PhoenixKitHelloWorld

A minimal PhoenixKit plugin module. Use this as a template for building your own.

Modules can be full-featured (admin pages, settings, routes) or headless (just functions and tools, no UI). This module demonstrates the full-featured pattern. See Headless modules for the lightweight alternative.

Table of Contents

• What this demonstrates
• Quick start
• Dependency types: development vs production
• Creating your own module
• Headless modules
• Project structure
• Available callbacks
• Common patterns
• Navigation system
• Admin integration deep dive
• Permissions system
• Component reuse
• JavaScript in modules
• Available PhoenixKit APIs
• Cross-module integration
• Database conventions
• Testing
• Verifying your module
• Tailwind CSS scanning for modules
• Troubleshooting
• Publishing to Hex

What this demonstrates

• Zero-config auto-discovery (just add the dep and :phoenix_kit to extra_applications)
• Admin sidebar tab with automatic routing
• Enable/disable toggle on the admin Modules page
• Permission key in the roles/permissions matrix
• Live sidebar updates when the module is toggled

Quick start

For local development, add to your parent app's mix.exs using a path dependency:

{:phoenix_kit_hello_world, path: "../phoenix_kit_hello_world"}

Run mix deps.get and start the server. The module appears in:

• Admin sidebar (under Modules section) — click to see the Hello World page
• Admin > Modules — toggle it on/off
• Admin > Roles — grant/revoke access per role

Dependency types: development vs production

PhoenixKit modules are standard Mix dependencies. How you reference them in the parent app's mix.exs depends on your workflow:

Local development (path:)

{:my_phoenix_kit_module, path: "../my_phoenix_kit_module"}

• Best for: active development where you're editing the module and the parent app together
• Changes to the module's source are picked up automatically on recompile — no --force needed
• The directory must exist on disk at the given relative path

Git dependency (git:)

{:my_phoenix_kit_module, git: "https://github.com/you/my_phoenix_kit_module.git"}
# or pin to a branch/tag/ref:
{:my_phoenix_kit_module, git: "https://github.com/you/my_phoenix_kit_module.git", branch: "main"}
{:my_phoenix_kit_module, git: "https://github.com/you/my_phoenix_kit_module.git", tag: "v1.0.0"}

• Best for: private modules not published to Hex, or referencing a specific commit/branch
• Lives in deps/ after mix deps.get — the dev reloader does not watch deps
• After updating the remote, run mix deps.update my_phoenix_kit_module
• To pick up changes: mix deps.compile my_phoenix_kit_module --force + restart the server

Hex package

{:my_phoenix_kit_module, "~> 1.0"}

• Best for: published, versioned modules shared across projects
• Lives in deps/ — same recompile/restart workflow as git deps
• See Publishing to Hex for how to publish your module

Why path: deps behave differently

With path: dependencies, Mix treats the source directory as part of your project — file changes trigger recompilation automatically. With git: or Hex deps, the code lives in deps/ and is compiled once. The Phoenix dev reloader only watches the parent app's own source files, not deps/. That's why non-path deps require mix deps.compile <module> --force and a server restart to pick up changes.

Creating your own module

1. Copy this project

cp -r phoenix_kit_hello_world my_phoenix_kit_module
cd my_phoenix_kit_module

Rename everything:

• PhoenixKitHelloWorld → MyPhoenixKitModule
• phoenix_kit_hello_world → my_phoenix_kit_module
• hello_world → my_module (the module key)

2. Update mix.exs

def project do
  [
    app: :my_phoenix_kit_module,
    version: "0.1.0",
    deps: deps()
  ]
end

# Required: :phoenix_kit must be in extra_applications for auto-discovery
def application do
  [
    extra_applications: [:logger, :phoenix_kit]
  ]
end

defp deps do
  [
    {:phoenix_kit, "~> 1.7"},
    {:phoenix_live_view, "~> 1.0"}
  ]
end

Important: :phoenix_kit must be listed in extra_applications. Without it, PhoenixKit.ModuleDiscovery won't find your module and routes will return 404.

3. Implement the behaviour

The main module (lib/my_phoenix_kit_module.ex) needs use PhoenixKit.Module and 5 required callbacks:

defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule do
  use PhoenixKit.Module

  alias PhoenixKit.Dashboard.Tab
  alias PhoenixKit.Settings

  # --- Required ---

  @impl true
  def module_key, do: "my_module"

  @impl true
  def module_name, do: "My Module"

  @impl true
  def enabled? do
    Settings.get_boolean_setting("my_module_enabled", false)
  rescue
    _ -> false
  end

  @impl true
  def enable_system do
    Settings.update_boolean_setting_with_module("my_module_enabled", true, module_key())
  end

  @impl true
  def disable_system do
    Settings.update_boolean_setting_with_module("my_module_enabled", false, module_key())
  end

  # --- Optional (remove what you don't need) ---

  @impl true
  def permission_metadata do
    %{
      key: module_key(),
      label: "My Module",
      icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",
      description: "Description shown in the permissions matrix"
    }
  end

  @impl true
  def admin_tabs do
    [
      %Tab{
        id: :admin_my_module,
        label: "My Module",
        icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",
        path: "my-module",
        priority: 650,
        level: :admin,
        permission: module_key(),
        match: :prefix,
        group: :admin_modules,
        live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive, :index}
      }
    ]
  end
end

4. Create your LiveView

defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive do
  use PhoenixKitWeb, :live_view

  def mount(_params, _session, socket) do
    {:ok,
     assign(socket,
       page_title: "My Module",
       page_subtitle: "What this page is for"
     )}
  end

  def render(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div class="flex flex-col px-4 py-6 gap-6">
      <p class="text-base-content/70">Your content here.</p>
    </div>
    """
  end
end

The admin layout (sidebar, header, theme) is applied automatically. You don't need to wrap anything in LayoutWrapper.

Two layout rules are worth internalizing now, because they're easy to get wrong and hard to un-see afterwards:

• The layout renders page_title/page_subtitle in the page header — so your template renders no page heading of its own. Adding an <h1>My Module</h1> to the template puts two titles on screen, and in practice they drift apart in wording.
• No page-level width cap. The page-root <div> gets spacing only. No container, no page-level max-w-* — the admin layout already owns page width. (A max-w-* scoped to one form card is fine.)

See "UI & Layout Conventions" in AGENTS.md for the full list.

5. Add to parent app

For local development, add a path dependency to the parent app's mix.exs:

# In parent app's mix.exs (local development)
{:my_phoenix_kit_module, path: "../my_phoenix_kit_module"}

Run mix deps.get, start the server, and your module appears in the admin panel.

See Dependency types: development vs production for git and Hex alternatives when deploying.

Headless modules

Not every module needs admin pages. A headless module provides functions, tools, or background workers — no tabs, no routes, no LiveViews. It still gets auto-discovery, enable/disable toggles, and permission integration.

Minimal example

defmodule MyPhoenixKitUtils do
  use PhoenixKit.Module

  alias PhoenixKit.Settings

  # --- Required callbacks (5 total) ---

  @impl true
  def module_key, do: "my_utils"

  @impl true
  def module_name, do: "My Utils"

  @impl true
  def enabled? do
    Settings.get_boolean_setting("my_utils_enabled", false)
  rescue
    _ -> false
  end

  @impl true
  def enable_system do
    Settings.update_boolean_setting_with_module("my_utils_enabled", true, module_key())
  end

  @impl true
  def disable_system do
    Settings.update_boolean_setting_with_module("my_utils_enabled", false, module_key())
  end

  # --- Optional: permission metadata ---
  # Include this if you want the module to appear in the roles/permissions matrix.
  # Omit it if the module is always available to all users.

  @impl true
  def permission_metadata do
    %{
      key: module_key(),
      label: "My Utils",
      icon: "hero-wrench-screwdriver",
      description: "Utility functions for data processing"
    }
  end

  # --- Your public API ---
  # No admin_tabs, settings_tabs, user_dashboard_tabs, or route_module needed.
  # All default to empty/nil automatically.

  def calculate(x, y), do: x + y

  def format_currency(amount, currency \\ "USD") do
    # ...
  end

  def send_notification(user, message) do
    if enabled?() do
      # ...
      :ok
    else
      {:error, :module_disabled}
    end
  end
end

That's it. No LiveView, no routes, no templates. The module:

• Auto-discovered — just add the dep, appears on Admin > Modules
• Toggleable — enable/disable from the admin panel
• Permission-gated — custom roles can be granted or denied access via the permissions matrix
• API-only — other modules and the parent app call its functions directly

What you get without any UI callbacks

Feature	How
Shows on Admin > Modules page	Automatic (auto-discovery)
Enable/disable toggle	Via enable_system/0 and disable_system/0
Permission in roles matrix	Via permission_metadata/0 (optional)
Access check in code	Scope.has_module_access?(scope, "my_utils")
Background workers	Override children/0 to return supervisor child specs
Config stats on Modules page	Override get_config/0 to return a stats map

When to use headless vs full-featured

Use headless when...	Use full-featured when...
Module provides utility functions	Module needs its own admin page
Module runs background jobs	Users need to view/edit data in a UI
Module extends other modules' APIs	Module has settings to configure
Module is a data pipeline or integration	Module has its own dashboard section

Adding a worker to a headless module

@impl true
def children do
  if enabled?() do
    [{MyPhoenixKitUtils.SyncWorker, interval: :timer.minutes(5)}]
  else
    []
  end
end

Guarding API calls with enabled?()

For modules that should no-op when disabled:

def process(data) do
  if enabled?() do
    do_process(data)
  else
    {:error, :module_disabled}
  end
end

For modules where the API is always available but behavior changes:

def enrich(record) do
  if enabled?() do
    %{record | ai_summary: generate_summary(record)}
  else
    record  # pass through unchanged
  end
end

Real-world example

PhoenixKit's built-in Connections module follows this pattern — 50+ public API functions for follows, connections, and blocks. Zero admin tabs, zero routes. It's toggled on/off from the Modules page and its permission key gates access in the roles matrix, but all interaction happens through function calls from other modules and the parent app.

Project structure

lib/
  my_phoenix_kit_module.ex                   # Main module (behaviour callbacks)
  my_phoenix_kit_module/
    paths.ex                                 # Centralized path helpers (recommended)
    web/
      index_live.ex                          # Main admin page
      detail_live.ex                         # Detail/edit page
      settings_live.ex                       # Settings page (optional)
      components/
        my_scripts.ex                        # JS hook component (if needed)
        shared_panel.ex                      # Shared UI components
test/
  my_phoenix_kit_module_test.exs             # Behaviour compliance tests
mix.exs                                      # Package configuration

For modules with database tables, add:

lib/
  my_phoenix_kit_module/
    migrations.ex                            # Versioned migration coordinator
    schemas/
      item.ex                                # Ecto schema
test/
  support/
    migration_runner.ex                      # Ecto.Migration wrapper (tests only)
  migrations_test.exs                        # Guards the migration contract

The module ships the DDL for its own tables — nothing goes into core phoenix_kit's migration chain, and the host app needs no install task: mix phoenix_kit.update finds the coordinator through migration_module/0 and generates the host migration itself. See Versioned migrations below.

phoenix_kit_hello_world is a template and owns no tables, so it carries the coordinator and schema as fully-commented files that compile to nothing (lib/phoenix_kit_hello_world/migrations.ex, lib/phoenix_kit_hello_world/schemas/example_item.ex) — copy and uncomment. For versions that actually run, read phoenix_kit_boards (single table) or phoenix_kit_web_analytics (two tables plus indexes).

