Changelog

[2.0.0] - 2025-11-24

Added

• Laravel-style migration system for safe and automated custom field deployments:
  
  
  
  • New database table tool_customfields_migrations to track applied migrations.
  
  
  • Automatic detection of pending or modified migration files via MD5 hashing.
  
  
  • --auto CLI flag to discover and apply migrations in chronological order.
  
  
  • --dry-run CLI flag to preview migration changes without applying them.
  
  
  • Idempotent import process: safely re-imports categories and fields without duplicates.
  
  
  • Support for migration naming convention YYYYMMDD_description.json.
  
  
  • New class migration_manager handling discovery, tracking and execution.
  
  
  • Added language strings for migration-related functionality.
  
  
  
  

Changed

• Refactored custom field importer logic to be fully idempotent:
  
  
  
  • Reuses existing categories instead of failing.
  
  
  • Skips existing fields while maintaining consistent import state.
  
  
  
  


• Improved error messages with clearer context (field name, datatype, unsupported types).


• Bumped plugin version to 2.0.0 due to new migration infrastructure and database changes.

Fixed

• Privacy API compliance: moved privacy/provider.php to the correct location (classes/privacy/provider.php)
  to comply with Moodle's privacy subsystem structure.


• Resolved multiple edge-case issues during re-import scenarios (duplicate categories/field shortnames no longer trigger errors).

[1.0.1] - 2025-06-02

Fixed

• Custom fields: added timecreated and timemodified properties to imported categories and fields.


• Custom fields: added validation to prevent importing a category with a name that already exists.


• Custom fields: added validation to prevent importing fields with duplicate shortnames.

This release focuses on resolving several issues reported during the initial review and improving code quality across the plugin.

What’s fixed

• Added missing header and copyright information in all files (#3)


• Implemented missing Privacy API in privacy/provider.php (#2)


• Fixed several PHP namespace declarations and collisions (#7, #9)


• Sanitized all imported user data using clean_param() for improved security (#10)


• Replaced hardcoded strings with language strings (#6)


• Added missing language strings in lang/en/ and lang/fr/ (#5)


• Resolved plugin rendering errors (#8)


• Added missing PHPDoc tags to functions and parameters (#4)


• Integrated GitHub Actions CI with moodle-plugin-ci workflow (#1)

Code Quality

• Fixed all remaining phpcs coding style errors using Moodle’s code checker.


• Ensured compliance with moodle-plugin-ci checks (PHPDoc, phplint, lang, etc.).

Changelog

[1.0.1] 2025060201

Fixed

• Custom fields: added timecreated and timemodified properties to imported categories and fields.


• Custom fields: added validation to prevent importing a category with a name that already exists.


• Custom fields: added validation to prevent importing fields with duplicate shortnames.

moodle–tool_customfields_exportimport

This plugin allows Moodle administrators to export and import custom fields in JSON format for the following components:

• User profile fields


• Course custom fields


• Cohort custom fields

The tool is accessible both via command line interface (CLI) and a basic web interface for import/export.

Features

• Export profile, course or cohort custom fields to JSON


• Import previously exported fields from a JSON file


• CLI commands for automation and scripting


• Basic web interface for manual operations

How it works

Exporting custom fields

You can export custom fields by type (profile, course, cohort) and by category.

Command examples:

Export all fields from category 1 in user profile fields:

php export.php --type=profile --categoryid=1

Export a specific field (ID 4) from course custom fields:

php export.php --type=course --categoryid=2 --fieldid=4 --destination=/path/to/save

Export all cohort fields from category 3:

php export.php -t=cohort -c=3

The file is saved as export_{type}_category{ID}.json in the destination folder (current folder by default)

Importing custom fields

You can import a previously exported JSON file:

php import.php --file=/path/to/export_profile_category1.json

The plugin will validate the type and insert/update the category and fields accordingly.

Web Interface

You can use a basic page in the admin tool interface at:

/admin/tool/customfields_exportimport/index.php

It lets you:

• Upload a JSON file for import


• See confirmation or error messages after processing

Installation

Via ZIP

• Log in as admin


• Go to Site administration > Plugins > Install plugins


• Upload the ZIP of this plugin


• Complete installation steps

Manual installation

• Unzip in:

/admin/tool/customfields_exportimport/

• Visit Site administration > Notifications to complete installation

Or use CLI:

php admin/cli/upgrade.php

License

GNU GPL v3 or later

Developed by Serge Touvoli