Can I modify an extension?

neon_eddie

I am always looking to tweak things to make things work or look the way I want.

My Question: If I update an extension (for example FoF Pages). Will this get overwritten by something if I don't remove or update the extension?

I learned the hard way, within minutes of updating the forum.css, it was magically overwritten. Not sure why that would be. I don't get this Composer thing at all. I miss the days of having a single php page do what I want, and I knew where to go and make changes.

A secondary and possibly mor important question would be...How can I stop file from being overwritten? Is there a setting or something that triggers magical updates? For example if I install an extension (through Extension Manager of course), do other non-related files get updated?

I know there is a manual Check for Updates button at the bottom of the Extension Manager.

PS. what I am trying to tweak is...I am trying to remove the ID number from the beginning of the slug. For example,

instead of /p/2-terms-of-service I would prefer /p/terms-of-service. Or even better /terms-of-service

huseyinfiliz

neon_eddie Unless you fork an extension, yes — any changes you make to Flarum's core code or an extension will be magically overwritten.

It’s a good idea to take a look at https://docs.flarum.org/extend/

neon_eddie

huseyinfiliz Thanks. I don't know what that means, but perhaps me and my AI friends will figure it out.

KBExit

neon_eddie I would suggest not to use AI.

Fork: In github you can "Fork" a repository to your account.
That way, whatever changes you make on an extension, doesn't override with updates by either the extension developer or the core of Flarum from the Development Team.

If you have to use AI for all of your answers, I suggest that you don't move forward until you know your way around everything. This way, you don't render an issue on your production site.

clarkwinkelmann

The particular change you're describing might not be the simplest, you will probably need to edit multiple files and maybe even the database schema.

But no matter the complexity, the approach stays the same. You make a copy of the extension, and install it as a development copy, following the Flarum developer guide.

If you share your changes with multiple forums/customers, or follow a CI/CD deployment process, you might want to rename the extension to give it a unique name, and publish it internally through a private Composer repository, or as a separate open-source extension on Packagist.

neon_eddie

clarkwinkelmann Basically I was looking for this answer. "Copy the extension, and install it as a development copy."