How to use the OpenCart 2.x Extension Installer

With the release of OpenCart 2.0 a new feature has been introduced, which aims to speed up the process of installing new extensions - namely the Extension Installer. At first glance, it is relatively easy to use. Despite that, there are a few things which you, as an OpenCart administrator, should be aware of.

The Extension Installer is accessed from the Admin Panel > Extensions > Extension Installer. The administrator user must have “Modify” and “Access” permissions for the OpenCart route “extension/modification”.

When you access the installer, you see the following buttons:


The “Clear” button is used to delete temporary files, which are left in your system as a result of previous installations. It is good practice to click this button before you upload any files. This will ensure that you will not have redundant installation files on your store.


To install a new extension, click this button. You are only allowed to upload files, the names of which end either in “.ocmod.xml” or “.ocmod.zip.” You are not allowed to upload a file with any other name.

Note: Most OpenCart extensions are created by third-party developers in the OpenCart community. Before you upload anything, make sure to read the documentation and installation notes of your extension. This information should be provided by the vendor of your extension.


Before OpenCart starts the installation, it checks whether you are about to overwrite any files which already exist in your system. If such files exist, they are listed in the box “Files that will be overwritten” and the installation process is paused. If you are familiar with the OpenCart architecture, we encourage you to go through this list and notice the files which will be overwritten. When everything seems okay, click the “Continue” button.

Almost there. In the majority of cases, you will be uploading extensions which are part of the OpenCart Modification system. To make sure these modifications are properly applied, after the installation you must visit the page Admin Panel > Extensions > Modifications. Click the “Refresh” button on the top right of the page to apply any new modifications to your system.

That’s it! If everything went fine, you should be seeing the following message:

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post on how to troubleshoot the most common errors which may occur when using the Extension Installer.

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