Modules encapsulate functionality, packaging resources together for simple deployment within LabKey Server. Modules are developed by incrementally adding resources as files within a standardized directory structure. For deployment, the structure is archived as a .module file (a standard .zip file renamed with a custom file extension).

• Module Functionality
• Do I Need to Compile Modules?
• Set Up for Module Development
• Module Topics

A wide variety of resources can be used, including but not limited to: R reports, SQL queries and scripts, API-driven HTML pages, CSS, JavaScript, images, custom web parts, XML assay definitions, and compiled Java code. A module that doesn't contain any Java code is called a file-based module and enables custom development without compiling, letting you directly deploy and test module resources, oftentimes without restarting the server.

Module Functionality

Functionalityoooooooo	Description	Docsooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hello World	A simple "Hello World" module.	Tutorial: Hello World Module
Queries, Views, and Reports	A module that includes queries, reports, and/or views directories. Create file-based SQL queries, reports, views, web parts, and HTML/JavaScript client-side applications. No Java code required, though you can easily evolve your work into a Java module if needed.	Tutorial: File Based Module Resources
Assay	A module with an assay directory included, for defining a new assay type.	Modules: Assay Types
Extract-Transform-Load	A module with an ETLs directory included, for configuring data transfer and synchronization between databases.	ETL: Extract Transform Load
Script Pipeline	A module with a pipeline directory included, for running scripts in sequence, including R scripts, JavaScript, Perl, Python, etc.	Script Pipeline: Running Scripts in Sequence
Java	A module with a Java src directory included. Develop Java-based applications to create server-side code.	Java Modules Tutorial: Hello World Java Module

Developer Resource

• Tech Talk: Custom File-Based Modules

Do I Need to Compile Modules?

Modules containing Java code require a build/compile step before deployment. File-based modules (that do not contain Java) do not need compilation. Most module functionality can be accomplished without the need for Java code, including "CRUD" applications (Create-Retrieve-Update-Delete applications) that provide views and reports on data on the server, and provide some way for users to interact with the data. These applications will typically use some combination of client APIs like: selectRows, insertRows, updateRows, etc. Learn more about the APIs available here: LabKey Client APIs.

Other advanced custom functionality, including defining new assay types, working with the security API, and manipulating studies, can also generally be accomplished with a file-based module.

To create your own server actions (i.e., code that runs on the server, not in the client), Java is generally required. Trigger scripts, which run on the server, are an exception: trigger scripts are a powerful feature, sufficient in many cases to avoid the need for Java code.

As you develop, keep in mind that both client- and server-side APIs may change over time as the LabKey Server code base evolves; custom modules may require changes to keep them up to date.

Set Up for Module Development

Use the following topic to set up a development machine for building and compiling (when necessary) LabKey modules: Set Up a Development Machine

Module Topics

The topics below show you how to create a module, how to develop the various resources within the module, and how to package and deploy it to LabKey Server.

• Map of Module Files - An overview of the features and file types you can include in modules.
• Example Modules - Representative example modules from the LabKey Server open source project.
• Tutorial: File Based Module Resources - Build a more complex file-based module.
• Tech Talk: Custom File-Based Modules - Developer resource for building file-based modules.
• Modules: Assay Types - Module-based custom assay types, to base assay designs on.
• ETL: Extract Transform Load - Module-based Extract-Transform-Load functionality.
• Java Modules - Including Java in modules.
• Modules: Folder Types - Module-based custom folder types.
• Modules: SQL Scripts - Running SQL scripts on module load.
• Module Architecture - Overview of building, deploying, upgrading modules.
• Deploy Modules to a Production Server - Deploying modules for production.
• Profiler Settings - Developer tool shows which queries were run on a page, and performance information for each query.
• Main Credits Page - Include a credits page.
• module.properties Reference - Reference for module.properties/module.xml files.