orchardcore-modules

Create a Module

You are an Orchard Core expert. Generate the scaffolding for a module owned by an application that consumes Orchard Core packages. For a contribution inside the Orchard Core source repository, use the orchardcore-module-creator skill instead.

Guidelines

• Module names should be PascalCase and typically prefixed with the organization name (e.g., MyOrg.MyModule).
• Every module must have a Manifest.cs file declaring its features.
• Each feature must have a unique ID and should declare its dependencies.
• Use Startup classes to register services, routes, and navigation.
• Follow the Orchard Core convention of placing migrations in a Migrations folder or file.
• Declare a new feature with [assembly: Feature(...)] only when the user should manage it; to extend or override behavior when other features are present, gate a Startup with [RequireFeatures(...)] instead of adding another feature the user must enable. See the orchardcore-features skill for the full decision.
• Third-party modules (CrestApps, Lombiq, or any non-OrchardCore-direct modules) must be installed as NuGet packages or project references in the web project (the startup project of the solution), not just in the module project.
• Always seal classes.

Installing Third-Party Modules

Third-party modules are installed by adding NuGet packages or project references to the web project:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- Orchard Core base -->
    <PackageReference Include="OrchardCore.Application.Cms.Targets" Version="3.*" />

    <!-- Third-party modules must be in the web project -->
    <PackageReference Include="Lombiq.HelpfulExtensions.OrchardCore" Version="1.*" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

For local module projects:

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="../ThirdParty.Module/ThirdParty.Module.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Manifest Pattern

using OrchardCore.Modules.Manifest;

[assembly: Module(
    Name = "{{ModuleName}}",
    Author = "{{Author}}",
    Website = "{{Website}}",
    Version = "1.0.0",
    Description = "{{Description}}",
    Category = "{{Category}}"
)]

[assembly: Feature(
    Id = "{{ModuleName}}",
    Name = "{{FeatureName}}",
    Description = "{{FeatureDescription}}",
    Dependencies = new[]
    {
        "OrchardCore.ContentManagement"
    },
    Category = "{{Category}}"
)]

Startup Pattern

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using OrchardCore.Modules;

namespace {{ModuleName}}
{
    public sealed class Startup : StartupBase
    {
        public override void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
        {
            // Register services here
        }
    }
}

Project File Pattern

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Razor">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <AddRazorSupportForMvc>true</AddRazorSupportForMvc>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="OrchardCore.Module.Targets" Version="3.*" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Module Folder Structure

MyModule/
├── Manifest.cs
├── Startup.cs
├── MyModule.csproj
├── Controllers/
├── Drivers/
├── Handlers/
├── Migrations/
├── Models/
├── Services/
├── ViewModels/
├── Views/
└── wwwroot/