Available callbacks

Callback	Required	Default	Description
module_key/0	Yes	—	Unique string key
module_name/0	Yes	—	Display name
enabled?/0	Yes	—	Whether module is on
enable_system/0	Yes	—	Turn on
disable_system/0	Yes	—	Turn off
version/0	No	"0.0.0"	Version string
get_config/0	No	%{enabled: enabled?()}	Config/stats map for Modules page
permission_metadata/0	No	nil	Permission UI metadata
admin_tabs/0	No	[]	Admin sidebar tabs
settings_tabs/0	No	[]	Settings page subtabs
user_dashboard_tabs/0	No	[]	User dashboard tabs
children/0	No	[]	Supervisor child specs
route_module/0	No	nil	Custom route macros
migration_module/0	No	nil	Versioned migration coordinator
css_sources/0	No	[]	OTP app names for Tailwind CSS scanning

Common patterns

Headless module (no UI)

See Headless modules above for the full guide. The short version: don't override admin_tabs/0, settings_tabs/0, or user_dashboard_tabs/0 — the defaults return [] and no sidebar entries or routes are created.

Adding a settings subtab

@impl true
def settings_tabs do
  [
    %Tab{
      id: :settings_my_module,
      label: "My Module",
      icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",
      path: "my-module",
      level: :settings,
      permission: module_key(),
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.SettingsLive, :index}
    }
  ]
end

Starting a GenServer with the module

@impl true
def children do
  if enabled?() do
    [{MyPhoenixKitModule.Worker, []}]
  else
    []
  end
end

Conditional children with optional dependencies

If your module optionally uses a library that provides a supervisor child (e.g., ChromicPDF for PDF generation), guard the child spec:

@impl true
def children do
  if Code.ensure_loaded?(ChromicPDF) do
    [{MyPhoenixKitModule.PdfSupervisor, []}]
  else
    []
  end
end

This ensures the module loads even when the optional dependency isn't installed.

Custom config for the Modules page

@impl true
def get_config do
  %{
    enabled: enabled?(),
    items_count: MyPhoenixKitModule.count_items(),
    last_sync: MyPhoenixKitModule.last_sync_at()
  }
end

Performance warning: get_config/0 is called on every render of the admin Modules page. Do not perform slow queries here. Use cached values or single aggregate queries.

Multiple pages and sub-routes

Return multiple tabs from admin_tabs/0. Use :match and :parent to control sidebar behavior:

@impl true
def admin_tabs do
  [
    # Main tab (visible in sidebar)
    %Tab{
      id: :admin_my_module,
      label: "My Module",
      icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",
      path: "my-module",
      priority: 650,
      level: :admin,
      permission: module_key(),
      match: :prefix,
      group: :admin_modules,
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive, :index}
    },
    # Detail page (not in sidebar, but keeps parent tab highlighted)
    %Tab{
      id: :admin_my_module_detail,
      path: "my-module/:id",
      level: :admin,
      permission: module_key(),
      visible: false,
      parent: :admin_my_module,
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.DetailLive, :show}
    }
  ]
end

For pages that shouldn't appear in the sidebar, set visible: false. The :parent field keeps the parent tab highlighted when viewing the child page. Use :match with :prefix on the parent so my-module/anything keeps it active.

Navigation system

Every path your module generates — in templates, redirects, or LiveView navigation — must go through PhoenixKit.Utils.Routes.path/1. This handles the configurable URL prefix (e.g., /phoenix_kit) and locale prefix (e.g., /ja) automatically.

The Paths module pattern (recommended)

Create a dedicated Paths module to centralize all your module's navigation paths. This is the pattern used by production modules like Document Creator, and it ensures you have a single place to update if paths ever change.

# lib/my_phoenix_kit_module/paths.ex
defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Paths do
  @moduledoc """
  Centralized path helpers for My Module.

  All navigation paths go through `PhoenixKit.Utils.Routes.path/1`, which
  handles the configurable URL prefix and locale prefix automatically.

  Use these helpers in templates and `redirect/2` calls instead of
  hardcoding paths.
  """

  alias PhoenixKit.Utils.Routes

  @base "/admin/my-module"

  # ── Main ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  def index, do: Routes.path(@base)

  # ── Items ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  def item_new, do: Routes.path("#{@base}/items/new")
  def item_edit(uuid), do: Routes.path("#{@base}/items/#{uuid}/edit")
  def item_show(uuid), do: Routes.path("#{@base}/items/#{uuid}")

  # ── Settings ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  def settings, do: Routes.path("#{@base}/settings")
end

Using paths in LiveViews and templates

# In LiveView mount or event handlers
alias MyPhoenixKitModule.Paths

# Redirect after save
{:noreply, redirect(socket, to: Paths.index())}

# Redirect to edit page after creation
{:noreply, redirect(socket, to: Paths.item_edit(item.uuid))}

# Handle not-found
case get_item(uuid) do
  nil ->
    socket
    |> put_flash(:error, "Item not found")
    |> redirect(to: Paths.index())

  item ->
    assign(socket, item: item)
end

<%!-- In templates --%>
<a href={Paths.item_edit(@item.uuid)} class="btn btn-sm">Edit</a>
<a href={Paths.index()} class="btn btn-ghost btn-sm">Back to list</a>

Tab paths vs template paths — two different systems

Where	How to specify paths
Tab struct path field	"my-module" (relative — core prepends /admin/)
Template href / redirect	Paths.index() (via your Paths module wrapping Routes.path/1)
Email URLs	Routes.url("/users/confirm/#{token}") (full URL)

Tab structs use a relative convention where the core handles the /admin/ prefix. Template paths and redirects are raw — they need the full path via Routes.path/1. The Paths module bridges this gap by centralizing the /admin/my-module base path in one @base attribute.

Why relative paths break

Never use relative paths in href or redirect(to:). The browser resolves them relative to the current URL. When locale segments (e.g., /ja/) or a URL prefix are in the path, relative paths resolve incorrectly:

# If current URL is /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module
# A relative href="items/new" would resolve to:
#   /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module/items/new  (maybe correct by accident)
# But from /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module/items/123:
#   /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module/items/items/new  (broken!)

# Always use absolute paths via Routes.path/1:
Paths.item_new()  # → /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module/items/new (always correct)

Admin integration deep dive

How routing works

You do not add routes manually. The live_view field in your tab structs tells PhoenixKit to generate routes at compile time. For a tab like:

%Tab{
  path: "my-module",
  live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive, :index}
}

PhoenixKit generates:

live "/admin/my-module", MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive, :index

inside the admin live_session with the admin layout applied. This happens at compile time in integration.ex. After adding a new external module, the parent app needs a recompile (mix deps.compile phoenix_kit --force or restart the server).

Admin layout is auto-applied

PhoenixKit's on_mount hook detects external plugin LiveViews and automatically applies the admin layout (sidebar, header, theme).

There are two supported shapes here. Pick one — don't mix them.

1. Auto-applied chrome (the default — what this template does). Assign page_title / page_subtitle in mount/3 and render your inner content directly. Do not call <PhoenixKitWeb.Components.LayoutWrapper.app_layout> yourself; the layout already did.

2. Self-wrapped layout (opt-out). A module that needs to own the wrapper — to pass app_layout attributes the automatic call doesn't set — registers an on_mount that points socket.private[:live_layout] at the host's plain layout, then calls app_layout from its own render/1:

on_mount({__MODULE__, :self_wrapped_layout})

def on_mount(:self_wrapped_layout, _params, _session, socket) do
  {:cont, put_in(socket.private[:live_layout], {MyAppWeb.Layouts, :app})}
end

phoenix_kit_warehouse's stock_live.ex and phoenix_kit_manufacturing's machines_live.ex both ship this pattern.

A stray app_layout call — pattern 2's render/1 without pattern 2's on_mount — no longer produces two sidebars. Core's LayoutWrapper.app_layout/1 detects that admin chrome was already rendered earlier in the same render tree, short-circuits to render_slot(@inner_block), and logs a :debug message naming the fix. You get one sidebar and a log line rather than a broken page.

This all applies to admin LiveViews. Public controller templates (rendered via Phoenix.Controller.render/2) still need the wrapper if they use the app layout.

Route module for complex routes

For simple modules, the live_view field in admin_tabs/0 is sufficient — PhoenixKit auto-generates the admin route. For modules with complex routing needs (multiple admin pages, public-facing routes, custom controllers), implement route_module/0:

@impl PhoenixKit.Module
def route_module, do: MyPhoenixKitModule.Routes

Your route module can implement these functions:

Function	Position in router	Use for
admin_locale_routes/0	Inside admin live_session (localized)	Complex admin LiveView routes
admin_routes/0	Inside admin live_session (non-localized)	Same, for non-locale-prefixed paths
generate/1	Early, before localized routes	Non-catch-all public routes
public_routes/1	Last, after all other routes	Catch-all public routes (/:group/*path)

Route ordering matters. If your module has catch-all routes like /:group or /:group/*path, they must go in public_routes/1 — not generate/1. Routes in generate/1 are placed early and will intercept admin paths, breaking the entire admin panel. public_routes/1 is placed last, after all admin and localized routes, so catch-alls only match when nothing else does.

