Dolibarr Development

Dolibarr Developer Skill

When to Use

• Creating or extending a Dolibarr module (custom or external)
• Implementing hooks (actions_mymodule.class.php) or triggers
• Writing DAO/business object classes, SQL table definitions
• Adding menus, tabs, permissions, boxes, exports, CSS/JS
• Building cron/command-line scripts
• Writing PDF/ODT document templates
• Following Dolibarr coding rules (PHP, SQL, HTML norms)

Key Concepts

Architecture

• MVC pattern: Controller (/* Actions */) + View (/* View */) in same PHP file
• Active Record ORM: one class per table with CRUD methods
• Global objects: $db, $user, $conf, $langs, $mysoc, $hookmanager, $extrafields
• Module location: external modules live in htdocs/custom/mymodule/
• Table prefix: all tables prefixed llx_

Module Entry Points

Step-by-Step: Build a Module

1. Generate Skeleton

Use the built-in Module Builder (enable it in Setup → Modules, then click the bug icon top-right). It generates modMyModule.class.php, SQL files, DAO class, and page skeletons.

GitHub template: https://github.com/Dolibarr/dolibarr/tree/develop/htdocs/modulebuilder/template

2. Module Descriptor (required)

File: htdocs/custom/mymodule/core/modules/modMyModule.class.php

• Class name starts with mod, file matches class name
• Unique $this->numero (check https://wiki.dolibarr.org/index.php/List_of_modules_id)
• Declare hooks contexts, menus, permissions, tabs, boxes, CSS/JS in this file
• Enable/disable via Setup → Modules

See → Module Structure reference

3. SQL Tables (optional)

• Files in mymodule/sql/llx_mytable.sql + llx_mytable.key.sql
• Load via $this->_load_tables('/mymodule/sql/') in init()
• Primary key always rowid INTEGER AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY
• Table prefix llx_, InnoDB engine, no DB triggers, no DELETE CASCADE

See → Coding Rules reference

4. DAO Class (optional)

File: mymodule/class/myobject.class.php

• Copy from htdocs/modulebuilder/templates/class/myobject.class.php
• Methods: create(), fetch(), update(), delete(), fetchAll()
• DB access pattern: $db->begin() / $db->query() / $db->commit() or $db->rollback()

5. Hooks (optional)

• Declare context in modMyModule.class.php: $this->module_parts = array('hooks' => array('thirdpartycard', 'orderlist'))
• Create mymodule/class/actions_mymodule.class.php with hook methods
• Disable + re-enable module after changing contexts (stored in DB)
• Find contexts: search initHooks( in source. Find hook names: search executeHooks( in source.

See → Hooks & Triggers reference

6. Menus (optional)

Declare in $this->menu array in module descriptor.

• fk_menu=0 + type='top' for top menu
• fk_menu='fk_mainmenu=xxx' + type='left' for left sub-menu
• perms field controls visibility by permission
• user=0 internal, 1 external, 2 both

7. Tabs (optional)

Declare in $this->tabs array: 'objecttype:+tabcode:Title:langfile@mymodule:condition:/mymodule/page.php?id=__ID__'

Object types: thirdparty, order, invoice, product, contact, contract, propal, member, user…

8. Permissions (optional)

Declare in $this->rights array. Test with $user->rights->mymodule->action->subaction.

9. PHP Pages (optional)

• Bootstrap: include main.inc.php (try multiple relative paths, see template)
• Use dol_include_once('/mymodule/class/myclass.class.php', 'MyClass') for module classes
• Use require_once DOL_DOCUMENT_ROOT.'/core/...' for Dolibarr core classes
• CSS classes: liste_titre, pair/impair, flat, button
• JS: pass $morejs array to llxHeader()

10. Setup Page (optional)

• Create mymodule/admin/setup.php
• Set $this->config_page_url = array("setup.php@mymodule") in descriptor

Packaging & Distribution

• Package via build/makepack-dolibarrmodule.pl
• Deploy: unzip in Dolibarr root
• Publish on https://www.dolistore.com

References

• Module structure, descriptor, file tree
• Hooks system & Triggers
• Coding rules: PHP, SQL, HTML
• Technical components: menus, tabs, permissions, DB, dates

Official Docs

• Developer docs: https://wiki.dolibarr.org/index.php/Developer_documentation
• Module development: https://wiki.dolibarr.org/index.php/Module_development
• Hooks system: https://wiki.dolibarr.org/index.php/Hooks_system
• Coding rules: https://wiki.dolibarr.org/index.php/Language_and_development_rules
• Doxygen (class/file tree): https://doxygen.dolibarr.org/