Media System

Philosophy: Configuration-first approach to Drupal's media subsystem. This guide covers media types, view modes, display configuration, Media Library, and the critical strategy connecting media display to responsive image delivery. For custom media source plugin development, see drupal_media_types_guide.md. For image style and responsive image configuration, see drupal-image-styles.md.

I Need To...

Task	Guide
Understand when to use Media vs direct file/image fields	Media System Overview
Know what core media types provide	Core Media Types
Create a custom media type via config	Custom Media Type Configuration
Configure source field and metadata mapping	Media Fields & Field Mapping
Create view modes for different contexts (hero, card, thumbnail)	Media View Modes
Configure display formatters per view mode	Media Display Configuration
Connect media view modes to responsive images	The Responsive Image Strategy
Configure media upload forms	Media Form Display
Use Media Library widget in entity reference fields	Media Library Widget
Customize the Media Library view	Media Library Views
Enable and configure CKEditor media embedding	CKEditor Media Embedding
Control media access and permissions	Media Access & Permissions
Configure media reference fields	Media Reference Fields
Place media in Layout Builder	Media in Layout Builder
Display media in Views	Media in Views
Integrate focal point and crop for smart cropping	Focal Point & Crop Integration
Configure file storage for media	Media File System
Follow naming and configuration best practices	Best Practices & Patterns
Avoid common mistakes and anti-patterns	Anti-Patterns & Common Mistakes
Understand security and performance implications	Security & Performance
Find key classes, services, and files	Code Reference Map