Assigns available in admin LiveViews

PhoenixKit's on_mount hooks inject these assigns into every admin LiveView:

Assign	Type	Description
@phoenix_kit_current_scope	Scope	The authenticated user's scope (role, permissions)
@current_locale	String	The current locale string (e.g., "en", "ja")
@url_path	String	The current URL path (used for active nav highlighting)
@page_title	String	Set this in mount/3 — shown in the browser tab

Tab struct complete reference

All fields available on %PhoenixKit.Dashboard.Tab{}:

Field	Type	Default	Description
:id	atom	required	Unique identifier (prefix with :admin_yourmodule)
:label	string	required	Display text in sidebar
:icon	string	nil	Heroicon name (e.g., "hero-puzzle-piece")
:path	string	required	Relative slug ("my-module") or absolute ("/admin/my-module")
:priority	integer	500	Sort order (lower = higher in sidebar)
:level	atom	:user	:admin, :settings, :user, or :all
:permission	string	nil	Permission key (use module_key())
:group	atom	nil	Sidebar group (:admin_modules for module tabs)
:match	atom/fn	:prefix	:exact, :prefix, {:regex, ~r/...}, or fn path -> bool end
:live_view	tuple	nil	{Module, :action} for auto-routing
:parent	atom	nil	Parent tab ID (for hidden sub-pages or subtabs)
:visible	bool/fn	true	Show in sidebar. false hides it. Can be a fn scope -> bool end
:badge	Badge	nil	Badge indicator (count, dot, status)
:tooltip	string	nil	Hover text
:external	bool	false	Whether this links to an external site
:new_tab	bool	false	Whether to open in a new browser tab
:attention	atom	nil	Animation: :pulse, :bounce, :shake, :glow
:metadata	map	%{}	Custom metadata for advanced use cases
:subtab_display	atom	:when_active	When to show subtabs: :when_active or :always
:subtab_indent	string	nil	Tailwind padding class (e.g., "pl-6")
:subtab_icon_size	string	nil	Icon size class (e.g., "w-3 h-3")
:subtab_text_size	string	nil	Text size class (e.g., "text-xs")
:subtab_animation	atom	nil	:none, :slide, :fade, :collapse
:redirect_to_first_subtab	bool	false	Navigate to first subtab when clicking parent
:highlight_with_subtabs	bool	false	Keep parent highlighted when subtab is active

Subtabs (visible child tabs)

Subtabs appear indented under their parent in the sidebar. Use them for section-level navigation within your module:

@impl true
def admin_tabs do
  [
    # Parent tab with subtab configuration
    %Tab{
      id: :admin_my_module,
      label: "My Module",
      icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",
      path: "my-module",
      priority: 650,
      level: :admin,
      permission: module_key(),
      match: :prefix,
      group: :admin_modules,
      subtab_display: :when_active,        # Show subtabs only when parent is active
      highlight_with_subtabs: false,        # Don't highlight parent when subtab is active
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive, :index}
    },
    # Visible subtab — appears indented in sidebar under parent
    %Tab{
      id: :admin_my_module_reports,
      label: "Reports",
      icon: "hero-chart-bar",
      path: "my-module/reports",
      priority: 651,
      level: :admin,
      permission: module_key(),
      parent: :admin_my_module,
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.ReportsLive, :index}
    },
    # Another visible subtab
    %Tab{
      id: :admin_my_module_settings,
      label: "Settings",
      icon: "hero-cog-6-tooth",
      path: "my-module/settings",
      priority: 652,
      level: :admin,
      permission: module_key(),
      parent: :admin_my_module,
      live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.SettingsLive, :index}
    }
  ]
end

Hidden pages (invisible child tabs)

For pages that should exist as routes but not appear in the sidebar (e.g., edit pages, detail views), set visible: false:

# Hidden — route exists, but no sidebar entry
%Tab{
  id: :admin_my_module_item_edit,
  path: "my-module/items/:uuid/edit",
  level: :admin,
  permission: module_key(),
  parent: :admin_my_module,           # Keeps parent highlighted
  visible: false,                      # Not shown in sidebar
  live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.ItemEditorLive, :edit}
}

Conditional tabs via config flags

Use Application.compile_env/3 to gate tabs behind configuration:

@testing_mode Application.compile_env(:my_phoenix_kit_module, :testing_mode, false)

@impl true
def admin_tabs do
  base_tabs() ++ testing_tabs()
end

defp base_tabs do
  [
    %Tab{id: :admin_my_module, ...}
  ]
end

defp testing_tabs do
  if @testing_mode do
    [
      %Tab{
        id: :admin_my_module_testing,
        label: "Testing",
        icon: "hero-beaker",
        path: "my-module/testing",
        priority: 690,
        level: :admin,
        permission: module_key(),
        parent: :admin_my_module,
        live_view: {MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.TestingLive, :index}
      }
    ]
  else
    []
  end
end

Users enable testing tabs in their config:

config :my_phoenix_kit_module, :testing_mode, true

Real-world example: Document Creator's 14 tabs

The Document Creator module demonstrates a complex multi-page admin integration:

def admin_tabs do
  [
    # Main landing page (visible in sidebar, with subtabs)
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator, path: "document-creator",
         subtab_display: :when_active, highlight_with_subtabs: false, ...},

    # Hidden CRUD pages (route exists, no sidebar entry)
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_template_new, path: "document-creator/templates/new",
         visible: false, parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_template_edit, path: "document-creator/templates/:uuid/edit",
         visible: false, parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_document_edit, path: "document-creator/documents/:uuid/edit",
         visible: false, parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},

    # Visible subtabs (appear under parent in sidebar)
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_headers, path: "document-creator/headers",
         parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_footers, path: "document-creator/footers",
         parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},

    # Hidden pages for subtab CRUD
    %Tab{id: :admin_document_creator_header_new, path: "document-creator/headers/new",
         visible: false, parent: :admin_document_creator, ...},
    # ... and so on for header_edit, footer_new, footer_edit

    # Conditional testing tabs (behind config flag)
    # ... only included when :testing_editors config is true
  ]
end

Key takeaways from this pattern:

• One main tab visible in the sidebar with subtab_display: :when_active
• Subtabs for major sections (Headers, Footers) — visible, with parent pointing to main
• Hidden tabs for CRUD pages (new, edit) — visible: false, still auto-routed
• Path parameters work in tab paths: "document-creator/templates/:uuid/edit"
• All tabs share the same permission: module_key() for consistent access control

Priority ranges

Priority controls the sort order in the sidebar (lower number = higher position):

Range	Used by
100-199	Core admin (Dashboard)
200-299	Users section
300-399	Media section
400-599	Reserved for future core sections
600-899	Module tabs — use this range
900-999	System section (Settings, Modules)

Pick a priority in the 600-899 range for your module. Avoid exact conflicts with other modules by spacing them out (e.g., 650, 700, 750).

Sidebar groups

Group	Description
:admin_main	Top-level admin sections
:admin_modules	Feature modules (use this for your tabs)
:admin_system	Settings, Modules page, system tools

Icons

PhoenixKit uses Heroicons v2. Reference them with the hero- prefix:

hero-puzzle-piece       hero-chart-bar        hero-shopping-cart
hero-document-text      hero-cog-6-tooth      hero-bolt
hero-bell               hero-envelope         hero-globe-alt
hero-cube               hero-rocket-launch    hero-sparkles

Browse the full set at heroicons.com. Use outline style (the default) — just prefix with hero- and convert to kebab-case.

Permissions system

How permissions work

PhoenixKit uses a role-based permission system. Every module can register a permission key via permission_metadata/0.

Role type	Default access	Can be changed?
Owner	Full access to everything	No — hardcoded, cannot be restricted
Admin	All permission keys by default	Yes — per key via Admin > Roles
Custom roles	No permissions initially	Yes — must be granted explicitly

Registering your permission

@impl true
def permission_metadata do
  %{
    key: module_key(),          # MUST match module_key/0 exactly
    label: "My Module",         # Shown in the permissions matrix UI
    icon: "hero-puzzle-piece",  # Icon in the matrix
    description: "Access to the My Module admin pages"
  }
end

If you return nil (the default), the module has no dedicated permission key. Admins and owners can still see it, but custom roles never will.

Checking permissions in code

The scope is available in admin LiveViews via @phoenix_kit_current_scope:

alias PhoenixKit.Users.Auth.Scope

# In a LiveView
scope = socket.assigns.phoenix_kit_current_scope

Scope.has_module_access?(scope, "my_module")   # does user have this permission?
Scope.admin?(scope)                             # is user Owner or Admin?
Scope.system_role?(scope)                       # Owner, Admin, or User (not custom)?
Scope.owner?(scope)                             # is user Owner?
Scope.user_roles(scope)                         # list of role names

Access guards on admin tabs

PhoenixKit's on_mount hook automatically checks the :permission field on each tab before rendering the LiveView. If the user's role doesn't have the permission, they get a 302 redirect. You don't need to add manual guards — just set the :permission field correctly.

For fine-grained checks within a page (e.g., showing/hiding a delete button):

def render(assigns) do
  ~H"""
  <div>
    <h1>Items</h1>
    <button :if={Scope.admin?(@phoenix_kit_current_scope)} phx-click="delete">
      Delete
    </button>
  </div>
  """
end

Permission validation at startup

The ModuleRegistry validates at boot:

• permission_metadata().key must match module_key/0 — warns if mismatched
• Tabs with no :permission field — warns if the module has permission_metadata
• Duplicate tab IDs across modules — warns

These are warnings, not crashes, so a misconfigured module won't take down the app. But the symptom is that toggling the module works in the UI but permission checks use the wrong key.

PhoenixKit components

Use use PhoenixKitWeb, :live_view in your LiveViews (not use Phoenix.LiveView directly). This imports PhoenixKit's core components, Gettext, layout config, and HTML helpers — giving you a consistent admin UI out of the box.

Available components include:

• <.icon name="hero-*" /> — Heroicons
• <.button>, <.simple_form>, <.input>, <.select>, <.textarea>, <.checkbox>
• <.flash>, <.header>, <.badge>, <.stat_card>
• <.form_field_label>, <.form_field_error>

defmodule MyModule.Web.DashboardLive do
  use PhoenixKitWeb, :live_view  # imports all PhoenixKit components

  def render(assigns) do
    ~H\"""
    <div class="card bg-base-100 shadow">
      <div class="card-body">
        <h2 class="card-title">
          <.icon name="hero-chart-bar" class="w-5 h-5" /> Dashboard
        </h2>
        <p class="text-base-content/70">Your module content here.</p>
      </div>
    </div>
    \"""
  end
end

For controllers, use use PhoenixKitWeb, :controller.

Component reuse

As your module grows, extract shared UI into reusable function components. This keeps your LiveViews focused on business logic while shared presentation lives in dedicated component modules.

Important: If your components use Tailwind CSS classes, implement css_sources/0 in your main module so the parent app's Tailwind build can scan your templates. See Tailwind CSS scanning for modules for details.

