Drupal APIs | Develop | Drupal Wiki guide on Drupal.org

Drupal APIs | Develop | Drupal Wiki guide on Drupal.org
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Documentation
Develop
Local server setup
Development tools
Using Composer
Git version control system
Managing a drupal.org theme, module, or distribution project
Security
Drupal project issues
Usability testing
Profiling Drupal
[Obsolete] Coding standards
User interface standards
Theming Drupal
Creating custom modules
Drupal APIs
Automated Testing
Upgrading and converting Drupal 7 modules
Core modules and themes
External Libraries in Core
Mobile guide
Decoupled Drupal
Drupal APIs
Each version of Drupal introduces new APIs and keeps only some of the previous major versions’ APIs.
Before diving into the documentation below you might want to read the
background and prerequisites
, and the
Creating custom modules
guides, both of which explain some concepts and terminology that will be assumed knowledge in the API documentation here.
Finally, review the
Drupal backwards compatibility policy
for an explanation of what may change between minor versions of Drupal and what will remain stable.
Access policy API
How to use the access policy API to provide flexible access controls
AJAX API
Using the AJAX API to dynamically update forms/displays.
Basic Concepts
Core AJAX Callback Commands
Ajax Dialog Boxes
Authentication API
Documentation for Authentication API.
Authentication API
Create a custom authentication provider
Batch API
Documentation for Batch API in Drupal 8.
Batch API overview
Block API
Documentation for Block API in Drupal 8.
Block API overview
Cache API
Documentation for Cache API in Drupal 8.
Cache API
Cache tags
Cache contexts
Cache max-age
Cache tags + Varnish
CacheableDependencyInterface & friends
CacheableResponseInterface
Access checkers + cacheability
(deprecated) CKEditor 4 API (Drupal 8 and 9)
Documentation for the deprecated CKEditor 4 API in Drupal 8 and 9.
CKEditor 5 API
Documentation for CKEditor 5 API in Drupal 9.
CKEditor 5 API overview
Configuration API
Configuration API in Drupal 8.
Configuration API overview
Overview of Configuration (vs. other types of information)
Configuration Storage
Configuration override system
Configuration schema/metadata
Configuration entity dependencies
Creating a configuration entity type
Simple Configuration API
Working with Configuration Forms
Database API
Documentation for the Database API in Drupal 8.
Database API Overview
General concepts
Database Configuration
Instantiating a Connection Object
Static Queries
Dynamic Queries
Result Sets
Fetching Into a Custom Class
Insert Queries
Update Queries
Merge Queries
Upsert Queries
Delete Queries
Transactions
Error Handling
Functions and Operators
Entity API
Drupal 8 Entity API documentation.
Introduction to Entity API in Drupal 8
Entity types
Working with the Entity API
Bundles
Configuration Entity
Content Entity
Creating a custom content entity
Creating a custom content type in Drupal 8
Programming custom fields into your content type
Using the UI to export the code for your custom fields
Entity API implements Typed Data API
Entity Validation API
Access on entities (TBD)
Defining and using Content Entity Field definitions
Entity Translation API
Display Modes, View Modes, and Form Modes
FieldTypes, FieldWidgets and FieldFormatters
Upgrading Code Snippets Module to Drupal 8: Creating a Custom Field
Dynamic/Virtual field values using computed field property classes
Handlers
Making an entity revisionable
Structure of an Entity annotation
Creating a content entity type in Drupal 8
Making the content entity searchable
Converting a content entity type to be revisionable and publishable
Link Templates
Filter API
Documentation for Filter API in Drupal 8.
Filter API overview
Form API
Drupal's Form API provides a unified way for authoring HTML input forms and handling form validation and submission.
Introduction to Form API
ConfigFormBase with Simple Configuration API
ConfirmFormBase To Confirm an Action
Form Render Elements
Conditional Form Fields (#states)
Form API Workflow
JavaScript API
Drupal JavaScript API.
