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Create custom extensions

Create reusable CKAN extensions for custom functionality.

Extension structure​

Create new extension:

ckan generate extension --name myextension

Structure:

ckanext-myextension/
├── ckanext/
│   └── myextension/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── plugin.py
│       └── templates/
├── setup.py
└── README.md

Implement plugin interface​

Create plugin in plugin.py:

import ckan.plugins as plugins
import ckan.plugins.toolkit as toolkit

class MyExtensionPlugin(plugins.SingletonPlugin):
    plugins.implements(plugins.IConfigurer)
    plugins.implements(plugins.IPackageController)

    def update_config(self, config):
        toolkit.add_template_directory(config, 'templates')

    def before_create(self, context, pkg_dict):
        # Custom validation or processing
        return pkg_dict

Register plugin​

Add to setup.py:

entry_points='''
    [ckan.plugins]
    myextension=ckanext.myextension.plugin:MyExtensionPlugin
'''

Enable in CKAN config:

ckan.plugins = ... myextension

Testing extensions​

Write tests:

from ckan.tests import helpers

class TestMyExtension(helpers.FunctionalTestBase):
    def test_plugin_loaded(self):
        assert 'myextension' in helpers.plugins()

Run tests:

pytest ckanext/myextension/tests/

See Test CKAN for more testing guidance.