The Recipes Initiative podcast discusses the future of install profiles and distros with expert guest Jim Birch. They explore topics like the use of recipes, comparisons with install profiles and distributions, namespace collisions, content inclusion, and the interaction between recipes and testing frameworks. The podcast also covers customization options for icons and the process of creating and applying recipes for Drupal projects.
Recipes Initiative aims to automate Drupal module installation and configuration using Drupal core as the installation project.
Recipes can replace installation profiles and distributions when starting a new site, providing configurable, composable, and ephemeral functionality.
Users can create custom recipes by defining desired configuration and modules in YAML files, allowing for flexibility in site setups and theme dependencies.
Deep dives
Recipes Initiative Overview
The podcast discusses the Recipes Initiative, which aims to automate Drupal module installation and configuration using Drupal core as the installation project. Recipes are meant to add functionality and can be composed together. They can replace installation profiles and distributions when starting a new site. The goal of recipes is to be configurable, composable, and ephemeral.
Creating Custom Recipes
Users can create their own custom recipes by creating YAML files that define the desired configuration and modules to be installed. While it may require some effort, it is possible to create custom recipes that fit specific requirements or site setups.
Interacting with Contributed Themes
Recipes and starter kits can be used together to enhance theme installations. A recipe can include a contributed theme, which can be run during the installation process. This allows for more flexibility in setting up and organizing the theme dependencies.
Uninstalling Modules with Recipes
While it is not currently clear how easy it will be to uninstall modules using recipes, it is a potential feature that may be explored. Uninstalling modules could be useful for removing unnecessary modules or streamlining the site setup process.
Future of Recipes and Drupal Core
The Recipes Initiative is still in progress, and it is unknown when it will be officially released in Drupal core. However, there are opportunities for community involvement, such as testing the feature, contributing to documentation, and providing feedback on potential enhancements.
Today we are talking about The Recipes Initiative, the future of install profiles, if distros are still a thing, and answering a bunch of listener questions with our guest Jim Birch. We’ll also cover Quick Links Kit as our module of the week.
Have you ever needed to add a set of quick links, essentially visual navigation prompts, to the home page or section pages of your Drupal site?
Quick Links Kit (different from Quicklink module created by last week’s guest, Mike Herschel)
Brief history
How old: I created in Apr 2021
Versions available:
1.0.6 that supports Drupal 8, 9, and 10, and 2.0.1 that supports only D10
Maintainership
Sporadically maintained, but a pretty simple module
Number of open issues:
1, and it’s not a bug
Usage stats:
1 site
Maintainer(s):
Me!
Module features and usage
The module is really just a set of configuration, with an optional submodule that sets everything up, including the placement of the block on the home page, for sites using Olivero as their theme, so it’s perfect for a fresh install of Drupal
It allows for SVG icons to be set for each link, and sets their fill to inherit from the link style
The links can be created and managed without leaving the page on which they’re used, by using the settings tray, though it would be a quick configuration change to use a modal or a separate page instead, if preferred.
The 2.0 version also makes use of Drupal 10’s new responsive grid views display, so if you’ve wanting to try that out, this is an easy way to get started
I thought this module was appropriate for today’s episode because it’s an example of a module that will be a recipe once the infrastructure for them is ready. That said, the Olivero submodule does currently contain a little CSS to improve the display of the links, but that could easily be copied into your site’s custom theme.
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