Extracting a shared component

Create a component module under web/components/:

# lib/my_phoenix_kit_module/web/components/item_card.ex
defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.ItemCard do
  use Phoenix.Component

  attr :item, :map, required: true
  attr :on_edit, :string, default: nil
  attr :on_delete, :string, default: nil

  def item_card(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div class="card bg-base-100 shadow-xl">
      <div class="card-body">
        <h3 class="card-title">{@item.name}</h3>
        <p class="text-base-content/70 text-sm">{@item.description}</p>
        <div class="card-actions justify-end">
          <button :if={@on_edit} class="btn btn-sm btn-ghost" phx-click={@on_edit} phx-value-uuid={@item.uuid}>
            Edit
          </button>
          <button :if={@on_delete} class="btn btn-sm btn-error btn-outline" phx-click={@on_delete} phx-value-uuid={@item.uuid}>
            Delete
          </button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    """
  end
end

Using components in LiveViews

Import the component module and call the function:

defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.IndexLive do
  use PhoenixKitWeb, :live_view

  import MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.ItemCard

  def render(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-4 p-4">
      <.item_card :for={item <- @items} item={item} on_edit="edit_item" on_delete="delete_item" />
    </div>
    """
  end
end

The same component can be used across multiple LiveViews in your module:

# In another LiveView
defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.SearchResultsLive do
  use PhoenixKitWeb, :live_view

  import MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.ItemCard

  def render(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div class="space-y-4 p-4">
      <.item_card :for={item <- @results} item={item} on_edit="view_item" />
    </div>
    """
  end
end

Shared editor panel pattern

For modules with multiple editor pages (e.g., editing different entity types with the same UI), extract the editor shell as a component:

# lib/my_phoenix_kit_module/web/components/editor_panel.ex
defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.EditorPanel do
  use Phoenix.Component

  attr :id, :string, required: true, doc: "Unique prefix for all element IDs"
  attr :hook, :string, required: true, doc: "Phoenix hook name"
  attr :save_event, :string, required: true, doc: "LiveView event name for saving"
  attr :show_toolbar, :boolean, default: true

  def editor_panel(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div class="flex-1">
      <div
        id={"#{@id}-wrapper"}
        phx-hook={@hook}
        phx-update="ignore"
        data-editor-id={"#{@id}-editor"}
        data-save-event={@save_event}
      >
        <div :if={@show_toolbar} id={"#{@id}-toolbar"} class="border-b border-base-300 p-2">
          <%!-- Toolbar rendered by JS hook --%>
        </div>
        <div id={"#{@id}-editor"} style="min-height: 500px;"></div>
      </div>
    </div>
    """
  end
end

Then each editor LiveView imports and uses it with different parameters:

# Template editor
import MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.EditorPanel
<.editor_panel id="template" hook="TemplateEditor" save_event="save_template" />

# Document editor
<.editor_panel id="document" hook="DocumentEditor" save_event="save_document" show_toolbar={false} />

Multi-step modal component

For complex workflows, extract modal components:

# lib/my_phoenix_kit_module/web/components/create_modal.ex
defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Web.Components.CreateModal do
  use Phoenix.Component

  attr :open, :boolean, required: true
  attr :step, :string, default: "choose"
  attr :templates, :list, default: []
  attr :creating, :boolean, default: false

  def modal(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <div :if={@open} class="modal modal-open">
      <div class="modal-box max-w-lg">
        <%= case @step do %>
          <% "choose" -> %>
            <h3 class="text-lg font-bold">Choose Type</h3>
            <%!-- Step 1 content --%>
          <% "configure" -> %>
            <h3 class="text-lg font-bold">Configure</h3>
            <%!-- Step 2 content --%>
        <% end %>
      </div>
      <div class="modal-backdrop" phx-click="modal_close"></div>
    </div>
    """
  end
end

Component design guidelines

1. Use attr declarations — they provide documentation, validation, and compile-time warnings
2. Use daisyUI semantic classes — bg-base-100, text-base-content, btn btn-primary (never hardcode colors)
3. Use text-base-content/70 for muted text, not text-gray-500
4. Prefix element IDs with the component's @id attr to avoid collisions when multiple instances are on the same page
5. Pass event names as attrs (e.g., on_edit="edit_item") rather than hardcoding them — this makes the component reusable across LiveViews with different event handlers

JavaScript in modules

External modules cannot inject files into the parent app's asset pipeline (app.js). All JavaScript must be delivered inside your LiveView templates.

First: check whether core already has the hook

Hooks that ship in PhoenixKit's own JS bundle are registered on every page load, so they work no matter how the page is reached. A hook you deliver from your own template does not have that property (see the rules below). Before writing one, check PhoenixKitHooks in core — e.g. InfiniteScroll, which pairs with <.load_more infinite>:

import PhoenixKitWeb.Components.Core.Pagination, only: [load_more: 1]

<.load_more id="events-load-more" loaded={@loaded} total={@total} infinite />

events_live.ex in this template uses exactly that — auto-load on scroll plus a manual "Load more" fallback button, and no JS of its own. Only when core has nothing suitable do you deliver your own, using the patterns below.

Simple inline hooks

For small amounts of JS, use inline <script> tags. PhoenixKit's app.js collects hooks from window.PhoenixKitHooks when creating the LiveSocket.

# lib/my_module/web/components/my_scripts.ex
defmodule MyModule.Web.Components.MyScripts do
  use Phoenix.Component

  def my_scripts(assigns) do
    ~H"""
    <script>
      window.PhoenixKitHooks = window.PhoenixKitHooks || {};
      window.PhoenixKitHooks.MyHook = {
        mounted() {
          // Your hook logic here
          this.el.addEventListener("click", () => {
            this.pushEvent("clicked", {id: this.el.dataset.id});
          });
        },
        destroyed() {
          // Cleanup when element is removed
        }
      };
    </script>
    """
  end
end

Then in your LiveView template:

<.my_scripts />
<div id="my-widget" phx-hook="MyHook" phx-update="ignore" data-id={@item.id}>
  ...
</div>

Key rules for inline JS

• Register hooks on window.PhoenixKitHooks — PhoenixKit spreads this into the LiveSocket
• A page whose hook is registered by an inline <script> in its own render/1 must be entered via full page load (redirect/2 or plain <a href>), not navigate/2, so that script executes. This constraint bites harder than it sounds: in-app sidebar links and <.link navigate={...}> are all patched navigation, so the hook silently binds to nothing and the feature does nothing, with no error. Prefer a core hook (above) or the base64 delivery below, and reserve inline <script> for pages that genuinely are only reached by full load.
• Never assume access to node_modules, esbuild, or the parent app's JS build

Base64-encoded JS delivery (for large scripts)

Large inline <script> tags inside LiveView renders do not work reliably. LiveView's morphdom DOM patching can corrupt script boundaries, and HTML-like strings inside JS confuse the rendering pipeline. Browser extensions (e.g., MetaMask's hardened JS) can also block eval() from inline scripts.

The solution is compile-time base64 encoding. The JS source file is read and encoded at compile time, then emitted as a data- attribute on a hidden <div>. A tiny bootstrapper decodes and executes it via document.createElement("script"):

# lib/my_module/web/components/my_scripts.ex
defmodule MyModule.Web.Components.MyScripts do
  @moduledoc """
  JavaScript component that delivers hooks via base64-encoded compile-time embedding.

  The JS source lives in `my_hooks.js` alongside this module. After editing it,
  recompile from the parent app:

      mix deps.compile my_phoenix_kit_module --force

  Then restart the Phoenix server.
  """
  use Phoenix.Component

  # Read and encode JS at compile time
  @external_resource Path.join(__DIR__, "my_hooks.js")
  @js_source __DIR__ |> Path.join("my_hooks.js") |> File.read!()
  @js_base64 Base.encode64(@js_source)
  @js_version to_string(:erlang.phash2(@js_source))

  def my_scripts(assigns) do
    assigns =
      assigns
      |> assign(:js_base64, @js_base64)
      |> assign(:js_version, @js_version)

    ~H"""
    <div id="my-module-js-payload" hidden data-c={@js_base64} data-v={@js_version}></div>
    <script>
    (function(){
      var p=document.getElementById("my-module-js-payload");
      if(!p) return;
      var v=p.dataset.v;
      if(window.__MyModuleVersion===v) return;
      var old=document.getElementById("my-module-js-script");
      if(old) old.remove();
      window.__MyModuleVersion=v;
      var s=document.createElement("script");
      s.id="my-module-js-script";
      s.textContent=atob(p.dataset.c);
      document.head.appendChild(s);
    })();
    </script>
    """
  end
end

And the JS source file alongside it:

// lib/my_module/web/components/my_hooks.js
// This file is read at compile time by my_scripts.ex, base64-encoded,
// and embedded in the rendered HTML. After editing, run:
//   mix deps.compile my_phoenix_kit_module --force
(function() {
  "use strict";

  if (window.__MyModuleInitialized) return;
  window.__MyModuleInitialized = true;

  window.PhoenixKitHooks = window.PhoenixKitHooks || {};

  window.PhoenixKitHooks.MyEditor = {
    mounted() {
      // Your hook logic here
      this.handleEvent("load-data", (data) => {
        // Handle server-pushed events
      });
    },
    destroyed() {
      // Cleanup
    }
  };
})();

Why this works better than inline scripts:

1. No morphdom corruption — base64 contains no HTML-significant characters (<, >, </script>)
2. No HTML confusion — JS code containing HTML strings (e.g., '<h1>Title</h1>') won't break
3. Browser extension safe — document.createElement("script") bypasses extension blocks on eval()
4. Version tracking — the content hash (@js_version) ensures re-execution on LiveView navigations when JS changes
5. Self-contained — no files need to be copied to the parent app
6. @external_resource — tells Mix to track the JS file for recompilation

Editing workflow:

1. Edit my_hooks.js
2. From parent app: mix deps.compile my_phoenix_kit_module --force
3. Restart the Phoenix server (dev reloader only watches the app's own modules, not deps)

Loading vendor libraries from CDN

For large third-party libraries (e.g., GrapesJS, CodeMirror), load them from CDN dynamically:

// In your hooks JS file
var _libLoaded = false;
var _libCallbacks = [];

function ensureLibrary(callback) {
  if (typeof MyLibrary !== "undefined") {
    callback();
    return;
  }
  _libCallbacks.push(callback);
  if (_libLoaded) return;
  _libLoaded = true;

  // Load CSS
  var link = document.createElement("link");
  link.rel = "stylesheet";
  link.href = "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/my-library@1.0/dist/style.min.css";
  document.head.appendChild(link);

  // Load JS
  var script = document.createElement("script");
  script.src = "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/my-library@1.0/dist/lib.min.js";
  script.onload = function() {
    var cbs = _libCallbacks.slice();
    _libCallbacks = [];
    cbs.forEach(function(cb) { cb(); });
  };
  document.head.appendChild(script);
}

// In your hook:
window.PhoenixKitHooks.MyEditor = {
  mounted() {
    ensureLibrary(() => {
      // Library is now available
      this.editor = new MyLibrary.Editor(this.el, { /* options */ });
    });
  }
};

Vendor JS files (bundled)

If you prefer to bundle the library instead of using a CDN:

1. Bundle the minified file in priv/static/vendor/your_lib/
2. Your install task copies it to the parent app's priv/static/vendor/
3. Load it via <script src={~p"/vendor/your_lib/lib.min.js"}> in your template

LiveView JS interop

Communicate between your JS hooks and LiveView:

// JS → Elixir (push events to the server)
this.pushEvent("save_content", {html: editor.getHtml(), css: editor.getCss()});

// Elixir → JS (handle server-pushed events)
this.handleEvent("load-content", ({html, css}) => {
  editor.setContent(html);
});

// Elixir → JS (push from server in handle_event)
// In your LiveView:
{:noreply, push_event(socket, "load-content", %{html: content.html, css: content.css})}

Available PhoenixKit APIs

Your module has access to the full PhoenixKit API through the dependency. Here's what's available and where to look. Run mix docs in phoenix_kit for the full API reference.

