Glossary
Look up a term the Sites documentation uses; each entry links the page that explains it.
Term
Meaning
Hub The installation's own hostname. It belongs to no site; platform administrators run all sites there. In code, the site with the ID default. Concepts
Site A context that answers on a hostname, or under a main site's hostname at a path prefix, with its own content, settings, languages, menus and people. Concepts
Main site A site with a hostname of its own. Hostnames and sub-sites
Sub-site A site that answers under its main site's hostname at a path prefix, like acme.example.com/jobs. Hostnames and sub-sites
Path prefix The first path segments under which a sub-site answers. Hostnames and sub-sites
Hostname alias A further hostname of a main site that redirects to its hostname. Hostnames and sub-sites
Site ID A site's machine name, set once when the site is created. Settings, settings.php entries and Drush commands name a site by it. Create a site
Site type The bundle a site is built from. It decides which settings, content and roles its sites offer, and their defaults. Site types
Disabled site A site that keeps everything but answers "Not Found" to visitors on its address. Disable and delete a site
Satellite A module in a project of its own that depends on Sites and adds one capability per site, like analytics or redirects. Write a satellite module
Settings
Term
Meaning
Setting One per-site value, like the site name or the theme. Settings are grouped in sections. Concepts
Layer One source of a setting's value: settings.php, environment, language, the site's own value, the site type default, the module default. The highest layer that sets a value wins. Setting layers
Environment A deployment stage, like staging or production, named on each server. A setting can hold one value per environment. Setting layers
Inherit A sub-site's setting left empty takes its main site's value, when the sub-site inherits settings. Setting layers
Configuration override A setting stored as the site's own value of a Drupal configuration key, like the site name. It applies on the site's address only. Setting layers
Setting plugin The code that declares a group of settings and its form. Setting plugins
Content
Term
Meaning
Membership Content or a user belonging to a site. Content can belong to several sites. Concepts
Canonical site The one site of a content item that holds its URL and whose people edit it. Concepts
Assignable content The site type rows that decide which content types belong to sites, and to how many at once. Content on sites
Auto-assigned content Content types whose new items start with the site preselected. Content on sites
Unassigned content Content of a type that belongs to sites, but of no site. Find content without a site
Isolation On a site's address, content of other sites answers "Not Found" and does not render inside pages. Content on sites
Language isolation On a site's address, only the languages the site speaks exist. Languages
Site filtering Listings and reference fields limited to the active site's content. Blocks and views
Per-site menu A menu whose links differ per site while the menu itself is shared. Content on sites
Override A site's own version of content whose canonical site is another site. Content overrides
Pin A field a site's override changed. It keeps the site's value until the override is reverted. Satellite APIs
Aspect Per-site data about content that belongs to an override, like a URL alias, a menu link or sitemap settings. Content overrides
Clone method What a site's clone gets of one content type: nothing, the same items, or copies. Clone a site
Cloning rules A site's clone method per content type, the defaults of its clone form. Clone a site
Preview A site's pages viewed from the hub at /preview/{site}. Preview
People and access
Term
Meaning
Platform role A role on the user account. It applies on the hub and on every site. Roles and permissions
Per-site role A role assigned to a user on one site. Its permissions apply while that site is active. Roles and permissions
Offered role A role a site may grant as a per-site role, set by the Assignable roles settings. Roles and permissions
Member A user who belongs to a site. Membership decides where editing reaches and grants no permission. Roles and permissions
Site manager A user who runs one site's members, settings and content through a per-site role. Delegate a site
Administration
Term
Meaning
Site dashboard A site's page at /admin/sites/{site}: its facts, launch checklist and section cards. Getting around
Section A per-site admin surface under /admin/sites/{site}/…, like a site's menus or its analytics. Getting around ; in code, Extension points
Launch checklist The steps on a new site's dashboard that take it live. Launch a site
Sites status report The platform report of what the Sites modules flag, at /admin/sites/reports/status. Troubleshooting
Access report Who holds which role on which site, and what the roles allow there. Access report
In code
Term
Meaning
Active site The site code runs as: the current_site service's getSite(). A switch or a preview changes it. The current site
Negotiated site The site the request arrived on, current_site's negotiated(). A switch leaves it unchanged. The current site
Pointed site The site a request names in its {site} route parameter or ?site_id, read through sites.pointed_site. The current site
Site switch Running code as another site, with site_switcher's call(). The current site
Site plugin The plugin behind a site: a site entity's, or one defined in code. Site plugins and site types