Twitter Bootstrap Customization Best Practices

Question

I'm working with Bootstrap 2.0.3 using LESS. I want to customize it extensively, but I want to avoid making changes to the source whenever possible as changes to the libraries are frequent. I am new to LESS so I don't know how its compilation entirely works. What are some best practices for working with LESS or LESS based frameworks?

Answer 1

My solution is similar jstam's, but I avoid making changes to the source files when possible. Given that the changes to bootstrap will be frequent, I want to be able to pull down the latest source and make minimal changes by keeping my modifications in separate files. Of course, it's not completely bullet proof.

1. Copy the bootstrap.less and variables.less to the parent directory. Rename bootstrap.less to theme.less or whatever you want. Your directory directory structure should look like this:

   /Website            
        theme.less
        variables.less
        /Bootstrap
        ...
   

2. Update all the references in theme.less to point to bootstrap sub-directory. Ensure that your variables.less is referenced from the parent and not the bootstrap directory like so:

   ...
   // CSS Reset
   @import "bootstrap/reset.less";
   
   // Core variables and mixins
   @import "variables.less"; // Modify this for custom colors, font-sizes, etc
   @import "bootstrap/mixins.less";
   
   // Grid system and page structure
   @import "bootstrap/scaffolding.less";
   @import "bootstrap/grid.less";
   @import "bootstrap/layouts.less";
   

   ...

3. Add your CSS overrides in the theme.less file immediately after where they are included.

   ...
   // Components: Nav
   @import "bootstrap/navs.less";
   @import "bootstrap/navbar.less";
   
   // overrides
   .navbar-fixed-top .navbar-inner, .navbar-fixed-bottom .navbar-inner {
       border-radius: 0 0 0 0;
       padding: 10px;
   }
   
   .nav-tabs, .nav-pills {
       text-transform: uppercase;
   }
   
   .navbar .nav > li > a {
       text-shadow: none;
   }
   
   ...
   

4. Link to theme.less instead of bootstrap.less in your HTML pages.

Whenever a new version comes out, your changes should be safe. You should also do a diff between your custom bootstrap files whenever a new version comes out. Variables and imports may change.