# Configuring Extensions

Below we'll go over all of the configuration options for a Platform 2 extension. All configuration options can be set in the `extension.php` file. This works exactly as any other Laravel 4 configuration file. The titles for these configuration options represent the key which can be set in the configuration array.

## name {#name}

The name for your extension.


## slug {#slug}

This is your extension unique identifier and should not be changed as it will be recognized as a new extension. Ideally, this should match the folder structure within the extensions folder, but this is completely optional.


## author {#author}

The author of the extension.


## description {#description}

One or two sentences describing the extension for users to view when they are managing the extension.


## version {#version}

Version should be a string that can be used with the `version_compare` function. This is how the extension's versions are compared.


## require {#require}

You should list here all the extensions this extension requires to work properly. This is used in conjunction with Composer, so you should put the same extension dependencies on your composer.json require key so that they get resolved using composer, however you can use without composer, at which point you'll have to ensure that the required extensions are available.

	'require' => array(

		'platform/admin',

	),


## autoload {#autoload}

Here you can define your extension's autoloading logic. It may either be `composer`, `platform` or a Closure.

If composer is defined, your `composer.json` file specifies the autoloading logic.

If platform is defined, your extension receives convention autoloading based on the Platform standards.

If a Closure is defined, it should take two parameters as defined below:

	object \Composer\Autoload\ClassLoader      $loader
	object \Illuminate\Foundation\Application  $app


## register {#register}

Much like Laravel's service providers, the `register` key is where all the custom logic goes when registering extension functionality. You're required to register them through a closure.

The closure parameters are:

	object \Cartalyst\Extensions\ExtensionInterface  $extension
	object \Illuminate\Foundation\Application        $app


## boot {#boot}

The boot method can be used to override application logic or initialize custom functionality. Again, you can do this by providing a closure.

The closure parameters are:

	object \Cartalyst\Extensions\ExtensionInterface  $extension
	object \Illuminate\Foundation\Application        $app


## routes {#routes}

Your custom extension routes. This is done exactly the same way as you'd register routes in your `routes.php` file. Just provide the route through a closure.

The closure parameters are:

	object \Cartalyst\Extensions\ExtensionInterface  $extension
	object \Illuminate\Foundation\Application        $app

## permissions {#permissions}
List of permissions this extension has. These are shown in the user management area to build a graphical interface where permissions can be selected to allow or deny user access.

You can protect single or multiple controller methods at once.

When writing permissions, if you put a 'key' => 'value' pair, the 'value' will be the label for the permission which is going to be displayed when editing the permissions and when access is denied.

The permissions should follow the following structure:

    Vendor\Namespace\Controller@method
    Vendor\Namespace\Controller@method1,method2, ...

For example, a part of the permissions array in the `extension.php` file for the Platform 2 Users extension looks like the following:

	'permissions' => function()
	{
		return array(
			'Platform\Users\Controllers\Admin\UsersController@index,grid'	=> 'List Users',
			'Platform\Users\Controllers\Admin\UsersController@create,store'	=> 'Create Users',
			'Platform\Users\Controllers\Admin\UsersController@edit,update'	=> 'Update Users',
			'Platform\Users\Controllers\Admin\UsersController@delete'		=> 'Delete Users',
		);
	},


## widgets {#widgets}

List of custom widgets associated with the extension. Like routes, the value for the widget key may either be a closure or a class & method name (joined with an @ symbol). Of course, Platform will guess the widget class for you, this is just for custom widgets or if you do not wish to make a new class for a very small widget.


## settings {#settings}

Register any settings for your extension. You can also configure the namespace and group that a setting belongs to.

For example, part of the Platform 2 Users's extension settings looks like the following:

	'settings' => function()
	{
		return array(
			'users' => array(
				'name' => 'Users'
			),

			'users::general' => array(
				'name' => Lang::get('platform/users::settings.section.general'),
			),

			'users::general.registration' => array(
				'name'    => Lang::get('platform/users::settings.registration.label'),
				'config'  => 'platform/users::registration',
				'info'    => Lang::get('platform/users::settings.registration.info'),
				'type'    => 'radio',
				'options' => array(
					array(
						'value' => false,
						'label' => Lang::get('general.no'),
					),
					array(
						'value' => true,
						'label' => Lang::get('general.yes'),
					),
				),
			),
		);
	},


## menus {#menus}

You may specify the default various menu hierarchy for your extension. You can provide a recursive array of menu children and their children. These will be created upon installation, synchronized upon upgrading and removed upon uninstallation.

Menu children are automatically put at the end of the menu for extensions installed through the Operations extension.

The default order (for extensions installed initially) can be found by editing `app/config/platform.php`.

For example, the menu structure for the Platform 2 Users extension looks like the following:

	'menus' => array(

		'admin' => array(

			array(
				'slug'     => 'admin-users',
				'name'     => 'Users',
				'class'    => 'icon-user',
				'uri'      => 'users',
				'children' => array(

					array(
						'slug'  => 'admin-users-users',
						'name'  => 'Users',
						'class' => 'icon-user',
						'uri'   => 'users',
					),

					array(
						'slug'  => 'admin-users-groups',
						'name'  => 'Groups',
						'class' => 'icon-group',
						'uri'   => 'users/groups',
					),
				),
			),
		),
	),