How to install a XenForo add-on

Install any D.C Style add-on in a few minutes: upload the files and click Install, or install straight from the zip file.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 4 min read By the D.C Style team

Before you start

The add-on zip file, downloaded from the product page or My Licenses

Access to your forum files by FTP, SFTP or your hosting file manager

An Admin CP account that can manage add-ons

Every D.C Style add-on installs the same way, free or premium: you put its files into your forum's folders, then tell XenForo to install it. It takes about five minutes. There are two ways to do it: upload the files yourself and click Install, or let XenForo unpack the zip file for you.

Check the add-on suits your forum

Each product page lists what the add-on needs under Compatibility, such as "Needs XenForo 2.3.0+". Compare that with your forum before you start. If you are not sure which version you run, here is where to find it, and this guide explains how to read version numbers.

A few add-ons build on another one, for example More Threads needs Thumbnail. Install the one it needs first. Add-ons that need another add-on lists them.

Tip: Take a backup before installing anything on a live forum. It is the one step that turns a bad day into a five-minute fix. How to back up your forum.

Method 1: upload the files and click Install

This works on every host and is the method we recommend.

Unzip the file you downloaded. Inside you will find a folder called upload.
Connect to your forum with FTP, SFTP or your hosting file manager, and open your XenForo root: the folder that holds admin.php, index.php and the src folder.
Upload the contents of the upload folder into the XenForo root. The folders it contains, such as src and js, merge with the ones already there. Allow your FTP program to overwrite files if it asks.
In the Admin CP, open Add-ons. The new add-on appears under Installable add-ons.
Click Install next to it and confirm. Keep the tab open until the progress page finishes.

Tip: Upload what is inside upload, not the folder itself. If you end up with upload/src/addons/... in your forum root, XenForo cannot see the add-on and it never appears in the list.

Method 2: install straight from the zip file

XenForo can unpack the zip for you, so there is nothing to upload by FTP. It is switched off by default, because the web server needs permission to write to your forum's folders to do it, and some hosts consider that a risk.

Add this line to src/config.php:

$config['enableAddOnArchiveInstaller'] = true;

In the Admin CP, open Add-ons and click Install/upgrade from archive.
Choose the zip file you downloaded (there is no need to unzip it) and click Install.

If XenForo reports that it cannot write to a folder, use Method 1 instead. Your server also needs PHP's ZipArchive support for this method.

After installing: switch it on

An installed add-on is not always a visible one. Most add-ons wait for one to three things from you before members see anything:

Settings. Some features are off until you choose forums or enter a key. Where to find an add-on's settings.
Permissions. New permissions usually start switched off for every group. XenForo permissions explained.
Widgets. A widget that comes with an add-on must be placed on a page. Add a widget and choose where it appears.

Each add-on's own guide in Add-on Guides lists exactly what it needs.

If the install stops with an error

The message tells you what went wrong, and most have a quick fix. Common add-on installation errors covers the usual ones. If the progress page times out on a big forum, install from the command line instead, where there is no time limit.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket with your XenForo version, the add-on version and the exact error message, and we will take it from there.