Extension Manager 1.0.4 install again all extensions..

peopleinside

Flarum 1.8.7
PHP 8.3.12
Extension Manager v1.0.4

I have customized two Flarum extensions (edited the core extension code) because that extension never support what I need. This let me see the issue with the Extension Manager that I will explain here.

Example of customization done:
Extension FoF User Bio 1.4.0
File changed: https://discuss.flarum.org/d/17775-friendsofflarum-user-bio/130

Now let suppose I need install a new extension with the Extension Manager.
I go on the Flarum admin, extension manager and I insert the string of the extension to install then I run the command and I wait is done by the queue.

Once this has done the user-bio customization is lost and this because seems all extension are reinstalled?

I tried to do something that I discovered was wrong: to avoid every time to loose extension code customization I assigned the user-bio folder under vendor to the root user and root group. With this I was hoping that by adding an extension or updating Flarum the extension would not be touched and changed.

I knew a mistake could happen.

I tried to install or remove and extension with the Extension Manager and get the community broken.

The community that was no more reachable.
I was in the SFTP vendor folder and what I saw all extension was removed except two.

For resolve this I run composer update with the correct not root user and changed back the two folders permission removing the root assignment and do again composer update. All is back to normal but... I discovered that maybe when an extension is installed or removed with the Extension Manager all other extension are also affected / reinstalled. I think this should not happen.

If I edited the user-bio and I add or remove an extension from the Extension Manager, I suppose I should not loose the edits I do on the user-bio but this is what is happening.

SychO

This is intentional. The extension manager reinstalls dependencies into a temporary folder. Then replaces the vendor folder at the end. This is to prevent the forum from crashing when someone is browsing during installation.

You should not make changes to files inside vendor. You should make a custom fork, or custom extension, ..etc and install that instead.

peopleinside

Oh thanks for let me know.
Unfortunately I'm not a developer or for sure I will do this.

Create an extension is much hard and complex that a simple edits.
For example it's easy to open a link in a new tab but if I need do this with a custom extension I need a lot of folders, file and programming. Also I need maybe compile Js as well.

Thanks in any case for informing me is a wanted behaviour 🙂

You think I can fork sticky and user-bio and use that instead of the original?
Hum... I have to see if this is not hard to do and never risk to broken the community ^_^

If I remember well I tried in the past to fork sticky and use the fork but was not able to do!

peopleinside

I have stopped to use the extension manager to update Flarum and the extension because with composer I have less issues.
With the extension manager I need use the queue system that let me wait every time 1 minutes before the check update command is done then another minute to update and, the most big issue is that all extension are updated so I loose any change I made.

Also if I prefer to have a function in the UI to manage updates, composer give less issues.
It's not a comfy process login to SSH and surf until going on the Flarum folder and lunch the relative composer commands but still be better (more quick and safe) of using the extension manager, on my experience.

With composer update I update just the extension I need or all extension that need, immediately without loose any change done in the other active and not updated extension.