Installing plugins

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There are optional plugins available that can extend Moodle in all sorts of ways - new activities, new quiz question types, new reports, integrations with other systems and many more. This page gives some important advice you should consider before adding them and general advice on how to install them.

You should always look for a 'readme' file or other documentation supplied with the plugin and read that carefully.

Before you do anything else...

VERY IMPORTANT: There is no formal system for reviewing and approving Moodle plugins. Please be careful when considering using one. It may not do what you expect, it may have serious security issues or it may even not work at all.

Do you really need the plugin? More functionality means more things to support, more things to (potentially) go wrong and more things to worry about at upgrade time.
Is the plugin supported and maintained? If something goes wrong can you get support? Will bugs be fixed?
If the plugin does not work in a future version of Moodle, what will you do about it?
Beware of patches! If a plugin modifies or replaces core files then be very careful. It can only be guaranteed to work with the exact build (version) of Moodle it was created for and is highly unlikely to survive a Moodle upgrade.

Moodle requirements

You must have access to your Moodle code files to upload or install the plugin. If you installed Moodle in the first place then you should be fine. There is no way to install plugins through the web interface.
Your plugin may impose additional requirements on the server. In particular, plugins to access other systems or services may need specific PHP plugins (e.g. LDAP or other database drivers). Check the documentation.

Downloads

Contributed modules and plugins may be downloaded from...:

the Modules Plugins Directory

...at the time of writing the "old" plugin directory is still available - some plugins have not been moved over:

NOTE: Make sure you select the correct version. Most plugins for Moodle 2.0+ will work in all 2.x versions of Moodle. Question Types changed in Moodle 2.1 and require specific plugins for Moodle 2.1+. Plugins (& Themes) for Moodle 1.9 and earlier will NOT work. There is no point trying!

Module installation

First, establish the correct place in the moodle code 'tree' for the plugin. Some plugins need installed in multiple locations. To complicate matters not everybody packages up plugins in the same way. It's best to unzip/unpack the plugin in an empty directory first just to see what it looks like and to check for 'readme' files. Common locations are (there are others):

/path/to/moodle/mod/ - modules (i.e. activities and resources)
/path/to/moodle/blocks/ - blocks (in the sidebars)
/path/to/moodle/question/type/ - questiontypes
/path/to/moodle/course/format/ - course formats
/path/to/moodle/admin/report/ - admin reports
/path/to/moodle/theme/ - themes

Then:

Download the zip file
Upload or copy it to your Moodle server
Unzip it in the right place for the plugin type (or follow plugin instructions).
In your Moodle site (as admin) go to Settings > Site administration > Notifications (you should, for most plugin types, get a message saying the plugin is installed):
Test the plugin

Installation trouble-shooting

If you visit the admin page and don't get a message about a new block (or module) being successfully installed then check the following:

The new block folder is named correctly. For example, the Learning Resources block folder should be named "learning_resources" (not "learning_resources_block").
The new block folder is not contained within another folder. For example, unzipping block_learning_resources.zip results in a folder named "block_learning_resources" containing a folder named "blocks" containing a folder named "learning_resources". If it's easier, just copy and paste the folder named "learning_resources" into the blocks folder of your Moodle site.

If you browse the blocks folder of your Moodle site, you'll notice that all the blocks follow a pattern - the activity_modules folder contains a file block_activity_modules.php, the calendar_month folder contains a file block_calendar_month.php, the learning_resources folder contains a file block_learning_resources.php etc. Modules follow a similar pattern.

Module and block removal

To remove a contributed module:

Access Administration > Modules > Activities > Manage activities (or Administration > Modules > Activities in versions of Moodle prior to 1.9).
Click on delete next to the module you wish to remove.
Use a file manager to remove/delete the actual module directory from moodle/mod, otherwise Moodle will reinstall it next time you access the site administration.

To remove a contributed block:

Access Administration > Modules > Blocks > Manage blocks (or Administration > Modules > Blocks in versions of Moodle prior to 1.9).
Click on delete next to the block you wish to remove.
Use a file manager to remove/delete the actual module directory from moodle/blocks, otherwise Moodle will reinstall it next time you access the site administration.

Documentation