Settings (PhoenixKit.Settings)

Read and write persistent key/value settings stored in the database.

Settings.get_setting("my_key")                          # returns string or nil
Settings.get_boolean_setting("my_key", false)            # returns boolean with default
Settings.get_json_setting("my_key")                      # returns decoded map/list
Settings.update_setting("my_key", "value")               # write a string
Settings.update_boolean_setting_with_module("my_key", true, module_key())  # write boolean tied to module

Permissions & Scope (PhoenixKit.Users.Permissions, PhoenixKit.Users.Auth.Scope)

Check what the current user can access. The scope is available in LiveViews via @phoenix_kit_current_scope.

# In a LiveView
scope = socket.assigns.phoenix_kit_current_scope

Scope.has_module_access?(scope, "my_module")   # does user have this permission?
Scope.admin?(scope)                             # is user Owner or Admin?
Scope.system_role?(scope)                       # Owner, Admin, or User (not custom)?
Scope.owner?(scope)                             # is user Owner?

Tab struct (PhoenixKit.Dashboard.Tab)

See Tab struct complete reference for all fields.

Routes & Navigation (PhoenixKit.Utils.Routes)

See Navigation system for the full guide.

alias PhoenixKit.Utils.Routes

Routes.path("/admin/my-module")       # → /phoenix_kit/ja/admin/my-module
Routes.url("/users/confirm/#{token}") # full URL for emails

Date formatting (PhoenixKit.Utils.Date)

alias PhoenixKit.Utils.Date, as: UtilsDate

UtilsDate.utc_now()                              # truncated to seconds (safe for DB writes)
UtilsDate.format_datetime_with_user_format(dt)   # uses admin settings for format

UI guidelines

PhoenixKit's UI targets daisyUI 5 — minimum 5.6.0, verified against 5.6.17. daisyUI lives in the host app (assets/vendor/daisyui.js), not in PhoenixKit; core ships themes only. mix phoenix_kit.doctor warns when the host's copy is older than the minimum, and PhoenixKit.Install.DaisyUI.minimum_version/0 is the authoritative value.

• Use daisyUI semantic classes — bg-base-100, text-base-content, btn btn-primary, badge badge-success
• Never hardcode colors like bg-white, text-gray-500, etc. — these break with themes
• Use text-base-content/70 for muted text
• Don't use daisyUI v4 classes that v5 removed (upgrade guide): btn-group (use join + join-item), label-text (plain text inside <label class="label">), and the *-bordered family — input-bordered, select-bordered, textarea-bordered, file-input-bordered — which are unnecessary because those elements have a border by default in v5
• daisyUI 5 needs the wrapper <label class="select"> pattern around a bare <select> — the core <.select> component handles this, which is one more reason to use it over raw HTML
• The admin layout is applied automatically for plugin LiveViews — just render your content
• Render no page-level heading and no page-level width cap — page_title/page_subtitle are rendered once by the layout, and the layout owns page width. No container, no page-root max-w-*
• Use card bg-base-100 shadow-xl for card containers
• Use badge badge-sm for status indicators
• Prefer core components over hand-rolled markup: <.table_default>, <.pagination> / <.load_more>, <.empty_state>, and the core form primitives. The Components showcase pairs each raw daisyUI section with its core counterpart

Cross-module integration

Your module can depend on other PhoenixKit modules or external plugins. There are two patterns depending on whether the dependency is required or optional.

Required dependency

If your module won't work without another module, add it to mix.exs. Mix enforces it at install time — if the user doesn't have it, mix deps.get fails with a clear error.

# mix.exs
defp deps do
  [
    {:phoenix_kit, "~> 1.7"},
    {:phoenix_kit_billing, "~> 1.0"}  # hard requirement
  ]
end

Then use it directly in your code — it's always available:

alias PhoenixKit.Modules.Billing

def get_customer_for_user(user) do
  if Billing.enabled?() do
    Billing.get_customer(user)
  else
    nil  # billing code is installed but the feature is toggled off
  end
end

Optional dependency

If your module has bonus features when another module is present but works fine without it, use Code.ensure_loaded?/1 at runtime:

def ai_features_available? do
  Code.ensure_loaded?(PhoenixKit.Modules.AI) and
    PhoenixKit.Modules.AI.enabled?()
end

def maybe_generate_summary(content) do
  if ai_features_available?() do
    PhoenixKit.Modules.AI.generate(content, "Summarize this")
  else
    {:ok, nil}
  end
end

This is how the Publishing module integrates with AI — translation features appear only when the AI module is installed and enabled, but publishing works fine without it.

Pattern summary

Scenario	How	What happens if missing
Required	Add to mix.exs deps	mix deps.get fails
Optional, installed	Code.ensure_loaded?/1 + enabled?()	Feature hidden, no errors
Feature flag	Settings.get_boolean_setting/2	Feature toggled off at runtime

Database conventions

If your module needs database tables, follow these conventions to avoid collisions with other modules and phoenix_kit internals.

Table naming

Prefix all tables with phoenix_kit_ followed by your module key:

phoenix_kit_my_module_items
phoenix_kit_my_module_categories

Never use generic names like items or posts — another module or the parent app might use them.

Ecto schemas

Every table-backed schema starts with the same two lines:

defmodule MyPhoenixKitModule.Schemas.Item do
  use Ecto.Schema
  use PhoenixKit.SchemaPrefix   # core >= 1.7.189
  import Ecto.Changeset

  @primary_key {:uuid, UUIDv7, autogenerate: true}
  @foreign_key_type UUIDv7

  schema "phoenix_kit_my_module_items" do
    field :name, :string
    timestamps(type: :utc_datetime)
  end
end

use PhoenixKit.SchemaPrefix is load-bearing: PhoenixKit supports installing into a named Postgres schema (mix phoenix_kit.install --prefix "auth"), and the migrations create your tables inside that schema. This line makes your queries target it too — without it they resolve via the connection's search_path, which works on public installs and silently breaks on prefixed ones. With no prefix configured it compiles to nil (zero behavior change), so never omit it.

A fully-commented copyable template lives at lib/phoenix_kit_hello_world/schemas/example_item.ex, and test/schema_prefix_conformance_test.exs (also part of this template) scans lib/ so a schema can't silently skip the attribute — copy both.

One more rule that file records: the schema's timestamps/1 type must match the one your migration used. timestamps(type: :utc_datetime) against timestamptz(6) columns (what :utc_datetime_usec creates) silently truncates on write.

Versioned migrations

Your module owns the DDL for its own tables. The migrations that create them live in your repo and ship inside your package — they are not added as a new Vxxx to core phoenix_kit's migration chain. Core's chain stays about core's tables; your schema versions with the package that owns it, and hosts that never install your module never carry your DDL.

phoenix_kit_hello_world is the template and owns no tables of its own — a demo module has no business creating one in every host that installs it. It carries the pattern as a fully-commented file that compiles to nothing, lib/phoenix_kit_hello_world/migrations.ex: copy it, uncomment, rename. Two published modules run this exact shape if you want a working reference — phoenix_kit_boards (single table) and phoenix_kit_web_analytics (two tables plus indexes).

How it works

1. Your module implements migration_module/0, returning a coordinator module.
2. The coordinator tracks the installed version in a COMMENT ON TABLE on one of your tables.
3. Each version is an immutable step (up_v1/1, up_v2/1, …) that creates or alters tables.
4. In the host app, mix phoenix_kit.update discovers every module's coordinator, generates a host migration for each one that is behind, and runs mix ecto.migrate.

No install task, and no hand-written SQL in the host.

Before you claim a table

Check that core's chain does not already create it:

grep -rn "<your table name>" deps/phoenix_kit/lib/phoenix_kit/migrations/postgres/

This matters because mix phoenix_kit.update runs core's own migrations before module migrations. If core's chain also ships your DDL, core wins every time: your table always pre-exists, your up/1 is dead code on every host, and the two definitions quietly drift — different column widths, different index names, sometimes a different primary key. Nothing errors, and the update prints a green line for a module whose migration has never executed.

phoenix_kit_legal shipped in exactly that state until 0.1.11: core's V43 creates phoenix_kit_consent_logs, so the module's own coordinator had never run anywhere, and the two DDLs disagreed on four column definitions and the primary key. The writeup is in that repo at dev_docs/reports/2026-08-10-module-migration-versioning.md.

If core does create your table, you do not get to start clean. Your first real version is the step that reconciles both shapes, and it has to reach the same end state from either starting point — which also means adopting one index naming scheme and dropping the other, rather than creating a parallel set every host then maintains twice.

The coordinator

The shape below is the skeleton of the template at lib/phoenix_kit_hello_world/migrations.ex — read that file for the fully commented version.

defmodule MyModule.Migrations do
  @moduledoc "Versioned migration coordinator for `my_module`."

  use Ecto.Migration

  alias PhoenixKit.Migrations.Postgres.Helpers

  @initial_version 1
  @current_version 1
  @default_prefix "public"
  @version_table "phoenix_kit_my_module_items"

  @doc "The version this code expects the schema to be at."
  def current_version, do: @current_version

  @doc "The version a bare, freshly created table is at."
  def initial_version, do: @initial_version

  @doc """
  The table whose COMMENT carries the version marker.

