chore(repo): Add theming architecture reference

[alexcarpenter]

Description

Checklist

• pnpm test runs as expected.
• pnpm build runs as expected.
• (If applicable) JSDoc comments have been added or updated for any package exports
• (If applicable) Documentation has been updated

Type of change

• 🐛 Bug fix
• 🌟 New feature
• 🔨 Breaking change
• 📖 Refactoring / dependency upgrade / documentation
• other:

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
clerk-js-sandbox	Ready	Preview, Comment	May 19, 2026 10:09pm

[changeset-bot]

🦋 Changeset detected

Latest commit: d35b15a

The changes in this PR will be included in the next version bump.

This PR includes changesets to release 0 packages

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[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository YAML (base), Organization UI (inherited)

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 27a19ba0-4be8-41a6-90c8-b4c3398e5142

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 6a58966 and 67c2802.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .changeset/empty-oigyvq.md

✅ Files skipped from review due to trivial changes (1)

• .changeset/empty-oigyvq.md

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Adds a new theming architecture reference at references/theming-architecture.md and updates AGENTS.md with a "## References" pointer to it. The documentation explains appearance configuration, the cascade and variable-resolution pipeline, provider flow (StyleCacheProvider/AppearanceProvider/InternalThemeProvider), the makeCustomizable merge and classname generation, element descriptor targeting and theme composition, optional cssLayerName behavior, a data-flow diagram, and a key-files reference. Also adds a small changeset file.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~4 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• clerk/javascript#8566: Also modifies AGENTS.md; related because both touch the agent documentation and navigation.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 inconclusive)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Description check	❓ Inconclusive	The description contains only the standard contribution template without any actual details about the changes being made. It does not meaningfully describe the theming architecture reference being added.	Provide a brief description of what theming architecture reference was added, why it was needed, and how reviewers can verify the changes.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title 'chore(repo): Add theming architecture reference' clearly and concisely describes the main change: adding documentation about theming architecture to the repository.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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commit: 67c2802

[Ephem]

Nice, TIL! 🙏