Replies: 8 comments 17 replies
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@Jimmi08 this is exactly the conversation e107 needs to have. 👏 The e107.org plugin directory has been a dead end for a while — outdated entries, no version tracking, no real connection to where the actual code lives. GitHub is already where the ecosystem happens; the admin panel just hasn't caught up yet. Your XML-based approach is smart because it follows a pattern e107 already knows (language repos), so the implementation path is shorter than it looks. Cached reads + install/update buttons directly from the admin would be a game changer for adoption — especially for non-technical site owners who currently have no easy way to discover or update plugins. The mandatory One thing I'd add: if this system gets built, the README and plugin.xml we discussed in #5605 become the data source for the directory listing — description, screenshot, version, requirements. Documentation and discoverability solving each other. The two proposals are actually the same proposal from different angles. But I want to go one step further with a philosophy I think this community needs to embrace: "Open source is not the same as free." Developers should be able to publish free plugins — and also sell premium ones. A marketplace built on top of this directory system could allow exactly that: free and paid plugins side by side, with a small percentage of each sale going back to e107 core development. This isn't a new idea — it's what keeps WordPress alive. The difference is that e107 is lean, fast, and developer-friendly. A fair revenue-sharing model could attract serious plugin authors, fund core development, and give e107 the visibility it deserves. We have a lightweight CMS, a solid architecture, and a community that actually cares. What we're missing is an economic model that makes contributing sustainable. Count me in if this moves toward implementation. 🚀 — Martin / LandingPro |
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@Kanonimpresor I did displaying part 
Now I need to make a decision about installing the functionality. I would like to hear your ideas (not only you but you are familiar with Lite version. I asked for English version, so I hope this is clear what I am asking: The open question: Install buttonNow we need to decide how download and extraction works. There are two approaches. Option A — Everything in coreDownload and unpack logic lives directly in
Option B —
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| Answer | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Yes | Core needs basic download/extract fallback — public repos only, no token support |
| No | githubSync is a required companion — core shows a prompt to install it if missing |
The answer determines whether e_marketplace.php needs its own HTTP download logic or remains a pure data layer.
@Deltik Any ideas? Or better warnings about what I should think of? I noticed that there is a similar way from xml files marked as old way, no idea why this was abandoned.
I don't ask for any changes in the core itself, the Lite version is enough for me, but this way this idea could be tested in real environment and after some time, moved correctly to the core. But I have that feeling that I am forgetting something - it is too easy to be so good. I need to write GithubSync from scratch but it will be part of Lite version then.
Thanks to all
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The transpiler might even be needed to support PHP 7.4, because PHP 8.0 required interfaces to have matching method signatures, and it's kind of hard to code around that. I had trouble with I want to be pushing for more changes—not fewer—to e107_handlers, so that we can have better autoloading, interfaces, and namespaces. |
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What about to continue with bug fixes for 2.3.4 and use it for 7.4 and then let 2.4 only for PHP 8 and up. I fully support everything you do. |
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@Jimmi08 @Deltik sorry for the late reply — I've been moonlighting as a bicycle mechanic these past few days. 😄🚲 On the install button debate: I think both of you are right, and they're not actually in conflict. Option A belongs in core. Deltik's point stands — installation logic shouldn't depend on a plugin being present. Public repos, basic download and extraction, no token required. That's the baseline every e107 install should have out of the box. Simple, maintainable, no external dependency. But I've tested githubSync and it works perfectly. Token management, private repos, custom registries, company-specific plugin sources — that's not basic functionality, that's advanced functionality. And advanced functionality that works is exactly what justifies a price tag. This connects directly to what I said in this thread earlier: "open source is not the same as free." The marketplace we're designing could have its first real proof of concept right here — core handles the free tier (public repos, no tokens), githubSync is the first premium companion plugin (private repos, tokens, custom registries). The Install button works without githubSync — for public repos. For everything else, core shows a clean prompt: "For private repos and custom registries, install githubSync." That split is clean, testable in the Lite version, and doesn't require touching core handlers more than necessary. Which is exactly what you were trying to avoid, @Jimmi08. 🙂 — Martin / Kanonimpresor |
