Orchard Core Module Creator

This skill guides you through creating new Orchard Core modules following project conventions.

Prerequisites

• OrchardCore repository (working directory)
• .NET SDK 10.0+ installed

Module Creation Workflow

Step 1: Determine Module Type

What kind of module are you creating?

Type	Description	Key Components
Content Part	Adds data/behavior to content items	Part, Driver, Views
Content Field	Custom field type	Field, Driver, Views
Settings	Site-wide configuration	SiteSettings, Driver
Admin Feature	Admin pages/tools	Controller, Views, Menu
API	REST endpoints	Minimal API endpoint class + Startup route registration
Background Task	Scheduled jobs	IBackgroundTask

Step 2: Create Module Directory

# Create module folder
mkdir src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.YourModule
cd src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.YourModule

Step 3: Create Required Files

Every module needs these three files:

1. Manifest.cs - Module metadata
2. Startup.cs - Service registration
3. OrchardCore.YourModule.csproj - Project file

See references/module-structure.md for templates.

Step 4: Add Components Based on Type

For Content Part modules:

Models/YourPart.cs
ViewModels/YourPartViewModel.cs
Drivers/YourPartDisplayDriver.cs
Views/YourPart.cshtml
Views/YourPart_Edit.cshtml

For Admin modules:

Controllers/AdminController.cs
Views/Admin/Index.cshtml
AdminMenu.cs
PermissionProvider.cs

For Data-storing modules:

Migrations.cs
Indexes/YourIndex.cs

See references/patterns.md for code templates.

Step 5: Register in Startup.cs

public override void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // Content part
    services.AddContentPart<YourPart>()
        .UseDisplayDriver<YourPartDisplayDriver>();
    
    // Services
    services.AddScoped<IYourService, YourService>();
    
    // Migrations (if storing data)
    services.AddDataMigration<Migrations>();
    
    // Permissions (if securing features)
    services.AddPermissionProvider<PermissionProvider>();
    
    // Navigation (if adding admin menu)
    services.AddNavigationProvider<AdminMenu>();
}

JSON API Endpoints

When a module exposes an endpoint that primarily returns JSON, prefer Orchard Core Minimal APIs over MVC ApiController classes.

Recommended pattern:

public override void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IEndpointRouteBuilder routes, IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
    routes.AddGetWeatherEndpoint();
}

internal static class GetWeatherEndpoint
{
    public static IEndpointRouteBuilder AddGetWeatherEndpoint(this IEndpointRouteBuilder builder)
    {
        _ = builder.MapGet("api/weather", HandleAsync)
            .RequireAuthorization()
            .DisableAntiforgery();

        return builder;
    }

    private static Task<IResult> HandleAsync()
        => Task.FromResult<IResult>(TypedResults.Ok(new { ok = true }));
}

Use MVC controllers for HTML/admin pages; use Minimal APIs for lightweight JSON endpoints.

Step 6: Build and Test

# Build the module
cd /path/to/orchardcore

dotnet build src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.YourModule

# Run the application
cd src/OrchardCore.Cms.Web
dotnet run -f net10.0

# Enable the feature in Admin → Features

Quick Reference

Naming Conventions

Item	Convention	Example
Module folder	OrchardCore.ModuleName	OrchardCore.Rating
Namespace	OrchardCore.ModuleName	OrchardCore.Rating
Feature ID	OrchardCore.ModuleName	OrchardCore.Rating
Content Part	NamePart	RatingPart
Driver	NamePartDisplayDriver	RatingPartDisplayDriver
View	PartName.cshtml	RatingPart.cshtml
Edit View	PartName_Edit.cshtml	RatingPart_Edit.cshtml

Common Dependencies

Add to .csproj as needed:

<!-- Core module support -->
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\OrchardCore\OrchardCore.Module.Targets\OrchardCore.Module.Targets.csproj" />

<!-- Content management -->
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\OrchardCore\OrchardCore.ContentManagement\OrchardCore.ContentManagement.csproj" />

<!-- Admin UI -->
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\OrchardCore\OrchardCore.Admin\OrchardCore.Admin.csproj" />

Feature Categories

Use in Manifest.cs:

• Content Management
• Content
• Navigation
• Security
• Infrastructure
• Theming
• Developer

References

• references/module-structure.md - Directory layout and file templates
• references/patterns.md - Code patterns (parts, drivers, handlers, etc.)
• references/examples.md - Complete module examples
• AGENTS.md (repo root) - Coding conventions and build commands