# UI extensions
> Use UI extensions to add pages, tabs, dashboard cards, and reports to Cloud Management Platform (CMP), written in Python and Django
---
Site [llms.txt](/llms.txt)
---
Import a ready-made extension from the [Content Library](/docs/cmp/use/catalog/content-library/), or write your own. An extension has access to the same models and functions as a plugin and can use any third-party library installed on the Python path. Writing an extension calls for Python and a working knowledge of Django [views](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.2/topics/http/views/), [URLs](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.2/topics/http/urls/), and [templates](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.2/topics/templates/).
Extensions may need testing and updates when you upgrade CMP. Contact [CloudBolt Support](/docs/cmp/support/) if you require assistance.
## Import an extension from the Content Library
1. Go to **Admin** > **Manage UI Extensions**.
1. Select **Import from the Content Library**.
1. Select the download icon for an extension, then confirm with **Import**.
The extension, along with all of its views and templates, is imported, replacing any extension with the same name. It appears in the **UI Extensions** list on the Extensions Management page.
## Create an extension
1. Go to **Admin** > **Manage UI Extensions**.
1. Select **Add** > **Create a package**.
1. Enter a **Label**, the name displayed in the UI, and a **Name**, the folder and database name. Use lowercase letters, with optional underscores.
1. Enter a **Description**, and add any **Labels** you want. Type to find a label or create a new one.
1. Select one or more entries under **Extension Type**: Admin Page, Dashboard, Detail View Tab, Microfrontend App, Microfrontend Module, or Report. Each one adds a stub function to the package.
1. Select **Create**. The package is created on the appliance at `/var/opt/cloudbolt/proserv/xui//`, containing `__init__.py`, `views.py`, and a `templates` folder if you selected Admin Page.
Write your extension by editing those files on the appliance, or work on a copy: select the download icon in the package's row, edit the files, zip them with the same folder structure, and then **Upload**.
A zip with no JSON metadata file still installs. CMP warns you that the metadata is missing and asks you to confirm.
Restart the Apache HTTP Server to pick up Python changes. If your extension ships CSS, JavaScript, or images, select **Sync Static Assets** on the Extensions Management page to copy them to the web server.
```bash
systemctl restart httpd
```
## Labels
Labels group extensions in the **UI Extensions** list. Select a label in the list to show only extensions with that label. To change an installed extension's labels, open the extension and select the pencil icon next to **Labels** on its **Overview** tab.
Labels are saved in the package metadata, so they are kept when you download, upload, or import an extension, including from a repository or the Content Library.
## Package metadata
A downloaded package includes a JSON file that describes the extension. CMP generates it from the extension's record and reads it back when the package is uploaded or imported, so a value you change in the file becomes the value in CMP.
```json
{
"description": "Test for Documentation",
"enabled": true,
"icon": "doc_test.svg",
"id": "XUI-zx4tm7f7",
"label": "Documentation Test",
"labels": [
{
"name": "Reporting"
}
],
"last_updated": "2023-02-15",
"maximum_version_required": "",
"minimum_version_required": "8.6",
"name": "documentation_test",
"package_contents": [
"doc_test/__init__.py",
"doc_test/templates/admin_page.html",
"doc_test/views.py"
],
"version": "1.0"
}
```
| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `description` | Shown with the extension's details in the Library, and beside its name on the Extensions Management page. |
| `enabled` | Whether the extension's components appear in the UI. `false` hides all of them without removing the package. |
| `icon` | The image file used for the extension in the Library listing, contained in the package. |
| `id` | The extension's global ID, which starts with `XUI-`. |
| `label` | The name shown for the extension in the Content Library and on the Extensions Management page. |
| `labels` | The extension's labels, each with a `name`. On upload or import, they replace the extension's labels. A package without this field leaves the labels unchanged. |
| `last_updated` | The date the package was exported. |
| `maximum_version_required` | The highest CMP version supported by the extension. Empty means no upper limit. |
| `minimum_version_required` | The lowest CMP version supported by the extension. |
| `name` | The package folder name and the name stored in the database. May differ from the label. |
| `package_contents` | Every file in the package. Upon import, these files are copied onto the appliance. |
| `version` | The extension's version. |
## Troubleshoot an extension
Watch the application log while you work, then reload the page and look for Python errors in the live stream.
```bash
tail -f /var/log/cloudbolt/application.log
```
A traceback from a failing extension is also shown in place of the extension, so a CloudBolt admin can read it without leaving the page.
## Related
- [Cost and Security Management extension](/docs/cmp/configure/integrations/cost-and-security-management/): Track cloud spend, efficiency, and compliance from a CSMP instance.
- [ServiceNow Approval extension](/docs/cmp/configure/integrations/it-service-management/servicenow-approval/): Hold orders for approval in ServiceNow before they are provisioned.
- [UI extensions as code](/docs/cmp/configure/integrations/source-code-repository/ui-extensions-as-code/): Keep an extension in a source code repository and push changes from CMP.
---
Section pages:
- [UI elements that support extensions](/docs/cmp/developer-resources/ui-extensions/supported-elements/): Each kind of extension is a Django view with a decorator that specifies where it appears
- [Package structure](/docs/cmp/developer-resources/ui-extensions/package-structure/): A UI extension is a Python package on the appliance
- [Front-end assets and tools](/docs/cmp/developer-resources/ui-extensions/front-end-assets-and-tools/): Extension templates can use the preloaded JavaScript and CSS libraries, and can ship their own files within the package
- [Access control](/docs/cmp/developer-resources/ui-extensions/access-control/): Use a delegate class to decide whether an extension is visible to the viewer
- [Override or hide built-in tabs](/docs/cmp/developer-resources/ui-extensions/override-tabs/): Use the `replaces` parameter in a UI extension's `@tab_extension` decorator to replace or hide a built-in tab