---
date: 2014-05-12T10:09:34Z
menu:
  main:
    parent: themes
next: /themes/creation
prev: /themes/usage
title: Customizing a Theme
weight: 40
---

Hugo themes permit you to supplement or override any template or file
from within your working directory.

## Replacing Static files

If you would like to include a different file than the theme ships
with.. For example you would like to use a more recent version of jquery
then the theme happens to include simply place an identically name file in the same
relative location but in your working directory. For example if the
theme has jquery 1.6 in /themes/themename/static/js/jQuery.min.js, simply place your file
in the same relative path /static/js/jQuery.min.js.

## Replace a single template file

Anytime Hugo looks for a matching template it will first check the
working directory before looking in the theme directory. If you would
like to modify a template simply create that template in your local
layouts directory. In the [template documentation](/templates/overview)
each different template type explains the rules it uses to determine
which template to use.

This is especially helpful when the theme creator used [partial
templates](/templates/partials). These partial templates are perfect for easy
injection into the theme with minimal maintenance to ensure future
compatibility.

**warning.. This only works for templates that Hugo knows about. If the
theme imports template files in a creatively named directory
Hugo won’t know to look for the local /layouts first**

## Replace an archetype

If the archetype that ships with the theme for a given content type (or
all content types) doesn’t fit with how you are using the theme, feel
free to copy it to your /archetypes directory and make modifications as
you see fit.

## Beware of the default

**Default** is a very powerful force in Hugo... Especially as it pertains to
overwriting theme files. If a default is located in the local archetype
directory or /layouts/\_default/ directory it will be used instead of
any of the similar files in the theme. 

It is usually better to override specific files rather than using the
default in your working directory.