You can build a complete Joomla 5 template without touching a Joomla install

Not exactly — and this part matters, Joey.

You still need to know what you want. The AI doesn't design for you. It doesn't make architectural decisions. It builds what you describe, and if you describe nothing, you get nothing useful. But the PHP layer, the XML manifest, the directory structure, the module position declarations — yes, Claude Code handles those. You describe the visual behaviour and layout logic in plain language, it writes the implementation.

The learning curve is writing good prompts, not memorising Joomla's architecture. That's a much faster and more rewarding path in. Start with the Kit, get the claude.ai subscription sorted — you need Pro for any real session depth — and spend a few hours with the training documentation. You'll be building within a week.

What Kate said. And one more thing: this isn't a shortcut past understanding — it's a different kind of understanding. You go wide instead of deep initially. You learn what the system does at the surface, you describe what you need at that surface, and the AI handles the implementation layer below.

The depth comes later, when you've seen the patterns enough times to understand them. The Kit accelerates that curve significantly. Mess with the best.