rock-advanced - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: rock-advanced description: "Use when a Rock RMS staff developer is building inside Rock day to day — authoring Lava templates and shortcodes, writing Helix blocks, designing and building Rock-powered websites, writing custom SQL reports or dataview filters, and theming/styling. Covers Lava (filters, tags, commands, shortcodes), Helix, Designing and Building Websites Using Rock, Styling, the SQL Style Guide, Dynamic LINQ syntax, and shortcode authoring." metadata: generator: rockumentation-skill-builder generatedAt: 2026-06-14T10:15:12.006Z sources: - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/Lava" label: Lava note: "Filters, tags, commands, shortcodes — the templating language used everywhere in Rock." - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/developer/helix" label: Helix note: "Helix block framework: HTMX, Lava applications, Lava commands, forms, strategies." - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/documentation/bookcontent/14/370" label: Designing and Building Websites Using Rock - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/styling" label: Styling note: "Rock's design system, theming, and CSS conventions." - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/developer/sql-style-guide" label: SQL Style Guide note: House style for SQL written against the Rock database. - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/developer/dynamic-linq-syntax" label: Dynamic LINQ Syntax note: "Filter syntax used in dataviews, reports, and Lava Where filters." - url: "https://community.rockrms.com/developer/the-long-short-on-shortcodes" label: Lava Shortcodes note: Authoring custom Lava shortcodes.

This skill bundles 73 references from 7 sources. Load topics on demand via the index below.

Topics

Lava

Filters, tags, commands, shortcodes — the templating language used everywhere in Rock.

Lava — Use when you need to understand Lava templating syntax, output markup, filters, tags, or how to dynamically generate content in Rock
Lava Style Guide — Use when formatting Lava code, configuring indentation and whitespace, naming variables, or styling comments and HTML attributes
Text Filters — Use when you need to manipulate text strings like appending, capitalizing, converting case, encrypting/decrypting, or setting default values
Date Filters — Use when converting dates to UTC format or formatting dates with custom patterns like day/month/year/time elements
Numeric Filters — Use when you need to perform mathematical operations on numbers like absolute value, rounding, division, min/max limits, or converting integers to enum values
Color Filters — Use when applying dynamic color transformations like hue adjustment, lightening, darkening, desaturation, opacity changes, or grayscale conversion to UI elements
Arrays — Use when working with array and dictionary operations like adding items, retrieving keys, or removing null values from collections
Person — Use when you need to retrieve or format a person's address by type (home, work, mailing, map location) with optional custom formatting templates
Attributes — Use when working with Rock Attributes in Lava—accessing attribute values, retrieving specific properties, handling attribute security, or working with nested attribute objects
Other — Use when you need to add CSS links, JavaScript files, meta tags, or custom headers to a Rock page in Lava
If / Else — Use when you need to implement conditional logic with if/elsif/else statements or compare values in Lava templates
For — Use when building loops in Lava templates to iterate over arrays, control iterations, or access loop helper variables like index and first/last flags
Lava — Use when working with Rock's Fluid Lava engine to understand the reversed-syntax lava tag for logic-heavy code with less repetitive bracket notation
Adaptive Message — Use when retrieving personalized adaptive messages for individuals in message or category mode using Lava commands
Cache — Use when configuring caching strategies for Lava commands to improve performance, including setting cache keys, duration, and handling personalized cached content
Calendar Events — Use when you need to retrieve upcoming calendar events from a specific calendar, optionally filtered by audience, campus, or date range
Entity — Use when querying Rock entities like People, Groups, and Transactions with Lava parameters such as where, filtering, sorting, limiting results, or applying security settings
Event Scheduled Instance — Use when querying recurring event instances, scheduling calendars, or displaying upcoming event occurrences with iCal pattern support
Interaction Content Channel Item Write — Use when logging content channel item interactions programmatically or tracking user engagement with content channel items using Lava commands
Interaction Intent Write — Use when you need to log interaction records for intents in Rock using the InteractionIntentWrite Lava command
Interaction Write — Use when you need to log interaction records in Lava with channel type, component, and entity details
Personalize — Use when configuring conditional content display based on visitor segments, demographics, device type, location, or request parameters
Print ZPL — Use when you need to send ZPL commands to Zebra label printers or configure printer device IDs and IP addresses in Lava templates
Search — Use when building search queries in Lava to filter Rock entities by query terms, entity types, and field criteria with various matching strategies
SQL — Use when querying or modifying database data using SQL within Lava templates, including SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE commands
Stylesheet — Use when adding custom CSS styles to a page header or styling content conditionally using the stylesheet Lava command
Web Request — Use when configuring advanced Web Request parameters like headers, authentication, request body, content types, timeout, or HTTP method
Workflow Activate — Use when you need to launch a new workflow or activate activities on existing workflows using Lava commands
Authoring Shortcodes — Use when learning to create custom shortcodes in Lava, choosing shortcode types, or configuring shortcode parameters
Using Lava Remotely — Use when integrating Lava templates with external websites or applications outside of Rock using REST API calls
Creating APIs Using Lava — Use when building custom APIs in Rock using Lava templates and webhooks to respond to HTTP requests
Workflows and Lava — Use when building Rock workflows and needing to understand attribute value storage formats, field types, and how to access raw data identifiers in Lava

Helix

Helix block framework: HTMX, Lava applications, Lava commands, forms, strategies.

