Maintaining a Clean Fork with Vite Includes

Maintaining a Clean LibreChat Fork with Vite Includes

If you’re customizing LibreChat (changing text, adding a hero banner on the login page, or applying custom styles) and want to keep upstream merges painless, this pattern works extremely well.

LibreChat uses Vite, which makes it easy to layer custom code on top of the core app instead of modifying it directly.

Why this approach works

Custom code lives outside LibreChat core
Upstream updates rarely conflict
Branding and features stay isolated
Only one or two small “hook” files are touched

Using a /custom folder + includes/imports achieves exactly that:

Upstream updates touch /client, /api, etc.
Your changes live in /custom
Only one or two small “hook” files are modified in core
Git merges stay clean

This is the same strategy used by WordPress child themes, Rails engines, and plugin-based architectures.

Recommended folder structure

At the repo root (or inside client/ if you prefer):

custom/
  config/
    branding.ts
    text.ts
  components/
    LoginHero.tsx
  styles/
    custom.css
    variables.css
  index.ts

Only lightly touch:

client/src/main.tsx
client/src/pages/Login.tsx

1. Create a single custom entry point

custom/index.ts

// custom/index.ts
import './styles/variables.css';
import './styles/custom.css';

export * from './config/branding';
export * from './config/text';

This becomes your one import into the LibreChat app.

2. Load custom code via Vite

Modify once in client/src/main.tsx

// client/src/main.tsx
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';

// ADD THIS LINE
import '../../custom';

import App from './App';

ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <App />
  </React.StrictMode>
);

✅ This file almost never changes upstream
✅ Merge conflicts are extremely unlikely

3. Custom styles without core edits

custom/styles/variables.css

/* custom/styles/variables.css */
:root {
  --brand-primary: #7c3aed;
  --brand-bg: #0f172a;
}

custom/styles/custom.css

/* custom/styles/custom.css */
body {
  background-color: var(--brand-bg);
}

.login-container {
  max-width: 1200px;
}

.custom-hero {
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, #7c3aed, #4f46e5);
  color: white;
  padding: 3rem;
  border-radius: 1rem;
}

Because this is imported via custom/index.ts, it loads globally without touching LibreChat CSS files.

4. Adding a Login Hero banner

custom/components/LoginHero.tsx

// custom/components/LoginHero.tsx
export default function LoginHero() {
  return (
    <div className="custom-hero">
      <h1>Welcome to AcmeChat</h1>
      <p>Secure AI conversations for your team.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Light touch in LibreChat login page

In client/src/pages/Login.tsx (or equivalent):

// client/src/pages/Login.tsx
import LoginHero from '../../../custom/components/LoginHero';

Then in JSX:

<div className="login-container">
  <LoginHero />
  <LoginForm />
</div>

📌 This is the only file likely to conflict, and conflicts are trivial to resolve.

5. Overriding text safely (no hardcoding)

`custom/config/text.ts`

// custom/config/text.ts
export const CUSTOM_TEXT = {
  loginTitle: 'Sign in to AcmeChat',
  loginSubtitle: 'Your private AI workspace',
};

Use it in LibreChat

import { CUSTOM_TEXT } from '../../../custom';

<h1>{CUSTOM_TEXT.loginTitle}</h1>
<p>{CUSTOM_TEXT.loginSubtitle}</p>

Later, if LibreChat adds i18n support or changes copy:

You only update your mapping
No refactoring needed

6. Optional: Vite alias for cleaner imports

In vite.config.ts:

// vite.config.ts
import path from 'path';

export default {
  resolve: {
    alias: {
      '@custom': path.resolve(__dirname, 'custom'),
    },
  },
};

import LoginHero from '@custom/components/LoginHero';
import { CUSTOM_TEXT } from '@custom';

Much cleaner and future-proof.

Merge safety score (important)

Area	Risk
`custom/` folder	🟢 Zero
`main.tsx` import	🟢 Very low
`Login.tsx` edit	🟡 Low
Core logic	🔴 None touched

This is exactly how you keep upstream merges painless.

Best Practices for Your Approach:

Keep customizations minimal: Only override what you need
Use CSS classes with custom prefixes: Always prefix with `custom-` or your organization name
Document your overrides: Keep a `custom/README.md` file
Version your custom folder: Consider making it a git submodule
Test after each merge: Always verify your customizations work after upstream updates

Other Best Practices for Your Approach:

Keep customizations minimal: Only override what you need
Use CSS classes with custom prefixes: Always prefix with `custom-` or your organization name
Document your overrides: Keep a `custom/README.md` file
Version your custom folder: Consider making it a git submodule
Test after each merge: Always verify your customizations work after upstream updates

Merge safety score

custom/ folder        → Zero risk
main.tsx import       → Very low risk
Login.tsx edit        → Low risk
Core logic changes    → None

This pattern keeps your LibreChat fork clean, maintainable, and easy to update while still allowing deep customization.

https://chat.deepseek.com/share/a7464sggmgm8n80d0p

https://chatgpt.com/share/69434125-8cf8-8007-b4ba-f4b1c0b344e6

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