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Installing and managing extensions ​

You can add your own extensions to your store directly from the portal — no developer access or command line needed. You upload the extension's files, and your store installs, enables, and activates it for you, then checks that everything still works.

Managing extensions from your portal is the recommended way to do it on your store — because your store runs on managed hosting, it's how you make sure an extension ends up correctly installed and served.

This applies to Magento stores. An extension (also called a module) is a package of add-on functionality — a payment method, a shipping integration, a theme helper, and so on.

Before you start ​

Have the extension's package ready as a .zip, .tgz, or .tar.gz archive, with the vendor folder at the top level. Inside, it should contain the extension's folders exactly as the provider supplied them — typically a Vendor/Module layout (for example Acme/QuickCheckout). Most commercial and open-source Magento extensions are distributed in exactly this form.

If you built or edited the extension yourself, zip up its module folder the same way. Include only the extension — not your store's other files.

Installing an extension ​

  1. Open the Extensions tab in your portal.
  2. Choose Install extension and upload your .zip.
  3. Your store takes it from there — it adds the extension, enables it, prepares it for use, refreshes the relevant caches, and restarts the storefront so the change takes effect.
  4. When it finishes, the new extension appears in your list of installed extensions.

Installing briefly refreshes your storefront as the change is applied, so it's best done during a quiet period.

How long an install takes ​

Most installs finish within a few minutes. On a store with a very large catalogue an install can take much longer — sometimes hours — because Magento rebuilds its own indexes while preparing the new extension, and that work grows with the size of your catalogue. This is normal, and your storefront keeps serving shoppers while it runs.

You don't need to watch it:

  • It keeps going as long as it's making progress, however long that takes.
  • If a step stops making progress for 30 minutes, it's stopped and the install is rolled back (see below), and you'll see an error explaining which step stalled.
  • As a last resort, an install is stopped after 48 hours and reported as failed. If that ever happens, contact support so we can check your store with you.

The automatic safety net ​

Every install is checked from start to finish. If the new extension would leave your store broken — for example, it isn't compatible with your store's Magento version — the install is automatically rolled back and your store is returned to exactly how it was beforehand. A failed install won't take your storefront down; instead you'll get an error explaining what went wrong.

Managing your installed extensions ​

The Extensions tab also lists what's currently on your store. Open Installed Extensions and it scans your store live for the modules it finds — showing each one's name, version, and whether it's enabled. From here you can:

  • Enable or disable an extension — switch a module off without removing it (and back on again), with your store refreshed so the change takes effect.
  • Configure an extension — many extensions have their own settings (API keys, endpoints, on/off options). When yours does, a Configure option lets you set them from the portal.
  • Uninstall an extension you no longer need — this removes it and refreshes your store the same careful way an install does.

If a change isn't showing up ​

Stores cache their pages and code so they load quickly, so once in a while a change won't appear right away. Your portal has a one-click control that refreshes your store's caches and restarts the storefront — running it clears out the old version and shows your latest changes. Reach for it if something you changed (a setting, a price, a piece of content) hasn't appeared after a minute or two.

A note on extensions that generate files ​

Some extensions create files as part of their job — product feeds, CSV or PDF exports, generated reports, or their own import tools. On managed/cloud hosting like yours, your store's files live in a managed storage layer rather than on a plain local disk, and Magento provides a file system that extensions are expected to use so everything ends up in the right, servable place.

A well-built extension does this automatically and works with no special steps. Occasionally an older or lower-quality extension writes files straight to the server disk instead. When that happens, the extension may report that a file was created, but you won't be able to find, open, or download it — because it was written somewhere the store can't serve.

If you hit that symptom with a third-party extension, it isn't something you can fix from settings — ask the extension's vendor to use Magento's standard file system (the "Framework filesystem"), which is required for cloud and managed hosting. The extensions we provide already follow this.