About component file structure
One of the first things you can do to get started with component development is to understand and set up the file system. Each type of component has a different file structure, although all components require certain files.
In addition, you can choose the component root directory to start development. The following sections have more information.
Root directory location
A component's root directory matches the component's name and contains all its subdirectories and files. Based on how you installed Magento, you can put your component's root directory in one of two places:
<Magento install directory>/app: This is the recommended location for component development. You can set up this environment by Cloning the Magento 2 GitHub repository.- For modules, use
app/code. - For storefront themes, use
app/design/frontend. - For Admin themes, use
app/design/adminhtml. - For language packages, use
app/i18n.
- For modules, use
<Magento install directory>/vendor: You will find this location for installations that use thecomposer create-projectto install the Magento 2 metapackage (which downloads the CE or EE code).Magento installs third-party components in the
<Magento install directory>/vendordirectory. But we recommend adding your components to the<Magento install directory>/app/codedirectory. If you add your component to the<Magento install directory>/vendordirectory, Git will ignore it because Magento adds thevendordirectory to the<Magento install directory>/.gitignorefile.
Required files
The following files are required for all components:
registration.php: Among other things, this file specifies the directory in which the component is installed by vendors in production environments. By default, Composer automatically installs components in the<Application root dir>/vendordirectory. For more information, see Component registration.composer.json: Specifies component dependencies and other metadata. For more information, see Composer integration.
Each component has an additional component-specific required file:
| Component Type | Required file | Description |
|---|---|---|
magento2-module | This file defines basic information about the component, such as component dependencies and version number. Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source use the version number to determine which schema and data to update when executing bin/magento setup:upgrade. | |
magento2-theme | Describes the theme. File specifies a theme name in the title node, a parent theme (optional), and a theme preview image (optional) in the media/preview_image node. | |
magento2-language | Declares a language translation package. |
