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Recipe Tooling

When to Use

Use recipe tooling when you need to apply recipes, export content, or integrate recipes into custom workflows.

Tools for applying, testing, and developing recipes.

Items: Recipe Commands and APIs

drush recipe

Description: Apply recipe via Drush Usage: 

drush recipe recipes/my_recipe
drush recipe /path/to/recipe
drush recipe myorg/my-recipe  # Composer package
Gotchas: Drush 12+ required; prompts for inputs; shows batch progress

core/scripts/drupal recipe

Description: Apply recipe via core PHP script (no Drush) Usage: 

php core/scripts/drupal recipe recipes/my_recipe
php core/scripts/drupal recipe core/recipes/standard -v
Gotchas: No Drush dependency; -v flag outputs step-by-step progress; useful for CI/automated installs; prompts via Symfony Console

core/scripts/drupal quick-start

Description: Install Drupal from scratch using a recipe (no install profile required) Usage: 

php core/scripts/drupal quick-start core/recipes/article_content_type
Gotchas: New in Drupal 10.3; skips install profile entirely; installs minimal Drupal + applies recipe; useful for development and testing

drush content:export

Description: Export content entities to YAML Usage: 

drush content:export node 123 recipes/my_recipe/content --dependencies
drush content:export media 456 recipes/my_recipe/content
Gotchas: Added in Drupal 11.1; requires Drush; auto-handles dependencies and files

RecipeRunner::processRecipe()

Description: Programmatically apply recipe Usage: 

use Drupal\Core\Recipe\Recipe;
use Drupal\Core\Recipe\RecipeRunner;

$recipe = Recipe::createFromDirectory('/path/to/recipe');
RecipeRunner::processRecipe($recipe);
Gotchas: Static method; uses service container; no batch; runs synchronously

RecipeRunner::toBatchOperations()

Description: Convert recipe to batch operations Usage: 

$recipe = Recipe::createFromDirectory('/path/to/recipe');
$operations = RecipeRunner::toBatchOperations($recipe);
$batch = [
  'operations' => $operations,
  'finished' => 'recipe_batch_finished',
];
batch_set($batch);
Gotchas: Breaks recipe into steps; useful for web-based application; handles timeouts

Common Mistakes

  • Using old Drush versions → Recipe support requires Drush 12+; earlier versions don't have recipe command
  • Not handling batch callbacks → toBatchOperations requires custom finished callback; see core examples
  • Applying recipes in wrong environment → Recipes modify active config; test in safe environment first
  • Assuming Drush is only option → Core script works without Drush; good for Docker/CI
  • Forgetting to clear cache after manual application → Config changes may not take effect until cache clear

See Also