Core Concepts

Before diving into implementation, understanding the foundational concepts behind Unchained Engine will help you make better architectural decisions and extend the platform effectively.

Key Concepts

Architecture

Learn about Unchained Engine's layered architecture and how the different layers interact.

Director/Adapter Pattern

The plugin system that powers Unchained Engine's extensibility. Understanding this pattern is essential for customizing payment, delivery, pricing, and other behaviors.

Order Lifecycle

How orders transition from cart to fulfillment, including the checkout process, payment handling, and delivery.

Pricing System

How prices are calculated using a chain of pricing adapters, including product pricing, delivery fees, payment fees, taxes, and discounts.

Authentication

Authentication patterns including guest users, registered users, and external identity providers (OIDC).

Unchained Engine is free and open source, code-first (configuration through code, not control panels), and headless (a storefront-agnostic GraphQL API).