  Not part of the protocol core calls. Export it so an auditor can verify your
  marker is really a number without hard-coding your table name — see
  `mix phoenix_kit_hello_world.audit_migrations`.
  """
  def version_table, do: @version_table

  def up(opts \\ []) do
    opts = with_defaults(opts, @current_version)
    initial = migrated_version(opts)

    cond do
      initial == 0 -> change(@initial_version..opts.version, :up, opts)
      initial < opts.version -> change((initial + 1)..opts.version, :up, opts)
      true -> :ok
    end

    :ok
  end

  @doc """
  Roll back to the target version. `version: 0` drops; any higher target KEEPS
  the table. Core generates `down(version: 1)` for a V2→V1 rollback, so a
  coordinator whose `down/1` always drops answers "return to V1" by deleting the
  user's data.
  """
  def down(opts \\ []) do
    opts = with_defaults(opts, 0)
    current = migrated_version(opts)
    target = opts.version

    if current > target, do: change(current..(target + 1)//-1, :down, opts)

    :ok
  end

  # Migration context — reads through the `Ecto.Migration` repo() helper. No
  # rescue: inside a migration, a version you cannot read must abort the
  # transaction, never be guessed at.
  def migrated_version(opts \\ []) do
    opts = with_defaults(opts, @initial_version)
    read_version(repo(), opts.prefix)
  end

  # Runtime context — this is the one `mix phoenix_kit.update` calls, from a
  # Mix task with no migrator running, so it goes through PhoenixKit's
  # configured repo instead.
  #
  # An invalid prefix is re-raised, matching core's own reader: 0 means "this
  # module is not installed here", so reporting it for a bad prefix tells the
  # operator something false and sends the updater off to install a schema over
  # live data. Genuine unreachability still yields 0, which is safe only because
  # up/1 re-reads the version in migration context before touching anything.
  def migrated_version_runtime(opts \\ []) do
    opts = with_defaults(opts, @initial_version)
    read_version(PhoenixKit.RepoHelper.repo(), opts.prefix)
  rescue
    e in ArgumentError -> reraise e, __STACKTRACE__
    _ -> 0
  end

  # ── v1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

  defp up_v1(prefix) do
    # Don't assume core's chain ran first. `uuid_generate_v7()` is built on
    # pgcrypto's `gen_random_bytes` and `ensure_uuid_v7_function/1` does not
    # install extensions — without the first line the function is created and
    # then fails on the first insert.
    Helpers.ensure_extension!("pgcrypto")
    Helpers.ensure_uuid_v7_function(prefix)

    create_if_not_exists table(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items,
                           primary_key: false,
                           prefix: prefix
                         ) do
      add(:uuid, :uuid,
        primary_key: true,
        null: false,
        default: fragment(Helpers.uuid_v7_call(prefix))
      )

      add(:name, :string, null: false)
      add(:status, :string, size: 20, null: false, default: "active")

      timestamps(type: :utc_datetime_usec)
    end

    # Bare index name — `CREATE INDEX schema.name` is a syntax error.
    create_if_not_exists(index(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items, [:status], prefix: prefix))
  end

  defp down_v1(prefix) do
    drop_if_exists(table(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items, prefix: prefix))
  end

  # ── internals ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

  defp change(range, direction, opts) do
    Enum.each(range, &apply_step(direction, &1, opts.prefix))

    case direction do
      :up -> record_version(opts, Enum.max(range))
      :down -> record_version(opts, max(Enum.min(range) - 1, 0))
    end
  end

  defp apply_step(:up, 1, prefix), do: up_v1(prefix)
  defp apply_step(:down, 1, prefix), do: down_v1(prefix)

  defp apply_step(direction, version, _prefix) do
    raise ArgumentError, "no #{direction} step defined for schema version #{version}"
  end

  defp record_version(_opts, 0), do: :ok

  defp record_version(%{prefix: prefix}, version) do
    execute("COMMENT ON TABLE #{Helpers.qualify_table(@version_table, prefix)} IS '#{version}'")
  end

  defp with_defaults(opts, version) do
    opts = Enum.into(opts, %{})
    prefix = Map.get(opts, :prefix) || @default_prefix

    # The prefix is interpolated into the DDL above, so an invalid one has to
    # fail here rather than reach the query text.
    Helpers.validate_prefix!(prefix)

    opts
    |> Map.put(:prefix, prefix)
    |> Map.put_new(:version, version)
  end

  # Reads use bound parameters, so the prefix never reaches the query text.
  defp read_version(repo, prefix) do
    if table_exists?(repo, prefix) do
      repo |> table_comment(prefix) |> parse_version()
    else
      0
    end
  end

  defp table_exists?(repo, prefix) do
    query = """
    SELECT EXISTS (
      SELECT FROM information_schema.tables
      WHERE table_name = $1 AND table_schema = $2
    )
    """

    case repo.query(query, [@version_table, prefix], log: false) do
      {:ok, %{rows: [[exists?]]}} -> exists?
      {:error, error} -> raise error
    end
  end

  defp table_comment(repo, prefix) do
    query = """
    SELECT pg_catalog.obj_description(c.oid, 'pg_class')
    FROM pg_class c
    JOIN pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
    WHERE c.relname = $1 AND n.nspname = $2
    """

    case repo.query(query, [@version_table, prefix], log: false) do
      {:ok, %{rows: [[comment]]}} -> comment
      {:ok, %{rows: []}} -> nil
      {:error, error} -> raise error
    end
  end

  # A numeric comment is the marker. Anything else on a table that exists means
  # V1 — either no comment yet, or someone else's prose. `Integer.parse/1` and
  # not `String.to_integer/1`: the latter RAISES on prose, and that raise lands
  # in migrated_version_runtime's rescue, which turns it into 0 — "not
  # installed" for a populated table.
  defp parse_version(comment) when is_binary(comment) do
    case Integer.parse(String.trim(comment)) do
      {version, ""} -> version
      _ -> @initial_version
    end
  end

  defp parse_version(_), do: @initial_version
end

Registering it

@impl PhoenixKit.Module
def migration_module, do: MyModule.Migrations

That is the entire registration — no config entry, no install task.

How upgrades work

When a host updates your dep and runs mix phoenix_kit.update:

1. PhoenixKit discovers your module by scanning beam files.
2. It calls migration_module/0 to find the coordinator.
3. It compares migrated_version_runtime(prefix: prefix) with current_version().
4. If the database is behind, it writes a migration into the host's priv/repo/migrations/ and runs mix ecto.migrate:

defmodule MyApp.Repo.Migrations.MyModuleUpdateV01ToV02 do
  use Ecto.Migration

  def up, do: MyModule.Migrations.up(prefix: "public", version: 2)
  def down, do: MyModule.Migrations.down(prefix: "public", version: 1)
end

Fresh installs run V1 → V2 → … in order; hosts at V1 run only the steps after V1.

Adding a V2

When you need to change the schema, never edit V1. A host that already ran V1 will never run it again, so an edit there only forks fresh installs from upgraded ones. Add a step:

defp up_v2(prefix) do
  alter table(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items, prefix: prefix) do
    add_if_not_exists(:metadata, :map, null: false, default: %{})
  end

  create_if_not_exists(index(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items, [:name], prefix: prefix))
end

defp down_v2(prefix) do
  alter table(:phoenix_kit_my_module_items, prefix: prefix) do
    remove_if_exists(:metadata, :map)
  end
end

Then add the dispatch clauses and bump the version:

defp apply_step(:up, 2, prefix), do: up_v2(prefix)
defp apply_step(:down, 2, prefix), do: down_v2(prefix)

@current_version 2  # was 1

Two rules that only bite at V2, so they are easy to ship without noticing:

• The version must be stored, not inferred. A reader that answers "is the table there?" cannot tell V1 from V2, so it reports the target version for every host and core skips the delta — printing success while applying nothing. That is why the marker lives in COMMENT ON TABLE.
• Repair inference and rollback together. While the marker is inferred, no host with an existing table is ever handed an upgrade migration, so a down/1 that always drops is unreachable and looks harmless. Fix the marker alone and you arm it: real down(version: N > 0) calls start the same day.

Auditing a live host

mix phoenix_kit_hello_world.audit_migrations
mix phoenix_kit_hello_world.audit_migrations --prefix auth

Run in the host app against a migrated database. For every installed module that declares a migration_module/0 it checks the protocol exports, that an absent schema reports 0, that an unusable prefix raises instead of reporting 0, that the reported version is not ahead of the shipped code, and — when the coordinator exports version_table/0 — that the stored marker is actually a number rather than someone's prose description. Read-only, and exits non-zero on failure so it can gate a release.

Everything it checks is silent when broken, which is the point: none of these defects produce an error message, and a database-less test suite cannot see any of them.

What it cannot decide for you is who owns the table. These three queries settle that, and they disagree with the source more often than you would expect:

-- is the marker a number, or someone else's prose?
SELECT pg_catalog.obj_description(c.oid, 'pg_class')
FROM pg_class c JOIN pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
WHERE n.nspname = 'public' AND c.relname = '<your table>';

-- whose index names are these?
SELECT indexname FROM pg_indexes
WHERE schemaname = 'public' AND tablename = '<your table>';

-- whose CREATE TABLE ran? column ORDER is the fingerprint
SELECT column_name, data_type, character_maximum_length, is_nullable
FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_schema = 'public' AND table_name = '<your table>'
ORDER BY ordinal_position;

Prefix safety

PhoenixKit can install into a named Postgres schema (mix phoenix_kit.install --prefix "auth"), and the generated host migration passes that prefix straight into your up/1. Migration code that ignores it scatters half the module's tables into public. Rules:

• Pass prefix: to every table/2, index/3, and alter table.
• Keep index names bare on CREATE INDEX — Postgres rejects CREATE INDEX schema.name and scopes an index to its table's schema anyway. Only DROP INDEX schema.name accepts a qualified name.
• Anchor existence checks to the target schema (AND table_schema = '#{prefix}'), never to search_path.
• Use PhoenixKit.Migrations.Postgres.Helpers rather than hand-rolling SQL strings: qualify_table/2, uuid_v7_call/1, ensure_uuid_v7_function/1, validate_prefix!/1.

Adopting a table core already creates (extraction)

Some module tables were born in core — the module once lived there, or the table predates the module-owned protocol — and ship in core's squashed baseline, so on every existing install the table exists before your chain first runs. Extraction is an adoption, in phases (live reference: phoenix_kit_legal, PhoenixKit.Modules.Legal.Migrations and its dev_docs/reports/2026-08-10-consent-logs-extraction.md):

• Phase 0 — V1 adopts, changes nothing. CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS shape-identical to core's baseline with core's exact object names, then a namespaced marker stamp (pkl_schema:1 — an adopted table may carry a foreign comment, and your reader must treat prose as version 0). Build the DDL from your schema module's single shape authority, expose the statements as data, and test-pin them: widths, core's names, idempotence guards, and — for data-bearing tables — no DROP/TRUNCATE/DELETE in either direction. An audit-trail table survives down/1: unstamp, keep the rows. Because the shape is unchanged, core's ExpectedSchema stays accurate — no core release is needed and there is no ordering hazard.
• Phase 1 — your first shape change (V2+) is when core moves. Before that release: add the altered objects to core's manifest generator @excluded_exact and regenerate ExpectedSchema (maintainer tooling), then raise your core floor to that release — otherwise mix phoenix_kit.repair restores the old shape after every run.
• Phase 2 — creation leaves core at the next baseline squash. Fresh installs then get the table from your V1, which is why V1 must be able to create the full table even though today it always finds one. Existing installs are untouched.

Never write a conditional core migration of the form "module absent → drop the table": it is nondeterministic (the schema would depend on which packages are compiled in, breaking the manifest, the chain hash and the squash verification oracles) and it destroys data on hosts that merely removed the package. Real uninstalls are a human step — ship a "removing this module" snippet in your README instead.

