I’m using the latest version of Discourse, and I’ve tried installing valid plugins in the /var/discourse/plugins directory. I copy the plugin folders there, but they never install, obviously, I always use ./launcher rebuild app. The only way I can install them is by using app.yml. I want to install…

Perhaps set up a development environment instead of a production site? You can clone repos directly into the plugins directory. Plus, it won’t affect data on your production site and won’t cause downtime to your users when you rebuild. See Discourse Meta - dev-install guides for all topics on how to…

Is the installation of local plugins blocked in a production environment? Is it possible to convert a production environment into a dev environment without having to redo everything?

[image] Willy: Is it possible to convert a production environment into a dev environment without having t You could maybe take a backup of your PRD and restore it locally? [image] Create, download, and restore a backup of your Discourse database Self-Hosting …

Okay, the only thing left to know is if local plugin installation is blocked in production. Let’s hope someone knows.

[image] Willy: if local plugin installation is blocked in production. Not “blocked” but just doesn’t work. As Nate said, the best route is to setup a local dev env, or continue using app.yml if you prefer that.

And why is it standard practice to make the source code public when installing plugins in production? Does that mean Discourse doesn’t allow private plugins? Even a repository with a token is still a public plugin on the platform where it’s hosted (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)

A private GitHub/GitLab repo is still private. The token is just a password that lets the server clone it. Nobody else can see the code. It stays private. See the section about private repos in Install plugins on a self-hosted site

Use a development setup locally to test plugins. dev-install Otherwise you must run full production rebuild every time you change plugins which is a waste of time, especially since the team has recently brought development builds down to a few seconds. Clone plugins in ~/code or equivalent then yo…

Why can't I install plugins locally?

Support Self-hosting

chapoi June 5, 2026, 11:06am 4

You could maybe take a backup of your PRD and restore it locally?

Topic		Replies	Views
Installing Plugins in Discourse Development Install Development	15	6416	September 29, 2017
Business plugins and install on-premise Self-hosting	2	177	August 4, 2024
Install plugins in your non-Docker development environment Developer Guides dev-install , how-to	0	3401	October 6, 2021
How do i install plugins after doing a fork? Development	2	1663	July 19, 2017
Development life cycle with Discourse hosting Self-hosting hosting	4	1050	September 22, 2020

Why can't I install plugins locally?

Related topics