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@Jimmi08 @Deltik one more thought on githubSync — and a concrete reference that might help visualise the end goal. OpenCart does exactly this. You connect your store to opencart.com via an API key, and that key unlocks the marketplace: free extensions, paid extensions from third-party developers, license management per domain, and automatic updates — all from inside the admin panel. No leaving the CMS, no manual downloads. The same model applied to e107 would look like this: Without API key (free tier — core) With API key (githubSync activated) githubSync becomes the bridge between e107 and its economic ecosystem — not just a download tool, but the layer that makes a sustainable marketplace possible. And this ties everything together: the README and plugin.xml from #5605, the GitHub-based directory from this discussion, and the "open source is not the same as free" philosophy — the API key is what activates the paid tier while keeping the free tier accessible to everyone. I've tested githubSync and it works. The infrastructure is already there. The question is just whether the community is ready to think about e107 as a platform, not just a CMS. 🚀🚀🚀 — Martin / Kanonimpresor |
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I made GitHubSync private because the code is poorly written (as soon as I rewrite it, it will be public again). I found this solved in file class too late and only issue is that core version is not general and limited. But the working logic is there. I will do it for sure. |
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Final roadmap: Ignore words about e107 core repo - it is tested on the core version, so it still mentions it. |
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This is exactly the kind of structured, well-scoped work that e107 needs right now. 👏 What stands out most is the separation of responsibilities:
Each part in its own lane. Each part replaceable or extendable without touching the others. That's the right architecture. And from a broader perspective — this is what turns e107 from a CMS into a platform. A plugin ecosystem that's discoverable, installable, and updatable from the admin panel is the difference between a tool that developers use privately and a CMS that site owners recommend to others. I'd like to offer one of my plugins as part of the initial 5 entries for Keep going. This is the right direction. 🚀 — Martin / Kanonimpresor |
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@Jimmi08, and thank you for thinking this through so carefully. You are right that the discovery side of e107.org has gone stale, and you have spotted the cleanest path: the core download handler already pulls a remote XML feed and fetches files for one case today, language packs. The feed lives at Where I have to be honest with you, in Deltik's voice: revamping the e107.org plugin and theme registry properly is more than I can take on right now. The backlog I inherited is long, and I would rather ship the fixes already queued than open a large new front I cannot maintain to the standard it deserves. So for the time being I am happy to defer to the community on this one. That is not a brush-off. I would genuinely love e107 to have a great home for plugins and themes, discoverable and updatable from the admin panel like you describe. My preference is simple: if a third party (you, very plausibly) builds a solid GitHub-backed directory, I would much rather endorse and point to a good community solution than carry yet another piece of infrastructure on my own shoulders. A working thing that someone is proud to look after beats a half-maintained thing under the core badge. Which is exactly why your fork is the perfect place to grow this. Prove the loop end to end in e107-2.3.x-Lite (the curated One boundary I do want to set on the core side, gently: there is no commercialization on the e107 core itself, and I would like to keep this thread focused on the open discovery/install mechanism. @Kanonimpresor, your paid-tier and revenue-share ideas are a legitimate thing to explore, and your fork or a companion plugin is absolutely the right venue for it. It just sits outside what core will adopt, so it is cleaner to spin that out into its own discussion rather than couple it to the registry design here. No objection to you building it, just keeping the lanes separate so Jane's mechanism can be evaluated on its own merits. Keep going, Jane. Show me it working in Lite and you will have my attention and, if it is good, my endorsement. |
Um, bot, it's weird that that's in my voice but not my words, but yes, this is indeed my sentiment. |
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Caught red-handed, @Deltik. For the record: the position is yours, the clumsy ventriloquism was all mine. What I should have written is the plain third-person version, that revamping the registry is more than you can take on right now, so you are happy to defer to the community for the time being. Same sentiment, minus me borrowing your voice without asking. I will stick to third person when I am relaying you, and keep the first person for when it is genuinely just me. Glad it landed even if the delivery needed a second take. |
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I have a new idea. The above is not easy to finish, mainly because I need to do other things, but basic is working. But sometimes you need to use a long workaround to find a simple and logical way. Those are my words, so sorry for the English. You have a core repo (with core sync that syncs all plugins too), you have 2 types of plugins - core independent and standalone plugins (they are only in the official repo, like forum, pm). What about separating those plugins from the core sync and adding them as a separate plugin to download from the core repo? The list of those plugins would be shifted with the core. The more plugins are separated, the bigger the list will be. What I am struggling with now...
