Plugin types

The M in Moodle stands for modular, and the easiest, most maintainable way to add new functionality to Moodle is by writing a plugin using one of the many plugin APIs:

Plugin type	Component name	Moodle path	Description	Moodle versions
Activity modules	mod	/mod	Activity modules are the most important type of plugins. They provide activities in courses. For example: Forum, Quiz and Assignment.	All
Admin reports	report	/admin/report	Provides useful views of data in a Moodle site, for admins only.	Up to 2.1 (for 2.2+ see Reports)
Admin tools	tool	/admin/tool	Provides utility scripts useful for admins to examine and modify a Moodle site	2.2+
Assignment types	assignment	/mod/assignment/type	Different forms of assignments to be graded by teachers	1.x - 2.2
Authentication plugins	auth	/auth	Allows connection to external sources of authentication	2.0
Blocks	block	/blocks	Small information-displays or tools that can be moved around pages	2.0+
Course formats	format	/course/format	Different ways of laying out the activities and blocks in a course	1.3+
Course reports	coursereport	/course/report	Reports of activity within the course	Up to 2.1 (for 2.2+ see Reports)
Database fields	datafield	/mod/data/field	Different types of data that may be added to databases	1.6+
Database presets	datapreset	/mod/data/preset	Pre-defined templates for databases	1.6+
Editors	editor	/lib/editor	Alternative text editors for editing content	2.0+
Enrolment plugins	enrol	/enrol	Ways to control who is enrolled in courses	2.0+
Filters	filter	/filter	Automatically convert, highlight, and transmogrify text posted into Moodle.	1.4+
Gradebook export	gradeexport	/grade/export	Export grades in various formats	1.9+
Gradebook import	gradeimport	/grade/import	Import grades in various formats	1.9+
Gradebook reports	gradereport	/grade/report	Display/edit grades in various layouts and reports	1.9+
Grading methods	gradingform	/grade/grading/form	Interfaces for actually performing grading in activity modules (eg Rubrics).	2.2+
Local plugins	local	/local	Generic plugins for local customisations	2.0+
Messaging consumers	message	/message/output	Send messages to users via different methods (email, sms, jabber, etc)	2.0+
Plagiarism plugins	plagiarism	/plagiarism	Define external services to process submitted files and content	2.0+
Portfolio plugins	portfolio	/portfolio	Connect external portfolio services as destinations for users to store Moodle content	1.9+
Question behaviours	qbehaviour	/question/behaviour		2.1+
Question formats	qformat	/question/format		2.1+
Question types	qtype	/question/type		2.1+
Quiz reports	quiz	/mod/quiz/report	Perform analysis of quiz attempts	1.9+
Reports	report	/report	Provides useful views of data in a Moodle site for admins and teachers	2.2+
Repository plugins	repository	/repository	Connect to external sources of files to use in Moodle	2.0+
SCORM reports	scormreport	/mod/scorm/report	Analysis of SCORM attempts	2.2+
Themes	theme	/theme	Change the look of Moodle by changing the the HTML and the CSS. See also Themes 1.9.	2.0+
User profile fields	profilefield	/user/profile/field	Add new types of data to user profiles	1.9+
Webservice protocols	webservice	/webservice	Define new protocols for web service communication (such as SOAP, XML-RPC, JSON, REST ...)	2.0+
Workshop allocation strategies	workshopallocation	/mod/workshop/allocation		2.0+
Workshop evaluation plugins	workshopeval	/mod/workshop/eval		2.0+
Workshop grading forms	workshopform	/mod/workshop/form		2.0+

Other information that applies to all types of plugins:

• Where to put language strings for your plugin
• Defining the database tables for your plugin

See also

• Frankenstyle