Documentation Level: 
Advanced
Documentation Status: 
Incomplete

Manual Upload

  • Download the module from its source. First, locate the module you would like to install. Download a packaged version of the module that corresponds to your version of Backdrop.
  • Extract the files. The downloaded module package will be in a compressed file format such as 'tar.gz' and needs to be extracted to /modules or a subdirectory of /modules in the root directory. On Windows, use a program like 7-zip to extract the files. On modern Mac systems, double-click the .tar.gz file. For *nix systems, use the command line:tar -zxvf modulename.tar.gz
    You should see a list of files extracted into a folder.
  • Upload the module to your site. Move the extracted folder into the "modules" directory in your site root. You can do this using FTP, but we highly recommend using Git.

Note: If FTP is not enabled for your server, you may receive an error message. Backdrop will not be able to diagnose the problem, only tell you that there is one. It's up to you to determine whether your server is properly configured for FTP.

Enable and configure your new module

  • Read the directions. If the module has an installation file (README.md), read it for specific instructions. There are modules that require special treatment, and even modules that depend on other downloaded files to function properly.
  • Enable the module. Navigate to Administer > Functionality or http://example.com/admin/modules. Check the 'Enabled' box next to the module and then click the 'Save Configuration' button at the bottom. Note: If you are updating an existing module, you'll need to run the update script. Visit http://www.example.com/update.php, then click 'Continue' (after making a backup of your database.
  • Set up permissions. Some modules will require that you set permissions. Navigate to Administer > Extend and click on the 'Permissions' button for the desired module. You can go directly to the Permissions page (Administer > People > Permissions) and scroll down to see if the module appears in the list. If it does, give the appropriate permissions to desired roles.
  • Adjust settings. If the module has a settings page it can usually be located by navigating to the modules page (Administer > Extend) and clicking on the 'Configure' link for that module.

Note: You can only have one copy of a module with the same name in each Backdrop site. The module's name is determined by the name of the .module file, not by the name of the directory.