Installing Addons in Xenforo

abdfahim

Well-known member
Hi,

I want to know whether installing an addon is a completely reversible process in xenforo system irrespective of the addon? I mean if I install any addon, is there a chance that it will change my original xenforo system to some way that I can't revert it even by uninstalling that addon?

The question I am asking because I am planning to install some beta version (like xfarcade and some other addon as well) addons. But little bit anxious to do so on my live forum.

Appreciate any advice and apology if the question sounds very lame (i have no idea how xenforo works :P).
 
Yeah add-ons can be enabled/disabled or removed.

The add-ons will never alter XenForo's files directly so once they're removed it's like they were never there.
 
I mean if I install any addon, is there a chance that it will change my original xenforo system to some way that I can't revert it even by uninstalling that addon?
Depending on what the addon is doing there is always the possibility, and of course there are always the chance of bugs arising, so yes... I would make a backup first before installing and always try it on your test installation before going live, especially since you mentioned it's still in the beta phase.

The add-ons will never alter XenForo's files directly so once they're removed it's like they were never there.
That's if it's coded well, there is never a guarantee otherwise. Some addons don't remove the changes they made to your database when uninstalled, so they're still there, but depending on the addon and the use case, that could sometimes be a good thing.
 
Data in the database doesn't do anything, as such my statement "it's like they were never there" still stands.

Even if it's coded badly, no developer should never (and to my knowledge - has never) replace any XenForo files in their releases. As such, once an add-on is removed and therefore its Code Event Listeners are removed, the add-on does nothing. Even if data is left in the database.
 
Data in the database doesn't do anything, as such my statement "it's like they were never there" still stands.
That would probably depend on how the user sees it then. If I uninstall an addon and later on look in my database and see random unused tables lying around clearly something has been there. :p The really picky user may also complain about the data contributing to the size of the database, even though this isn't as much of a problem nowadays.
Even if it's coded badly, no developer should never (and to my knowledge - has never) replace any XenForo files in their releases. As such, once an add-on is removed and therefore its Code Event Listeners are removed, the add-on does nothing. Even if data is left in the database.
Almost thought that was a double negative. :D I haven't seen this happen in XF addons either, but I have in other software. The developer may be new, still learning, or in the worst case, not even know what he's doing. Once again, there isn't a guarantee since addons do not require approval, it's a really small chance of it happening, but it doesn't mean it will "never" happen. It just seemed that you were giving him a false sense of security.

Considering the OP also stated, "But little bit anxious to do so on my live forum" it sounded as if they were just going to skip the test installation phase, so I don't think it hurts to take a bit more precaution and back up first.
 
guys, first of all, thanks very much for the discussion .. I definitely will try addons which beta has already been used by many (e.g. xfarcade), so hoping to avoid any disaster. At the same time, I will definitely take backup before doing anything like this.

From your discussion, I can at least understand that for most of the addons by experienced developers, it is unlikely to have any impact in my base files. However, I'll definitely do take backup in each step.

Thanks again .........
 
addons can break your board, even you deinstall them (e.g. if they don't remove some data, don't rebuild the handler caches,etc..)

that's why i suggest to install them always as FIRST on your testboard (if you know what you're doing, you don't need it, there are several users who post here that they NEVER tested anything, but IMO avarage joe should have one:P )
there you'll also see if there are some compability problems with other addons, or if the addon runs with your xf version

my 0.02$
 
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