Magento 2 Modules Overview

Modules are the fundamental units of customization and functionality in Magento 2. Each feature in Magento—whether native or custom—is implemented through modules.

🧩 What Is a Module in Magento 2?

A module is a self-contained directory of PHP, XML, and other resources that add specific features or extend existing ones. Magento’s modular architecture allows developers to create, enable, disable, and manage features independently.

📦 Module Directory Structure

Modules reside in the app/code directory and follow the naming convention: Vendor/ModuleName.

app/
└── code/
    └── Vendor/
        └── CustomModule/
            ├── registration.php
            ├── etc/
            ├── Controller/
            ├── Model/
            ├── Block/
            └── view/

📌 Key Module Files

  • registration.php – Registers the module with Magento
  • etc/module.xml – Declares module name and version
  • Controller/ – Contains custom logic for frontend/backend actions
  • Model/ – Holds business logic and data models
  • Block/ – Bridges templates with backend logic
  • view/ – Includes layout XML and template (.phtml) files

🛠️ Registering a Module

Every module must register itself to be recognized by the system.

// registration.php
use Magento\Framework\Component\ComponentRegistrar;

ComponentRegistrar::register(
    ComponentRegistrar::MODULE,
    'Vendor_CustomModule',
    __DIR__
);

📄 Declaring the Module

✅ Enabling and Installing the Module

After creating the module, run the following commands:

php bin/magento setup:upgrade
php bin/magento module:enable Vendor_CustomModule
php bin/magento cache:flush

🔍 Checking Enabled Modules

php bin/magento module:status

📚 Best Practices

  • Use proper Vendor/ModuleName naming conventions
  • Keep business logic in Model/, not in controllers or templates
  • Follow Magento coding standards and PSR-4 autoloading
  • Test your module in a development environment

📌 Summary

Magento 2 modules provide a clean and modular way to customize or extend your store’s functionality. A solid understanding of module structure and registration is key to becoming an expert Magento developer.