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If you have multiple clients and October CMS projects you probably have a set of your own October plugins and themes that you often use. Private Plugins & Themes service combines the convenience of October CMS gateway, where you can install and update products with one click, with a private repository hosting, where nobody else can see your products.

Difference between private and public plugins and themes

The main difference between private and public products is that private products are not visible in the October Marketplace. You can create a private plugin and nobody will know about it. To install a private plugin, you add it to a project, and Composer installs it from there (see Installing private plugins and themes). Another difference is that private plugins and themes do not require approval, they can be used as soon as they are added and compiled by our servers.

Similarities between private and public plugins and themes

Both private and public plugins and themes require you to follow the namespace convention. If you are not an Author yet, you will need to choose your author code during the Private Plugins & Themes sign up process. If you are an Author already, you can continue using your existing author code. The namespace convention is required because it allows you to create dependencies between your plugins and themes and also because you can convert private plugins and themes to public products and vice versa, with one button click. Private plugins and themes converted to public products still require approval before they can be published.

Who can use Private Plugins & Themes

Private Plugins & Themes is a paid subscription-based service. Any user with an October CMS account can sign up and use the service. There is a one-month free trial period that doesn’t require a credit card. To sign up visit https://octobercms.com/account/private-repos/signup.

What happens if your trial or subscription expires

If you have created private plugins or themes and your subscription or trial has ended, your plugins and themes cannot be installed or updated until you renew the subscription. If your subscription is not active for 6 months, your private plugins and themes are automatically removed.

Installing private plugins and themes

Private plugins and themes never appear in the plugin or theme search in the October CMS Administration Area, and they cannot be installed by typing a code into the search field. The only way to install a private plugin or theme is to add it to a project. Once it belongs to the project, Composer installs and updates it like any other package.

Before you begin, make sure your plugin or theme repository is tagged with a version that matches the version in its updates definition (for example, v1.0.1) and that the tag is pushed. Composer resolves versions from these tags.

To install a private plugin or theme:

  1. Add it to a project on the project page. See Protected mode below for how the project owner and other users add it.
  2. Bind your October CMS installation to that project, if it is not already.
  3. In the Administration Area, go to Settings → System Updates. The plugin or theme appears in the project list. If it does not appear, click Clear Cache and check again.
  4. Click Install. Composer installs the plugin or theme into the project.

Updates work the same way. When you publish a new tagged version, it becomes available to every project the plugin or theme belongs to, and can be installed from the same page.

Protected mode

Protected mode controls who can add a private plugin or theme to a project. Protected mode is enabled by default. You can manage this option on the plugin or theme Settings tab.

As the author, you can add your own private plugin or theme to any of your projects using its code (for example Acme.Blog). You do not need a share code for your own projects, whether or not Protected mode is enabled. Open the project page, click "Add private plugin" or "Add private theme", and enter the code.

To share with another user, generate a share code on the Access tab of the Account → Private Plugins & Themes → Edit → Settings page. The other user opens their project page, clicks "Add private plugin" or "Add private theme", and enters the share code. Each share code can be used once. After the plugin or theme is added to the project, the code is no longer needed and you can safely delete it.

In both cases, once the plugin or theme belongs to the project, it is installed and updated through the project as described in Installing private plugins and themes.

Canceling your subscription

You can cancel your Private Plugins & Themes subscription. To cancel your subscription go to the Dashboard and click Subscription in the sidebar. Click the “Cancel subscription” link.

After you cancel the subscription, you can still use the service until the end of your current billing period. We cannot refund unused service time.

You cannot cancel a trial.

Changing your payment method

If you have an active paid subscription you can change your payment method on the Billing Settings page.

Accessing and downloading invoices

Invoices for Private Plugins & Themes service is available on the Invoices page. Click an invoice to open the Stripe page where you can download the invoice in PDF format.