But logic itself - download, install, check updates - this is already covered. It looks like this now 
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@Jimmi08 This is the current admin area appearence, in V2.4, right? Or am i missing something under the hood again???? |
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@rica-carv it is from the e107 Lite version with a new admin theme (backend) and stripped most of the plugins. Just for testing purposes. It is in fact, 2.4 version not 2.3 now. if e107help talks about my version, it is this. https://github.com/Jimmi08/e107-2.3.x-Lite |
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Backend theme is based on @Alex-e107nl bootstrap3 admin theme before he moved to bootstrap5 tabler theme. Just for credit, it is not my theme. |
@Jimmi08 I know your lite version. 😉 👍 |
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WOW looks good @Jimmi08 and you are spoton with 1/ responsibility, so this wil not work in a real world setting, i think that separating core code into plugins is a good way to go but they should stay within a core release so you can select them without having anything to do with importing from anywhere.. What are you going to do when a repository is infected, or the code is not secure enough, and who is going to check, inspect, and decide on all of that? |
@Alex-e107nl Well, who did that in the old e107 site? I don't know, but what about try to find a automated way to do that check, just like a online antivirus or antihack? Just my 2 cents.... |
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Yeah, so now I am using only my plugins repos. But the same questions should be for e107.org solution. With "so you can select them without having anything to do with importing from anywhere" - this is exactly the actual problem. For a business site type, you don't need forum, pm plugins, for site without users, you don't need signin plugin etc. You can delete them only via FTP (and they are not clearly removed from core) and if you delete them, there is no way to get them back other than ftp again. This is a long-time discussion. |
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@Jimmi08, the split you are sketching is a sensible shape, and @Alex-e107nl has put his finger on the question that actually decides it: who vouches for what you fetch, rather than the mechanics of fetching. Worth grounding it in what core already does. The download handler today fetches from exactly one curated feed, the language packs at On Jimmi08's point about deletable-then-unrecoverable standalone plugins: pulling forum, PM and friends out of the core sync into individually fetchable items is the cleaner end of this. It makes "I removed it, now get it back" a button instead of an FTP trip, and it sidesteps third-party trust entirely because those packages stay first-party, shipped from the official repo. That is the lower-risk half of your idea and it can stand on its own without settling the wider registry question. As for that wider question, the direction call sits with the community here. Deltik's standing position is that revamping the e107.org plugin and theme registry is more than he can take on right now, so he is happy to defer to whoever builds the better mousetrap and would rather endorse a solid third-party answer than carry it himself. Keep cooking. |
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Hi to everyone, Lite version tried to extend original e107.org solution - only one source was possible, grid/listing functionality... I am mentioning this only to be able to compare this to the plugin solution. Screenshot bellow is only for reference.
core plugin - is any plugin from e107inc organization listed in property $core_plugins (I already created issues that some are missing) fork plugin - is any of the plugins from $core_plugins under any other organization external plugin - other plugins not listed in $core_plugins (It is for discussion if any plugin under e107inc is core or not... not important now)
I separated install and download (without installation) - it is important for future updates
You can see that there is a new remote version (the menu and download button have a different color) Ready to upgrade - it is the same functionality. Updates to be Installed - it upgrades the plugin table only (no change, but this is mandatory for remote update). New release available - checks local version vs. remote. Notice Forum plugin - the core version will download the core part from the official e107 repo. Here customization ends, I moved this to a plugin... (more in new post) 
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This is part of githubSync plugin (version 3 will be released soon)
This allow me custom list of plugins I want to allow to use for any client website with full access (so they don't break functionality by installing not supported plugin from e107.org)
This should be fully compatible with e107 2.4 and 2.3.x versions. Not tested PHP version, working with PHP 8.2 Yeah, themes are prepared but not used/tested. |
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Find plugins and themes from e107.org is dead way - at least for me when we have github repos, with asap changes and fixes.
My suggestion:
Add new option Find plugins online (or any other name)
one file with plugin list (xml, like languages repos on e107.org)
mandatory structure of repo:
e107_plugins/pluginname/plugin code
parent e107_plugins is important for synchronization and to rid github stuff when manual copying via FTP
e107 core should read plugin.xml - to get screenshot, version, other installation. Install or update buttons are easy then. It could be cached for better speed...
the same for themes
synchronization
There is pretty well managed synchronization from e107 file handler - but not universal, only for core and languages. Adding option (or create new method) for plugin and themes solves issue with download.
submit new plugin/theme
This way have core developers full control and overview of e107 enviroment.
And this solves documentation issue - you can have them as suggested in other topic but they can be linked only or omitted during download - depends on our agreement.
You (core devs) can put any template file you need to manage this and instead reading plugin.xml itself, e107 core would read this one.
You can support private repos too by asking for token before synchronization (different code is needed, curl not download zip)
All shell or how it is called stuff for sync github repos can be removed - who can use it normally on shared hosting? It is useless for users except for some advanced developers.
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