> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.parable.work/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Palettes

> Style a Pane with plain CSS and classes in its React source.

## Sources

Docs: [Panes](/ponder/parables/pieces/panes), [Preferences](/ponder/parables/pieces/preferences), and [Policies](/ponder/parables/pieces/policies).

Web App: In **Pieces**, select a Pane and open its **Palette** panel.

## Story

A Palette stores ordinary CSS. A Pane or Page gives its elements `className`
values, and the preview loads the selected Palette stylesheet. Styling is a
renderer attachment; it is not application data passed into the ReactPlot.

## Structure

New Palettes open as `palette.css`. Write selectors for the classes in the
React source. The shared design system supplies the base styling; Palette CSS
can use ordinary selectors and CSS custom properties.

Panes on the same Page share the preview document and its normal CSS cascade.
Use specific class names to keep a Pane's rules local; global selectors such
as `:root` deliberately affect the shared document.

Author new Palette content as CSS. The renderer applies CSS stylesheets; a
TypeScript styling library is not a second Palette execution path.

## Storage

The Palette source is stored as a typed Preference containing CSS. The editor
saves the authored stylesheet with the Parable's draft, and its preview can
show unsaved source. A previewed draft is not a saved change.

A Palette source is capped at 256 KiB. Inspecting it uses `view.palette`;
changing it uses `edit.palette`. The shared Preference storage does not let
ordinary application-value permission authorize CSS changes.

CSS is attached to the selected renderer rather than passed as an editable
Palette prop. Styles delivered to a browser cannot be kept secret by hiding
the source editor.

## Reference

Generated Workspace API reference for this Piece:

* [Edit a Piece in Personal mode](/protocols/reference/web-api/parable-authoring-save-workspace-parable-primary)
* [Edit a Piece in Publishing mode](/protocols/reference/web-api/parable-authoring-save-workspace-parable-proposal)
* [Read a Parable's contents](/protocols/reference/web-api/parable-authoring-workspace-parable-primary-package)