Creating an Extra

Recommended Starting Point

For Evo 3, the correct default is a package, not a loose collection of files. Use a package when the extra needs classes, config, views, routes, migrations, demo data, manager modules, or frontend assets.

php core/artisan package:create example

Minimum Package Parts

• composer.json with package name, PSR-4 namespace, and provider registration
• src/ExampleServiceProvider.php
• config/example.php
• views/ for package templates
• optional migrations/, lang/, resources/, public/assets/

Composer Example

{
  "name": "evolution-cms/example-package",
  "type": "EvolutionCMS-Package",
  "autoload": {
    "psr-4": {
      "EvolutionCMS\\Example\\": "src"
    }
  },
  "extra": {
    "laravel": {
      "providers": [
        "EvolutionCMS\\Example\\ExampleServiceProvider"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Service Provider Responsibilities

The provider is the center of the package. A typical provider should:

• merge package config
• register Artisan commands
• load migrations
• load package views
• publish assets, config, views, and optional migrations
• load chunks and plugins when the package ships classic assets
• register a manager module if needed

Classic Elements Inside the Package

example-package keeps classic Evolution assets inside the package so they can be loaded by the provider:

assets/chunks/
assets/snippets/
assets/plugins/
assets/tvs/
assets/modules/

Demo and Bootstrap Data

If the package needs a usable demo, ship a seeder and a command. In the example package the command example:install-demo publishes assets and then runs the seeder that creates templates, TVs, and documents.

php artisan example:install-demo --migrate

What a Good Package Should Document

• install commands
• published config file
• what migrations create
• what commands exist
• which routes, views, modules, chunks, snippets, and plugins are included
• how to disable demo content in production

For the exact package anatomy, see Project Structure. For maintenance expectations, continue with Maintaining Extras.