JavaScript API overview
Accessibility tools for JavaScript in Drupal 8
Add JavaScript to Your Theme or Module
Ajax Forms
Messages API
Theming in JavaScript
Layout API
Documentation for Layout API in Drupal 8.
How to register layouts
How to render layouts
How to upgrade from Layout Plugin
Logging API
Documentation for Logging API in Drupal 8.
Logging API
Menu API
Menu API in Drupal 8.
Comparison of Menu API in Drupal 7 and 8
Providing module-defined menu links
Providing module-defined local tasks
Providing module-defined actions
Providing module-defined contextual links
User stories for Drupal's menu API
Middleware API
Documentation for Middleware API in Drupal 8.
Middleware API
Migrate API
The Migrate API provides services for migrating data from different sources to Drupal 9 (or later)
Migrate API overview
Migrate source plugins
Migrate process plugins
Migrate destination plugins & examples
Executing migrations
Writing migrations for contributed and custom modules
Migration Tests
Generating database fixtures for migration tests
Debugging migrations
Migrate field plugins
Process Pipelines
Plugin API
The Plugins API is used to extend Drupal and add new functionality, and allow modules to define new plugin types.
Plugin API overview
Why Plugins?
Attribute-based plugins
Create a custom attribute class
Annotations-based plugins
Annotation-Based Plugins in Views
Creating your own Plugin Manager
Plugin discovery
Discovery Decorators
Plugin Definitions
Plugin Contexts
Plugin Derivatives
Create your own custom annotation class
Creating a plugin that can be defined in themes
RESTful Web Services API
RESTful Web Services API in Drupal.
RESTful Web Services API overview
Render API
Render API in Drupal 8.
Cacheability of render arrays
Bubbleable metadata
Auto-placeholdering
Render arrays
Render elements
The Drupal 8 render pipeline
Responses
Drupal represents the responses it sends as Symfony Response objects.
Responses overview
CacheableResponseInterface
Routing system
Routing system in Drupal 8.
Routing system overview
Introductory Drupal 8 routes and controllers example
Structure of routes
Altering existing routes and adding new routes based on dynamic ones
Providing dynamic routes
Routing-related objects: Route, CurrentRouteMatch, RouteMatch, Url
Underlying functionality of the routing system in Drupal
Access checking on routes
Parameters in routes
Runtime Assertions
A runtime assertion is a statement that is expected to always be true at the point in the code it appears at.
Serialization API
Serialization API in Drupal 8.
Serialization API overview
How the Serializer works
Adding new formats
Changing the way Serializer handles entities
Services and dependency injection
Services and dependency injection in Drupal 8.
Services and dependency injection in Drupal
Altering existing services, providing dynamic services
Dependency Injection in a form
Service Tags
Structure of a service file
State API
Documentation for State API in Drupal.
State API overview
Text Editor API
Documentation for Text Editor API in Drupal 8.
Text Editor API overview
Tour API
Documentation for Tour API in Drupal 8.
Translation API (Code text)
Documentation for Translation API (Code text) in Drupal 8.
Translation API overview
Typed Data API
The Typed Data API is a low level API that describes data based on a set of available types.
Typed Data API overview
Data type plugins
Data definitions
Computed properties (TBD)
Update API
Update API for Drupal 8 (hook_update_N() etc.)
Introduction to update API for Drupal 8
Updating Configuration
Updating Database Schema and/or Data in Drupal 8
Updating Entities and Fields in Drupal 8
Writing Automated Update Tests
HTMX
Adding interactivity to HTML elements and forms.
Ajax API to HTMX
Icon API
Documentation for Icon API introduced in Drupal 11.1
Token API
Documentation for Token API.
Overview of Token API
How to use Token API
Token API hooks
Tokens available in Drupal core
Token upgrade guides
Related Content
Drupal 7 APIs
How to use built-in Drupal core APIs like caching, javascript, entity, form as well as others.
Guide maintainers
Drupal’s online documentation is © 2000-2026 by the individual contributors and can be used in accordance with the
Creative Commons License, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
. PHP code is distributed under the
GNU General Public License
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