Templates control what the generated BBCode looks like when a gallery upload completes. They use placeholders that get replaced with actual gallery data, and support conditional logic to show or hide sections based on available data.
Open the template manager from Settings > Templates or the Templates button in the quick settings panel.
BBDrop ships with two built-in templates:
Built-in templates are read-only. To customize, click Copy to duplicate one as a starting point, or Create New to start from scratch.
!!! tip The Extended Example template demonstrates every placeholder and conditional feature — it’s the best starting point for learning the syntax.
Placeholders use #name# syntax and are replaced with gallery data when BBCode is generated:
| Placeholder | Description |
|—|—|
| #folderName# | Gallery name |
| #pictureCount# | Number of successfully uploaded images |
| #folderSize# | Total gallery size (e.g., “125.3 MB”) |
| #extension# | Most common file extension (e.g., “JPG”) |
| Placeholder | Description |
|—|—|
| #width# | Average image width in pixels |
| #height# | Average image height in pixels |
| #longest# | Longest dimension (max of width and height) |
| Placeholder | Description |
|—|—|
| #galleryLink# | Gallery URL on the image host |
| #allImages# | BBCode for all uploaded images (thumbnail linked to full size) |
| #hostLinks# | File host download links (empty if no file hosts used) |
| Placeholder | Description |
|—|—|
| #custom1# to #custom4# | User-defined fields, editable in the gallery table |
| #ext1# to #ext4# | Fields populated by external programs via hooks |
The template editor has placeholder buttons for quick insertion, and typing triggers autocomplete suggestions.
Wrap content in [if] blocks to show it only when a placeholder has a value:
[if galleryLink]Gallery: #galleryLink#[/if]
Use [else] for fallback content:
[if hostLinks]
Download: #hostLinks#
[else]
No downloads available
[/if]
Compare against a specific value:
[if extension=JPG]High-quality JPG gallery[/if]
Conditionals can be nested and work across multiple lines. The template editor includes a Conditional Insert helper and a Validate Syntax button to check for errors.
[center][size=4][b]#folderName#[/b][/size]
[size=2]#pictureCount# images | #extension# | #width#x#height# | #folderSize#[/size][/center]
#allImages#
[if galleryLink][b]Gallery:[/b] #galleryLink#[/if]
[if hostLinks]
[b]Download:[/b]
#hostLinks#
[/if]
[if custom1]Tags: #custom1#[/if]
The #hostLinks# placeholder expands using each file host’s own BBCode format (configured in the file host settings). That format supports its own placeholders:
| Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
#link# |
Download URL |
#hostName# |
Host display name (e.g., “Rapidgator”) |
#partLabel# |
Part label for split archives (e.g., “Part 1”) |
#partNumber# |
Part number (1, 2, 3…) |
#partCount# |
Total number of parts |
Each gallery has a template assignment (shown in the Template column). Change it by clicking the cell and selecting from the dropdown, or right-click multiple galleries and use Set template to… for bulk changes.
When you change a template, rename a gallery, or update custom fields, BBCode can be regenerated from the original upload data:
Regeneration works from the saved JSON artifact, so no re-upload is needed.
!!! warning If you delete the JSON artifact file, BBCode can no longer be regenerated for that gallery. Keep central storage enabled to maintain a backup copy.
Custom templates are saved as .template.txt files in your central storage directory (~/.bbdrop/templates/ by default). They can be backed up and shared between installations.