Overview — Use when building dynamic web pages with HTMX, creating Lava Applications and endpoints, or using Lava Commands for data modification in Rock's Helix framework
Endpoints — Use when building or configuring endpoints in Rock Lava applications, including setting up HTTP methods, security modes, caching, and accessing merge fields
Loading Indicator — Use when implementing loading indicators and spinners for HTMX requests in Rock applications

Designing and Building Websites Using Rock

Designing and Building Websites Using Rock — Use when addressing concerns or objections about adopting Rock RMS as a content management system
Adding Content to Rock — Use when adding new pages or blocks to a Rock website from the external site interface
Managing Content and Pages — Use when users need guidance on page load time monitoring, admin toolbar features, or managing website pages and blocks in Rock CMS
HTML Content Block — Use when users need guidance on editing HTML content blocks in Rock, including editor modes, date-range settings, and WYSIWYG vs code editor options
Content Component — Use when designing website page layouts with reusable content templates that allow editors to add formatted content without HTML knowledge
Content Channels — Use when creating or configuring structured content types in Rock, such as blogs, bulletins, ads, and custom content containers for dynamic website content
Content Collections — Use when user needs to create, configure, or customize a Content Collection View block for searching and filtering across multiple content channels
Working With Images — Use when configuring image file types in Rock, setting dimensions and transformations, or optimizing image performance with GetImage.ashx parameters
Asset Manager System — Use when configuring cloud storage providers (AWS S3, Azure, Google Cloud, local file system) for Rock's Asset Management System
Landing Pages — Use when user wants to create a focused single-topic page for events, registrations, or calls-to-action in Rock
Creating A New Site — Use when configuring and managing Rock website sites, including activation status, site attributes, page attributes, and setting up new sites in the CMS
Getting Social — Use when optimizing Rock website pages for social media sharing with meta tags and page descriptions
Using Context — Use when implementing context-aware content in Rock pages, such as displaying dynamic group-specific information or configuring HTML blocks to access contextual data through query parameters
Personalization — Use when setting up and configuring personalization segments to display dynamic content based on visitor characteristics, behaviors, or Rock database attributes
Font Awesome 5 — Use when configuring Font Awesome Pro in Rock or understanding free vs. Pro icon features and font weights
Designing Themes — Use when you need to understand the structure and components of Rock themes, including directories, assets, layouts, scripts, styles, and how to create a custom theme using the Stark template
Persisted Datasets — Use when needing to understand how to cache and reuse large datasets in Rock using the PersistedDataset Lava filter for performance optimization
Caching for Rock Websites — Use when understanding what content types can be cached in Rock websites and how different caching mechanisms work
Publishing Digital Media — Use when embedding videos on Rock websites using the Media Player Lava shortcode with analytics tracking and content channel integration
Content Library — Use when user needs to browse, search, download, or manage shared church content from Rock's Content Library through the Library Viewer interface
Interactive Experiences — Use when creating engaging real-time interactive experiences for church services via Rock Mobile, including polls, Q&A, and managing live audience participation

Styling

Rock's design system, theming, and CSS conventions.

Cards — Use when styling card components with headers, footers, content sections, images, and layout options
Panels — Use when styling panel components with headings, icons, and tables in Rock using HTML or lava shortcodes
Rock Badges — Use when implementing or styling Rock badges including standard, icon, fraction, overlay, and label badge types in Rock V14+
Avatars — Use when user needs to implement or configure avatar images for person records in Rock, including styling options, avatar types, and customization settings
Typography — Use when styling text elements, controlling font sizes, text alignment, colors, case transformations, or formatting inline text in Rock UI
Buttons — Use when styling buttons with different colors, sizes, and states in Rock UI components
Grids — Use when user needs to understand Rock's responsive grid system, layout containers, columns, breakpoints, or how to structure page layouts
CSS Grids — Use when designing responsive multi-column layouts, configuring grid gaps, or controlling how content spans across grid cells
Aspect Ratios — Use when styling elements with fixed aspect ratios like video, square, portrait, or landscape containers
Borders — Use when styling element borders, border colors, or applying rounded corners to components
Colors — Use when applying background colors, text colors, or border colors to elements in Rock design system
Display — Use when styling element visibility, hiding/showing content at specific screen sizes, or applying display property values responsively
Flexbox — Use when styling flexible layouts, aligning flex items on main/cross axes, or setting flex direction and item distribution with CSS utility classes
Spacing — Use when you need to apply margin or padding utilities to elements, or find spacing class names and their pixel values

SQL Style Guide

House style for SQL written against the Rock database.

SQL Style Guide — Use when writing SQL queries, migrations, or code examples that need to follow Rock's SQL formatting and style conventions

Dynamic LINQ Syntax

Filter syntax used in dataviews, reports, and Lava Where filters.

Dynamic LINQ Syntax — Use when writing Dynamic LINQ queries for Entity Search in Rock API v2 or Lava Entity Commands with Where, Select, Grouping, and Ordering expressions

Lava Shortcodes

Authoring custom Lava shortcodes.

Intro to Shortcodes — Use when user needs to understand what shortcodes are, how they simplify Lava syntax, or wants to learn shortcode development basics