Updating Features and Adding Components Using Drush

If you use the Features module to manage your Drupal configuration, it can be time consuming to update features through the UI, especially if you are working on a remote server and need to keep downloading and uploading files.

If you re-create a feature through the UI, you'll be prompted to download a new archive of the feature in its entirety onto your local computer. You could either commit this into a local repository and then pull it remotely, or use a tool such as SCP to upload the archive onto the server and commit it from there. You can simplify this process by using Drush.

Finding Components

To search for a component, use the drush features-components command. This will display a list of all components on the site. As we're only interested in components that haven't been exported yet, add the --not-exported option to filter the results.

To filter further, you can also use the grep command to filter the results. For example, drush features-components --not-exported field_base | grep foo, would only return non-exported field bases containing the word "foo".

The result is a source and a component, separated by a colon. For example, field_base:field_foo.

Exporting the Feature

Once you have a list of the components that you need to add, you can export the feature. This is done using the drush features-export command, along with the feature name and the component names.

For example:

$ drush features-export -y myfeature field_base:field_foo field_instance:user-field_foo

In this example, the base for field_boo and it's instance on the user object is being added to the "myfeature" feature.

If you are updating an existing feature, you'll get a message informing you that the module already exists and asking if you want to continue. This is fine, and is automatically accepted by including -y within the command. If a feature with the specified name doesn't exist, it will be created.

If you're creating a new feature, you can define where the feature will be created using the --destination option.

Once complete, you will see a confirmation message.

Created module: my feature in sites/default/modules/custom/features/myfeature

The Result

Once finished, the feature is updated in it's original location, so there's no download of the feature and then needing to re-upload it. You can add and commit your changes into Git or continue with your standard workflow straight away.

Useful Links

The Features project page on Drupal.org

The "drush features-components" command

The "drush features-export" command