Setup Thunder

Install Thunder

System requirements

You have to install PHP, composer, and git on your computer before you can install Thunder. The composer requires git command for proper functioning.

To install PHP please take a look at the official Installation and Configurationopen in new window for PHP. On top of PHP, you need to install the required libraries. The Thunder installation requires at least all the libraries Drupal requires. Extensions used by Drupal core are defined in Core's composer.json file - see for example the file for Drupal 9.1.xopen in new window. Look at the "require" section and the keys starting with "ext-".

The installation of PHP extensions can differ between operating systems, that's why you should check for detailed instructions on PHP Installation and Configurationopen in new window.

To install composer, you can check the composer installation instructionsopen in new window and for git you can find installation instructions hereopen in new window.

Project setup

To set up a new project, run this in your console to install Thunder from the command line:

composer create-project thunder/thunder-project thunder --no-interaction --no-install
cd thunder
composer install

Quick start

To have a quick start run the following commands:

cd docroot
php core/scripts/drupal quick-start thunder

NOTE: This command is only useful to try Thunder locally, but not to run it in production nor to start a new project based on Thunder.

Beyond quick install

To develop your own website based on Thunder, you should have mysql installed on your computer.

Then you can install Thunder with:

drush si thunder

As a next step, it's recommended to export your config files to a location outside the docroot. To do this change the location of config_sync_directory in docroot/sites/default/settings.php.

$settings['config_sync_directory'] = '../config/sync';

and export the config files:

drush cex

Now you should initialize a git repository for your project and commit all the files:

git init . -b development
git add .
git commit -m"Initial commit"

From that point, you are ready to develop your new website based on Thunder.

For any further information on how to run and maintain your installation please refer to the Drupal User Guideopen in new window.

Update

Updating Thunder consists of three parts. First needs the code to be updated, and after that, it's required to update the database and then export the changes.

Code update

To update Thunder or any module to the newest version, constrained by the specified version in composer.json, use composer. The following command will check every dependency for a new version, downloads it, and updates it accordingly.

composer update

Database update

Update over UI

After you have updated your code with composer command, you can go to your site page /update.php and follow instructions to update your site database.

Update with the command line

To update the database in the command line, you need to have drushopen in new window installed.

You can run drush command in the docroot folder of your site to update the database of your site like this:

drush updb

Configuration export

After the database was updated, it's necessary to export the changes to your configuration files.

drush cex

Extend

Find extensions

You can find extensions on Drupal.orgopen in new window. On the following pageopen in new window, you can search for Modules and on this pageopen in new window for Themes. You can find further information on extensions in the Drupal User Guide - Extending and Customizing Your Siteopen in new window .

If you know the name of the extension you are looking for, the fastest way is to search it using Google or any other search engine, adding drupal to the search. For example: drupal webform

Add extension

Using 'composer', you can also manage the dependencies of your Thunder site and extensions.

To add an extension to your project, go to the root of your site (there should be a composer.json file) and add modules by typing

composer require drupal/[short name of the extension]

into the command line.

For example:

composer require drupal/webform

Install extension

You can install extensions via the UI or the command line.

Install over UI

You can install modules by going to your site page admin/modules, or by clicking on Extend in the menu at the top. Here you can search for the module already added to your project by entering the name in the filter box at the top. To install a module, select the checkbox next to it, scroll to the bottom, and click Install. You might be warned that another module needs to be enabled because it is required for the module of your interest. By clicking on continue, Thunder will take care of that.

You can install themes by going to your site page admin/appearance, or by clicking on Appearance in the menu at the top. Here you can scroll to the theme you would like to install and click on Install and set as default to directly use the theme for your site.

Install with the command line

To install a theme or module at the command line, you need to have drushopen in new window installed.

You can run drush command in the docroot folder of your site to install a module like this:

drush en [module]

And to install a theme, you can run drush command like this:

drush en [theme]

To use a theme, you still have to navigate to Appearance (admin/appearance) and set it as default.

Uninstall extension

To uninstall an extension, you have to uninstall it first and then remove the code. You can uninstall extensions via the UI or the command line, but to remove the code from your project, you have to use composer.

Uninstall in UI

You can uninstall modules by going to your site page admin/modules, or by clicking on Extend in the menu at the top and then by clicking on Uninstall tab. Here you can search for the module by entering the name in the filter box at the top. To uninstall a module, select the checkbox next to it, scroll to the bottom, and click Uninstall. You might be warned that another module needs to be uninstalled because it depends on the module that you want to remove. By clicking on continue, Thunder will take care of that.

You can uninstall themes by going to your site page admin/appearance, or by clicking on Appearance in the menu at the top. Here you can scroll to the theme you would like to uninstall. If your site is using that theme as default, you have to select another default theme before you can uninstall it. When your site is not using that theme as default, you can click Uninstall next to it to uninstall it.

Uninstall with command line

To uninstall a theme or module at the command line, you need to have drushopen in new window installed.

After that, you can run drush command in the docroot folder of your site to uninstall a module like this:

drush pm:uninstall [module]

To uninstall a theme, you still have to select another theme as default. It's explained in Uninstall in UI part.

And then you to uninstall a theme, you can run drush command like this:

drush theme:uninstall [theme]

Remove extension

After you have uninstalled an extension from your site, you can also remove the code from your project.

If you want to remove a module, that was provided by Thunder, you will have to add it to your composer.json file in the replace block. Modules, that you added yourself by the above commands, do not have to be placed there.

{
  "replace": {
    "drupal/diff": "*"
  }
}

For more information on using the composer replace check the official composer documentationopen in new window

To remove code you can execute a command like this:

composer remove drupal/[short name of the extension]