Invenio module layout¶

This page summarizes the standard structure and naming conventions of a module in Invenio v3.0. It serves as a reference point when developing a new module or enhancing an existing one.

A simple module may have the following folder structure:

invenio-foo/
    docs/
    examples/
    invenio_foo/
        templates/invenio_foo/
        __init__.py
        config.py
        ext.py
        version.py
        views.py
    tests/
    *.rst
    run-tests.sh
    setup.py

These files are described in the sections below.

*.rst files¶

All these files are used by people who want to know more about your module (mainly developers).

README.rst is used to describe your module. You can see the short description written in the Cookiecutter here. You should update it with more details.
AUTHORS.rst should list all contributors to this module.
CHANGES.rst should be updated at every release and store the list of versions with the list of changes (changelog).
CONTRIBUTING.rst presents the rules to contribute to your module.
INSTALL.rst describes how to install your module.

setup.py¶

First, there is the setup.py file, one of the most important: this file is executed when you install your module with pip. If you open it, you can see different parts.

On the top, the list of the requirements:

for normal use
for development
for tests

Depending on your needs, you can install only part of the requirements, or everything (pip install invenio-foo[all]).

Then, in the setup() function, you have the description of your module with the values entered in the Cookiecutter. At the end, you can find the entrypoints section. For the moment, there is only the registration in the Invenio application, and the translations.

MANIFEST.in¶

This file lists all the files included in the sub-folders. This file should be updated before the first commit. See the Install, run, test, document and publish section.

run-tests.sh¶

This is used to run a list of tests locally, to make sure that your module works as intended. It will generate the documentation, run pytest and do other checks.

docs folder¶

This folder contains the settings to generate documentation for your module, along with files where you can write the documentation. When you run the run-tests.sh script, it will create the documentation in HTML files in a sub-folder.

examples folder¶

Here you can find a small example of how to use your module. You can test it, follow the steps described in the Run the example application section

tests folder¶

Here are all the tests for your application, that will be run when you execute the run-tests.sh script. If all these tests pass, you can safely commit your work.

See pytest-invenio for how to structure your tests.

invenio_foo folder¶

This folder has the name of your module, in lower case with the dash changed into an underscore. Here is the code of your module. You can add any code files here, organized as you wish.

The files that already exist are kind of a standard, we are going through them in the following sections. A rule of thumb is that if you need multiple files for one action (for instance, 2 views: one for the API and a standard one), create a folder having the name of the file you want to split (here, a views folder with ui.py and api.py inside).

config.py¶

All configuration variables should be declared in this file.

ext.py¶

This file contains a class that extends the Invenio application with your module. It registers the module during the initialization of the application and loads the default configuration from config.py.

version.py¶

File containing the version of your module.

views.py¶

Here you declare the views or end points you want to expose. By default, it creates a simple view on the root end point that renders a template.

templates¶

All your Jinja templates should be stored in this folder. A Jinja template is an HTML file that can be modified according to some parameters.

static¶

If your module contains JavaScript or CSS files, they should go in a folder called static. Also, if you want to group them in bundles, you should add a bundles.py file next to the static folder.

Module naming conventions¶

Invenio modules are standalone independent components that implement some functionality used by the rest of the Invenio ecosystem. The modules provide API to other modules and use API of other modules.

A module is usually called:

with plural noun, meaning “database (of things)”, for example invenio-records, invenio-tags, invenio-annotations,
with singular noun, meaning “worker (using things)”, for example invenio-checker, invenio-editor.

A module may have split its user interface and REST API interface, for example invenio-records-ui and invenio-records-rest, to clarify dependencies and offer easy customisation.