Theme Development Kit serves themes from a standard Finqu theme directory. Your project should follow the same layout used in production so that templates, assets, and configuration work as expected.

## Directory layout

A typical theme looks like this:

```
my-theme/
├── assets/            # CSS, JS, images, fonts
├── config/            # Theme configuration (settings schema and data)
├── layout/            # Layout templates (Liquid)
├── locales/           # Translation files (JSON)
├── sections/          # Section templates (Liquid)
├── snippets/          # Reusable template snippets (Liquid)
├── templates/         # Page templates (Liquid)
├── public/            # Static public files
└── finqu.config.json  # Optional Theme Development Kit / project config
```

- **`assets/`** — Stylesheets (including `.scss.liquid`), JavaScript, images, fonts, and other static files. The dev server compiles Sass and processes Liquid inside assets. See the [Assets](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/assets) article for details.
- **`config/`** — Theme configuration: `settings_schema.json` (structure of theme settings) and `settings_data.json` (current values). Required for a valid theme. See [Settings](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/settings) for schema and customization.
- **`layout/`** — Layout files such as `theme.liquid` that wrap page content. See [Templates & Layouts](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/templates-layouts) for how layouts and templates work together.
- **`locales/`** — JSON locale files (e.g. `en.json`) for translations and dynamic copy.
- **`sections/`** — Section Liquid files that define page building blocks. Sections can contain blocks and are the main structural units of a theme. See [Sections](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/sections) and [Theme structure](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/theme-structure).
- **`snippets/`** — Reusable Liquid fragments included from layouts, templates, or sections.
- **`templates/`** — Page templates (e.g. `frontpage.liquid`, `product.liquid`, `cart.liquid`) that map URLs to content. Described in [Templates & Layouts](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/templates-layouts).
- **`public/`** — Files served as-is (e.g. `robots.txt`, favicons).
- **`finqu.config.json`** — Optional project-level config for Theme Development Kit (e.g. port). Not part of the theme payload; see [Configuration and features](./configuration-and-features).

## Minimum required structure

To run a theme with Theme Development Kit you need at least:

- **`layout/theme.liquid`** — Main layout.
- **`config/settings_schema.json`** and **`config/settings_data.json`** — Theme settings definition and values.
- At least one template in **`templates/`** (e.g. `frontpage.liquid`).
- A locale file in **`locales/`** (e.g. `en.json`) for each language you use.

Optional but common: **`sections/`**, **`snippets/`**, **`blocks/`** (see [Blocks](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/blocks)), and **`assets/`** for styles and scripts.

## Learn more about Liquid themes

The [Liquid theme documentation](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/theme-structure) goes deeper into each directory, required files, and best practices:

- [Theme structure](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/theme-structure) — Directory overview, required files, and configuration.
- [Sections](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/sections) — Building and configuring sections.
- [Blocks](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/blocks) — Modular components inside sections.
- [Templates & Layouts](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/templates-layouts) — Page templates and layout hierarchy.
- [Assets](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/assets) — Styles, scripts, and referencing assets in Liquid.
- [Settings](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/settings) — Theme, section, and block settings.

For checkout-specific structure (when your plan supports it), see [Checkout (Plus)](/build-with-finqu/liquid-themes/checkout).