Testing your migration

A coordinator that compiles is not a coordinator that runs. up/1 uses Ecto.Migration macros, so it needs a migrator process around it — wrap it once in test/support/migration_runner.ex:

defmodule MyModule.Test.MigrationRunner do
  use Ecto.Migration

  def up, do: MyModule.Migrations.up(prefix: "public")
  def down, do: MyModule.Migrations.down(prefix: "public", version: 0)
end

and run it from test/test_helper.exs, after core's chain:

PhoenixKit.Migration.ensure_current(MyModule.Test.Repo, log: false)

Ecto.Migrator.up(
  MyModule.Test.Repo,
  :os.system_time(:microsecond),
  MyModule.Test.MigrationRunner,
  log: false
)

The microsecond version makes the wrapper re-run on every boot instead of being short-circuited by a stale schema_migrations row; the coordinator is idempotent, so a re-run against an up-to-date database is a no-op. Your test database is then built by exactly the code a host app runs — no separate fixture DDL to drift.

Key rules

• Module tables belong to the module — never add them to core's Vxxx chain.
• Version steps are immutable — never edit a shipped V1. Add a V2 instead.
• V1 creates the original schema — even if you later change it. V2 ALTERs it.
• Use create_if_not_exists and add_if_not_exists for idempotency.
• Track the version via SQL comment — COMMENT ON TABLE {table} IS '{version}'; "does the table exist" can't tell V0 from V1.
• Everything takes a prefix — see Prefix safety above.

Schemas

# In your schema
defmodule MyModule.Schemas.Item do
  use Ecto.Schema
  use PhoenixKit.SchemaPrefix   # right after `use Ecto.Schema` — see above

  import Ecto.Changeset

  # `UUIDv7` is the top-level module from the `uuidv7` package, pulled in by
  # phoenix_kit — no alias needed.
  @primary_key {:uuid, UUIDv7, autogenerate: true}
  @foreign_key_type UUIDv7

  schema "phoenix_kit_my_module_items" do
    field :name, :string
    field :status, :string, default: "active"

    belongs_to :user, PhoenixKit.Users.Auth.User,
      foreign_key: :user_uuid, references: :uuid, type: UUIDv7

    # Must match the type your migration used for `timestamps/1`.
    timestamps(type: :utc_datetime_usec)
  end

  def changeset(item, attrs) do
    item
    |> cast(attrs, [:name, :status, :user_uuid])
    |> validate_required([:name])
    |> validate_inclusion(:status, ~w(active archived))
  end
end

Foreign keys to phoenix_kit tables

These tables are part of the public schema contract and safe to reference:

Table	Primary key	Notes
phoenix_kit_users	uuid (UUIDv7)	User accounts
phoenix_kit_user_roles	uuid (UUIDv7)	Role definitions
phoenix_kit_settings	uuid (UUIDv7)	Key/value settings

Always reference the uuid column, not id (integer IDs are deprecated).

Testing

Run tests with:

mix test

Test levels

PhoenixKit modules have two distinct test levels:

• Unit tests — no database, test schemas/changesets/pure functions (use ExUnit.Case, async: true)
• Integration tests — need PostgreSQL, test context modules and data flow (use MyModule.DataCase)

Unit tests always run. Integration tests are automatically excluded when the database is unavailable.

Unit tests (no database needed)

These verify your module implements the PhoenixKit.Module behaviour correctly. They work without any infrastructure:

defmodule MyModuleTest do
  use ExUnit.Case, async: true

  # Behaviour compliance
  test "implements PhoenixKit.Module" do
    behaviours =
      MyModule.__info__(:attributes)
      |> Keyword.get_values(:behaviour)
      |> List.flatten()

    assert PhoenixKit.Module in behaviours
  end

  test "has @phoenix_kit_module attribute for auto-discovery" do
    attrs = MyModule.__info__(:attributes)
    assert Keyword.get(attrs, :phoenix_kit_module) == [true]
  end

  # Required callbacks
  test "module_key/0 returns expected key" do
    assert MyModule.module_key() == "my_module"
  end

  test "enabled?/0 returns false when DB unavailable" do
    # Will rescue since no DB is running in unit tests
    refute MyModule.enabled?()
  end

  # Permission metadata
  test "permission key matches module_key" do
    assert MyModule.permission_metadata().key == MyModule.module_key()
  end

  test "icon uses hero- prefix" do
    assert String.starts_with?(MyModule.permission_metadata().icon, "hero-")
  end

  # Tab conventions
  test "tab IDs are namespaced" do
    for tab <- MyModule.admin_tabs() do
      assert tab.id |> to_string() |> String.starts_with?("admin_my_module")
    end
  end

  test "tab paths use hyphens not underscores" do
    for tab <- MyModule.admin_tabs() do
      refute String.contains?(tab.path, "_"),
        "Tab path #{tab.path} contains underscores — use hyphens"
    end
  end

  test "all tabs have permission matching module_key" do
    for tab <- MyModule.admin_tabs() do
      assert tab.permission == MyModule.module_key()
    end
  end

  test "main tab has live_view for route generation" do
    [tab | _] = MyModule.admin_tabs()
    assert {_module, _action} = tab.live_view
  end

  test "all subtabs reference parent" do
    [main | subtabs] = MyModule.admin_tabs()
    for tab <- subtabs do
      assert tab.parent == main.id
    end
  end
end

For modules with Ecto schemas, you can test changesets without a database:

test "changeset validates required fields" do
  changeset = MySchema.changeset(%MySchema{}, %{})
  refute changeset.valid?
  assert "can't be blank" in errors_on(changeset).name
end

Integration test infrastructure

If your module uses the database, you need test infrastructure. Here's the complete setup:

1. Update mix.exs

def project do
  [
    # ... existing config ...
    elixirc_paths: elixirc_paths(Mix.env()),
  ]
end

defp elixirc_paths(:test), do: ["lib", "test/support"]
defp elixirc_paths(_), do: ["lib"]

defp aliases do
  [
    # ... existing aliases ...
    "test.setup": ["ecto.create --quiet", "ecto.migrate --quiet"],
    "test.reset": ["ecto.drop --quiet", "test.setup"]
  ]
end

2. Create config/config.exs and config/test.exs

# config/config.exs
import Config

if config_env() == :test do
  import_config "test.exs"
end

# config/test.exs
import Config

# Your module's own test repo
config :my_module, ecto_repos: [MyModule.Test.Repo]

config :my_module, MyModule.Test.Repo,
  username: System.get_env("PGUSER", "postgres"),
  password: System.get_env("PGPASSWORD", "postgres"),
  hostname: System.get_env("PGHOST", "localhost"),
  database: "my_module_test#{System.get_env("MIX_TEST_PARTITION")}",
  pool: Ecto.Adapters.SQL.Sandbox,
  pool_size: System.schedulers_online() * 2

# Wire repo for PhoenixKit.RepoHelper — without this, all DB calls crash
config :phoenix_kit, repo: MyModule.Test.Repo

config :logger, level: :warning

3. Create test support modules

# test/support/test_repo.ex
defmodule MyModule.Test.Repo do
  use Ecto.Repo,
    otp_app: :my_module,
    adapter: Ecto.Adapters.Postgres
end

# test/support/data_case.ex
defmodule MyModule.DataCase do
  use ExUnit.CaseTemplate

  using do
    quote do
      @moduletag :integration

      alias MyModule.Test.Repo

      import Ecto
      import Ecto.Changeset
      import Ecto.Query
    end
  end

  alias Ecto.Adapters.SQL.Sandbox
  alias MyModule.Test.Repo, as: TestRepo

  setup tags do
    pid = Sandbox.start_owner!(TestRepo, shared: not tags[:async])
    on_exit(fn -> Sandbox.stop_owner(pid) end)
    :ok
  end
end

4. Create test/test_helper.exs

alias MyModule.Test.Repo, as: TestRepo

db_config = Application.get_env(:my_module, TestRepo, [])
db_name = db_config[:database] || "my_module_test"

# Check if test database exists
db_check =
  case System.cmd("psql", ["-lqt"], stderr_to_stdout: true) do
    {output, 0} ->
      exists =
        output
        |> String.split("\n")
        |> Enum.any?(fn line ->
          line |> String.split("|") |> List.first("") |> String.trim() == db_name
        end)

      if exists, do: :exists, else: :not_found

    _ ->
      :try_connect
  end

repo_available =
  if db_check == :not_found do
    IO.puts("\n  Test database \"#{db_name}\" not found — integration tests excluded.\n  Run: createdb #{db_name}\n")
    false
  else
    try do
      {:ok, _} = TestRepo.start_link()

      # Build the schema with real migrations — never hand-rolled DDL, which
      # drifts from what hosts actually run. Core's chain first (it brings
      # phoenix_kit_settings, phoenix_kit_activities, uuid_generate_v7(), ...):
      PhoenixKit.Migration.ensure_current(TestRepo, log: false)

      # Then your module's own coordinator, through its migration wrapper.
      # See "Testing your migration" above for MigrationRunner.
      Ecto.Migrator.up(
        TestRepo,
        :os.system_time(:microsecond),
        MyModule.Test.MigrationRunner,
        log: false
      )

      Ecto.Adapters.SQL.Sandbox.mode(TestRepo, :manual)
      true
    rescue
      e ->
        IO.puts("\n  Could not connect to test database — integration tests excluded.\n  Error: #{Exception.message(e)}\n")
        false
    catch
      :exit, reason ->
        IO.puts("\n  Could not connect to test database — integration tests excluded.\n  Error: #{inspect(reason)}\n")
        false
    end
  end

# Start minimal PhoenixKit services needed for tests
{:ok, _} = PhoenixKit.PubSub.Manager.start_link([])
{:ok, _} = PhoenixKit.ModuleRegistry.start_link([])

exclude = if repo_available, do: [], else: [:integration]
ExUnit.start(exclude: exclude)

5. Create the database

createdb my_module_test
mix test

Integration tests are tagged :integration via the DataCase and automatically excluded when the database doesn't exist.

