# P5 manager -- customizing files

**URL:** <https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148>\
**Category:** p5.js\
**Created:** [March 29, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148 "2020-03-29T16:05:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![r8th](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/r8th/32/5105_2.png) [@r8th](https://discourse.processing.org/u/r8th)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/1 "2020-03-29T16:05:34Z")

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hi!

I’ve been exploring p5 Manager. Does anyone know if there is a way to get it to create a customized files? For example, I’d like to use it to create a separate CSS file rather than have it write the style into the html file. I’d also like to use it to create html files with specific customized content, relevant to the courses I am teaching and using the files for. I have reviewed info in the repository but I don’t believe that doing this is described there. Also, I’m just curious if people are still using p5 manager, now that the p5 editor is fully operational.

Thanks!

r

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**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/2 "2020-04-03T20:34:38Z")

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Is this what you are referring to?

> **[p5-manager](https://www.npmjs.com/package/p5-manager)**
>
> A p5js template builder and sketch manager. Built for p5js enthusiasts.. Latest version: 1.4.0, last published: 2 years ago. Start using p5-manager in your project by running \`npm i p5-manager\`. There are no other projects in the npm registry using...

I wasn’t familiar with it – although I’m primarily Java / Python / R modes.

> I’m just curious if people are still using p5 manager, now that the p5 editor is fully operational.

By that, I assume you mean [https://editor.p5js.org/](https://editor.p5js.org/) ? Or is that a different npm package?

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**Author:** ![r8th](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/r8th/32/5105_2.png) [@r8th](https://discourse.processing.org/u/r8th)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/3 "2020-04-04T22:51:40Z")

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Hello and yes — that is the p5-manager I am referring to! And yes, when I made a vague reference to “the editor” , I was referring to the browser based [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org).

The p5-manager was released maybe a couple years before the recent official release of [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org) (although my timing may be incorrect). The [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org) creates an associated CSS file, and writes it into the HTML. Whereas, the p5 manager does not create the CSS.

My original question was asking if there is a way to customize what the manager creates (ie, a CSS and the HTML that would include the link, similar to what [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org) does, through the browser). I am new to p5, but I think I prefer the idea of being able to work with files running and saved locally on my machine, rather than through the [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org) browser option.

I hope this question makes sense…

I learned about the p5-manager on a Shiffman video, created in 2017… here:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LdWleSHQTcw/maxresdefault.jpg "9.21: p5-manager - p5.js Tutorial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdWleSHQTcw)

Thank you for any thoughts!

r

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**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/4 "2020-04-04T22:58:49Z")

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I haven’t played with manager, but one suggestion – you could consider using a VM technology like a Docker container and running an [editor.p5js.org](http://editor.p5js.org) instance on a localhost port.

Then you get the latest features and UI as they roll out by updating the container (because there is active development there, such as new GSOC projects coming) but you get local control and local data.

I haven’t tried doing this with editor yet, but that’s what I personally would try first.

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**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/5 "2020-04-04T23:00:48Z")

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…looks like the development team are already using docker for local hosting as part of both development and continuous integration. So you wouldn’t even need to define the container.

- [https://github.com/processing/p5.js-web-editor/search?q=docker&unscoped\_q=docker](https://github.com/processing/p5.js-web-editor/search?q=docker&unscoped_q=docker)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![r8th](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/r8th/32/5105_2.png) [@r8th](https://discourse.processing.org/u/r8th)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/p5-manager-customizing-files/19148/6 "2020-04-05T16:53:26Z")

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hrmmm… thanks alot jeremydouglass! i’ll look into that!!