pages already on the app's template. Uninstalling deletes those modules and breaks the pages.

For a site that is already live, the shared asset folder path above is usually the better choice. It adds Module Builder without rebuilding pages.

Why is Module Builder unavailable on my Marketplace installation?

HubSpot protects the files of every theme installed from the Marketplace, so the app cannot write into them. Module Builder publishes module code into the installation, which needs writable files. Use a shared asset folder beside the Marketplace theme, or a separate app installation for a new site.

I edited a module in the app but my page did not change

The page is still using the Marketplace copy of that module. Changing a page's template to the app's theme does not swap the modules on it, so editing a module such as SR Hero 01 in the app's theme changes the app's copy, not the one on your page. The page keeps rendering because both themes share the same styles, which makes this easy to miss.

To see your edit on the page, place the app's version of the module on the page and remove the Marketplace one, or build the module in a shared asset folder and add it with Add from folder.

Do I need a child theme?

No. Child themes are neither required nor recommended for app-managed installations or for the shared asset folder path. The child theme guide exists for customizing a Marketplace theme's locked files without the app.