Gotchas

These are common issues you'll hit when setting up tests for PhoenixKit modules:

Use string keys for context module attrs. PhoenixKit context modules (like Connections.create_connection/1) may inject string keys internally. If you pass atom keys, you'll get Ecto.CastError: mixed keys. Always use string keys:

# Bad — will crash with mixed key error
Connections.create_connection(%{name: "Test", direction: "sender", site_url: "https://example.com"})

# Good
Connections.create_connection(%{"name" => "Test", "direction" => "sender", "site_url" => "https://example.com"})

Use UUIDv7.generate() for foreign key fields. Fields like approved_by_uuid reference the phoenix_kit_users table. Passing a plain string like "admin" causes Ecto.ChangeError: does not match type UUIDv7:

# Bad
Connections.approve_connection(conn, "admin")

# Good
Connections.approve_connection(conn, UUIDv7.generate())

Ecto schema types vs migration types. Migrations use :bigint and :text, but Ecto schemas must use :integer and :string — Ecto doesn't have :bigint or :text as schema field types. The distinction only matters at the database level.

enabled?/0 hits the database. Calling enabled?/0 or get_config/0 in unit tests triggers a DB call through PhoenixKit.Settings, which fails with a sandbox ownership error. Either tag those tests as :integration or just test function_exported?/3:

# In unit tests (no DB) — test the export, not the call
test "get_config/0 is exported" do
  assert function_exported?(MyModule, :get_config, 0)
end

Run your migrations via Ecto.Migrator. You can't call MyModule.Migrations.up() directly — it uses Ecto.Migration macros that require a migrator process. Wrap it (see "Testing your migration") and run the wrapper:

# In test_helper.exs
Ecto.Migrator.up(TestRepo, :os.system_time(:microsecond), MyModule.Test.MigrationRunner, log: false)

Don't pass a fixed version like 0: once 0 is in schema_migrations the wrapper is never invoked again, so the versions you ship later silently stop applying to your test database.

ETS-based stores use hardcoded table names. If your module has a GenServer with ETS (like a session store), the table name is global. Tests that start their own instance will conflict. Use setup_all with already_started handling:

setup_all do
  case MyStore.start_link([]) do
    {:ok, _pid} -> :ok
    {:error, {:already_started, _pid}} -> :ok
  end
  :ok
end

uuid_generate_v7() has to exist before your table uses it as a default. Core's V40 migration creates it, so PhoenixKit.Migration.ensure_current/2 in test_helper.exs covers the test database. In a host you can't assume core's chain ran first — call PhoenixKit.Migrations.Postgres.Helpers.ensure_uuid_v7_function/1 at the top of your up_v1/1 (it's a no-op when the function already exists, and creates it inside the install's schema when it doesn't).

Verifying your module

After adding your module to the parent app and starting the server, check:

Full-featured modules:

1. Admin > Modules page — your module should appear with its name, icon, and toggle
2. Admin sidebar — your tab should appear under the Modules group (if enabled)
3. Admin > Roles — your permission key should appear in the permissions matrix
4. Click the tab — your LiveView should render inside the admin layout

Headless modules:

1. Admin > Modules page — your module should appear with its name, icon, and toggle
2. Admin > Roles — your permission key should appear (if you defined permission_metadata/0)
3. No sidebar entry — expected, since there are no tabs
4. Call your functions — verify your API works from iex -S mix or from another module

The Admin role automatically gets access to new modules. Custom roles need the permission granted by an Owner or Admin.

Tailwind CSS scanning for modules

When your module has templates with Tailwind CSS classes (inline ~H sigils or .heex files), the parent app's Tailwind build needs to know where to scan for those classes. Without this, Tailwind will purge your module's CSS classes and your UI will break (elements hidden, styles missing).

How it works

PhoenixKit's installer (mix phoenix_kit.install) automatically discovers plugin modules and adds @source directives to the parent app's assets/css/app.css. Each module declares which OTP app to scan via the css_sources/0 callback.

Adding CSS source scanning to your module

If your module uses Tailwind classes in its templates, implement css_sources/0:

@impl PhoenixKit.Module
def css_sources, do: [:my_phoenix_kit_module]

The return value is a list of OTP app name atoms. The installer resolves the correct file path automatically:

• Hex deps → scans deps/my_phoenix_kit_module/
• Path deps → scans the declared path from mix.exs (e.g. ../my_phoenix_kit_module)

After adding a new module with CSS sources, the user runs mix phoenix_kit.install and the installer adds the @source line to their app.css. This is idempotent — safe to run multiple times.

When you DON'T need this

• Headless modules (no templates, no UI) — skip the callback, the default [] is fine
• Modules using only PhoenixKit's built-in components — if all your Tailwind classes already exist in phoenix_kit or daisyUI, they're already scanned
• Modules with no custom Tailwind classes — if you only use classes that are already present in phoenix_kit's templates

When you DO need this

• Your module has ~H sigils or .heex templates with Tailwind responsive classes (sm:block, md:grid-cols-2, etc.)
• You use Tailwind utility classes in module attributes or string literals that get rendered as HTML
• You have custom CSS class combinations not used anywhere in phoenix_kit

Example: what the installer generates

For a path dep (path: "../phoenix_kit_publishing"):

@source "../../../phoenix_kit_publishing";

For a Hex dep:

@source "../../deps/phoenix_kit_publishing";

Troubleshooting CSS issues

If elements are invisible or styles are missing after extracting a module:

1. Check that css_sources/0 is implemented and returns your app name
2. Run mix phoenix_kit.install in the parent app
3. Verify the @source line was added to assets/css/app.css
4. Restart the Phoenix server (Tailwind watches for file changes, but the source config is read on startup)

Troubleshooting

Sidebar disappears / socket crashes when clicking into my admin page

Symptoms:

• The admin layout (sidebar, header) is missing on your custom admin page, but shows up on other PhoenixKit admin pages
• Navigating from another admin page logs navigate event failed because you are redirecting across live_sessions. A full page reload will be performed instead and the WebSocket reconnects

Cause: You hand-registered a live route for a plugin LiveView in your parent app's router.ex. That route ends up in a different (or unnamed) live_session than PhoenixKit's :phoenix_kit_admin. Two things break:

1. The admin layout is applied by the :phoenix_kit_ensure_admin on_mount hook, which only runs inside live_session :phoenix_kit_admin. Your route never hits it.
2. Phoenix LiveView forbids push_navigate across live_session boundaries — the socket is torn down and a full page reload runs instead.

Fix: Remove the hand-written route and register your page through PhoenixKit's tab system so the route is injected into :phoenix_kit_admin automatically.

• If your page is part of a plugin module (like phoenix_kit_entities or phoenix_kit_publishing), its routes are already auto-discovered — just delete your manual routes and rely on phoenix_kit_routes() in router.ex.
• If your page is in your parent app, register it via config :phoenix_kit, :admin_dashboard_tabs, [...] with a live_view: {MyAppWeb.SomeLive, :action} field. See the Custom Admin Pages guide (phoenix_kit/guides/custom-admin-pages.md in the monorepo).

Do not try to work around this by creating your own live_session :phoenix_kit_admin block — Phoenix raises at compile time on duplicate live_session names. There is exactly one, and PhoenixKit owns it.

Do not put :phoenix_kit_ensure_admin in a pipe_through list — it is an on_mount hook, not a Plug, and has no effect as a pipeline step.

Module doesn't show up in the admin sidebar

1. Check the dep is installed — run mix deps.get and verify no errors
2. Check it compiles — run mix compile and look for errors in your module
3. Check @phoenix_kit_module attribute — use PhoenixKit.Module sets this automatically. If you're not using the macro, you need @phoenix_kit_module true in your module
4. Check admin_tabs/0 — returns a list of %Tab{} structs? Has :live_view field set?
5. Check the module is enabled — go to Admin > Modules and toggle it on
6. Recompile the parent — routes are generated at compile time: mix deps.compile phoenix_kit --force

Tab shows but clicking gives a 404

1. Check :live_view field — must be {MyModule.Web.SomeLive, :action} with a real module
2. Check the LiveView compiles — typo in the module name?
3. Check :path uses hyphens — "my-module" not "my_module"
4. Restart the server — routes are compiled at startup, not hot-reloaded
5. Check path parameters — :uuid in the path must match params handled in handle_params/3

Permission denied (302 redirect)

1. Check :permission on your tab — should match module_key()
2. Check permission_metadata/0 — the key field must match module_key()
3. Check the role has permission — Admin gets it automatically, custom roles need it granted
4. Check module is enabled — disabled modules deny access to non-system roles

enabled?/0 crashes on startup

Your enabled?/0 runs before migrations have created the settings table. Always wrap it:

def enabled? do
  Settings.get_boolean_setting("my_module_enabled", false)
rescue
  _ -> false
end

Settings not persisting

Make sure you're using update_boolean_setting_with_module/3 (not update_setting/2) for the enable/disable toggle. The _with_module variant ties the setting to your module key for proper cleanup.

JS hooks not registering

1. Check how the hook is delivered — a hook registered by an inline <script> in render/1 only exists after a full page load (redirect/2 or <a href>), never after navigate/2. If the page is reachable from the sidebar or any <.link navigate={...}>, that's the bug: switch to a core hook or the base64 delivery pattern above
2. Check window.PhoenixKitHooks — open browser console, verify your hook is registered
3. Check element has phx-hook — must match the hook name exactly
4. Check element has a unique id — required for hooks to work

Changes not taking effect

Stale compiled .beam files can persist old module versions. When changes aren't showing up:

1. Force recompile your dep — mix deps.compile my_module --force from the parent app
2. Full clean rebuild — mix deps.clean my_module && mix deps.get && mix deps.compile my_module --force
3. Restart the server — the dev reloader doesn't watch deps for changes
4. Recompile the parent too — mix compile --force (needed when routes or callbacks change)

This is especially common when debugging route registration, CSS scanning, or callback changes.

Base64 JS not updating

1. Recompile the dep — mix deps.compile my_module --force from the parent app
2. Restart the server — dev reloader doesn't pick up dep changes automatically
3. Check @external_resource — must point to the JS file so Mix tracks it

Publishing to Hex

When your module is ready to share:

1. Add hex metadata to mix.exs:

def project do
  [
    app: :my_phoenix_kit_module,
    version: "1.0.0",
    description: "A PhoenixKit plugin that does X",
    package: package(),
    deps: deps()
  ]
end

defp package do
  [
    licenses: ["MIT"],
    links: %{"GitHub" => "https://github.com/you/my_phoenix_kit_module"},
    files: ~w(lib mix.exs README.md LICENSE)
  ]
end

2. Switch the phoenix_kit dep from path to hex version:

{:phoenix_kit, "~> 1.7"}  # not path: "../phoenix_kit"

3. Publish:

mix hex.publish

Users install with:

{:my_phoenix_kit_module, "~> 1.0"}

No config needed — auto-discovery handles the rest.

Important rules

1. module_key/0 must be unique across all modules
2. permission_metadata().key must match module_key/0
3. Tab :id must be unique across all modules (prefix with :admin_yourmodule)
4. Tab :path — use relative slugs with hyphens (e.g., "my-module"). Core prepends /admin/ or /admin/settings/ based on context. Use absolute paths (starting with /) only for special cases.
5. Tab :permission should match module_key/0 so custom roles get proper access
6. enabled?/0 should rescue and return false — it's called before migrations run
7. Settings keys must be namespaced (e.g., "my_module_enabled", not "enabled")
8. get_config/0 is called on every Modules page render — keep it fast
9. Paths must go through Routes.path/1 — never use relative paths in templates
10. JS hooks must register on window.PhoenixKitHooks — no access to parent app's build pipeline

License

MIT