Umbraco Controllers

What is it?

Controllers are separate classes that contain or reuse logic across elements while maintaining connection to an element's lifecycle. A Controller is assigned to a Host Element and supports lifecycle methods (hostConnected, hostDisconnected, destroy) for managing side effects, timers, subscriptions, and cleanup. Controllers can host other controllers, enabling composition and reuse of functionality.

Documentation

Always fetch the latest docs before implementing:

• Main docs: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/foundation/umbraco-controller
• Write Custom Controller: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/foundation/umbraco-controller/write-your-own-controller
• Foundation: https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/foundation

Workflow

1. Fetch docs - Use WebFetch on the URLs above
2. Ask questions - Need custom controller? What lifecycle events? What cleanup needed?
3. Generate code - Implement controller extending UmbControllerBase based on latest docs
4. Explain - Show what was created and how to host it