Moodle LMS Development Skill

A Claude Code skill for developing and customizing the Moodle learning management system — covering plugin development, theme customization, web services API, database schema, and Moodle coding standards.

When to Use This Skill

Choose this skill when:

• Developing Moodle plugins (activities, blocks, local plugins)
• Customizing Moodle themes and layouts
• Integrating external services with Moodle's web services API
• Working with Moodle's database layer and form API
• Setting up Moodle development environments
• Debugging Moodle performance or functionality issues

Consider alternatives when:

• You need a simple course website (use a static site generator)
• You need real-time collaboration features (use Canvas or Google Classroom)
• You need a non-PHP LMS (use Open edX for Python)

Quick Start

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# Set up Moodle development environment
git clone https://github.com/moodle/moodle.git
cd moodle
php admin/cli/install.php --dbtype=pgsql --dbname=moodle --dbuser=moodle --dbpass=password

# Create a new plugin
php admin/tool/pluginskel/cli/generate.php --name=my_plugin --component=local_myplugin

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// local/myplugin/version.php
defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();

$plugin->component = 'local_myplugin';
$plugin->version   = 2026031300;
$plugin->requires  = 2024042200; // Moodle 4.4
$plugin->maturity  = MATURITY_STABLE;
$plugin->release   = '1.0.0';

Core Concepts

Plugin Types

Type	Directory	Purpose
Activity Module	mod/	Course activities (quiz, assignment)
Block	blocks/	Sidebar content blocks
Local Plugin	local/	Custom functionality, integrations
Authentication	auth/	Custom login methods
Enrolment	enrol/	Course enrolment methods
Theme	theme/	UI customization
Report	report/	Custom reports
Web Service	local/	External API endpoints

Database Layer

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// Using Moodle's $DB API
global $DB;

// Insert a record
$record = new stdClass();
$record->name = 'Test Item';
$record->timecreated = time();
$id = $DB->insert_record('local_myplugin_items', $record);

// Query records
$items = $DB->get_records('local_myplugin_items', ['userid' => $USER->id]);

// Complex query with SQL
$sql = "SELECT u.id, u.firstname, u.lastname, COUNT(s.id) as submissions
        FROM {user} u
        LEFT JOIN {assign_submission} s ON s.userid = u.id
        WHERE u.deleted = 0
        GROUP BY u.id, u.firstname, u.lastname
        ORDER BY submissions DESC";
$results = $DB->get_records_sql($sql, [], 0, 10);

Web Services API

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// Define web service functions
// local/myplugin/db/services.php
$functions = [
    'local_myplugin_get_items' => [
        'classname'   => 'local_myplugin\external\get_items',
        'description' => 'Get items for the current user',
        'type'        => 'read',
        'ajax'        => true,
        'capabilities' => 'local/myplugin:view',
    ],
];

Configuration

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
moodle_version	string	"4.4"	Target Moodle version
php_version	string	"8.1"	Minimum PHP version
db_type	string	"pgsql"	Database: pgsql, mysqli, mariadb
debug_mode	boolean	true	Enable developer debugging
plugin_type	string	"local"	Plugin type: local, mod, block, auth
coding_standard	string	"moodle"	PHP coding standard for linting

Best Practices

1. Follow Moodle coding standards strictly — Moodle has specific PHP coding standards enforced by automated checks; run php admin/tool/phpunit/cli/util.php --buildcomponentconfigs and fix all issues before submitting plugins.

2. Use the $DB API, never raw SQL connections — Moodle's database API handles cross-database compatibility, parameter binding, and query logging; raw PDO/mysqli calls bypass security and logging.

3. Define capabilities for all access control — every action in a Moodle plugin should check a capability with has_capability(); this integrates with Moodle's role-based access control system.

4. Use Moodle's form API for all user input — moodleform handles CSRF protection, validation, and accessibility; building custom HTML forms bypasses these protections.

5. Test plugins across Moodle versions — Moodle deprecates APIs across versions; test your plugin against the minimum required version and the latest release to ensure compatibility.

Common Issues

Plugin not appearing after installation — Purge caches with php admin/cli/purge_caches.php. Check that version.php exists with the correct $plugin->component value matching the directory structure.

Database upgrade fails on existing installations — Schema changes require upgrade steps in db/upgrade.php. Never modify db/install.xml after initial release; always use upgrade steps with version checks.

Web service returns "Access denied" — Ensure the web service function is added to an external service, the user has a token for that service, and the user has the required capability assigned through their role.