A distribution is an install profile packaged as a ready-made site starter. Technically the profile gains a distribution key in its info file, with a name and an optional language and install settings. When one is present, the installer selects it automatically instead of asking.
' - '@type': Question name: 'Which install profile should I choose?' acceptedAnswer: '@type': Answer text: 'Drush uses standard when you leave the profile out, unless a profile in the codebase is marked as a distribution. Its documentation advises minimal for a bare minimum installation.
' - '@type': Question name: 'Where does Drupal remember which profile a site uses?' acceptedAnswer: '@type': Answer text: 'In the core.extension configuration, under the key profile. Core's DrupalKernel reads that key and exposes it as the install_profile container parameter.
' - '@type': Question name: 'Are install profiles replaced by recipes?' acceptedAnswer: '@type': Answer text: 'Not in Drupal 11.4.10. Core still ships three profiles and records the active one under profile in core.extension. Recipes are a separate mechanism, and the Drush install command takes either a profile name or a recipe path.
' - '@type': TechArticle headline: 'Install profile' description: 'An install profile defines the modules, themes and configuration a new Drupal site starts with. You choose it once, when you run the installer.' image: '@type': ImageObject url: 'https://dxpr.com/themes/custom/dxpr_com/images/dxpr-share-card.jpg' width: '1200' height: '630' datePublished: '2026-10-26T18:01:04+0000' dateModified: '2026-10-26T18:01:04+0000' author: '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://dxpr.com/#organization' name: DXPR url: 'https://dxpr.com/' logo: '@type': ImageObject url: 'https://dxpr.com/themes/custom/dxpr_com/dxpr-logo-dark.svg' width: '1348' height: '501' publisher: '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://dxpr.com/#organization' name: DXPR url: 'https://dxpr.com/' logo: '@type': ImageObject url: 'https://dxpr.com/themes/custom/dxpr_com/dxpr-logo-dark.svg' width: '1348' height: '501' mainEntityOfPage: 'https://dxpr.com/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/install-profile' articleSection: 'Drupal glossary' - '@type': WebPage '@id': 'https://dxpr.com/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/install-profile' description: 'An install profile defines the modules, themes and configuration a new Drupal site starts with. You choose it once, when you run the installer.' breadcrumb: '@type': BreadcrumbList itemListElement: - '@type': ListItem position: 1 name: Home item: 'https://dxpr.com/' publisher: '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://dxpr.com/#organization' name: DXPR inLanguage: en --- [Help Center](/hc)/[Documentation](/hc/documentation) /[Learn Drupal](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal) /[Drupal glossary](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary) # Install profile An install profile defines the modules, themes and configuration a new Drupal site starts with. You choose it once, when you run the installer. Learn DrupalDrupal glossary Last updated October 26, 2026 ## In this guide Related terms - [Distribution](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/distribution) - [Recipes](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/recipes) - [Module](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/module) - [Theme](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/theme) - [Drush](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/drush) - [Configuration](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/configuration) [All Drupal terms from A to Z](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary) An install profile, also called an installation profile, is a special extension that Drupal reads while it installs a new site. It sits in its own folder and has an info file of type `profile`. Drupal core ships three of them, and the installer records the one you used in the site's configuration. ## How install profiles work in Drupal 11 A profile is a folder named after the profile, holding `profilename.info.yml`. The Drupal.org guide lists optional extras: a `.install` file, a `.profile` file, a `config` folder and a `translations` folder. Downloaded and custom profiles go in the `profiles` directory of the web root; the README in that directory says so. The info file uses these keys, according to the guide and the core profiles: - `install` lists modules to install. The guide says these can be uninstalled later. - `dependencies` lists required modules that cannot be uninstalled. - `themes` lists themes to install. The guide says this does not make any of them the default theme. - `distribution` is an optional block that turns the profile into a distribution. Configuration shipped in the profile's `config/install` folder is imported during installation. The Standard profile in core 11.4.10 has both a `config/install` and a `config/optional` folder. Core 11.4.10 includes three profiles: | Profile | Purpose according to its info file | |---|---| | Standard | A site with commonly used features already set up. | | Minimal | A bare start for building a custom site; aimed at advanced users. | | Demo: Umami Food Magazine (Experimental) | An example site that shows some of what Drupal can do. | The 11.4.0 release notes say the Article and Page content types were removed from the Standard profile and recipe, so a new Standard site starts without a content type. The installer picks a profile in this order, from `install.core.inc`: the only profile available; a profile named in the installation parameters; the first profile that is a distribution; the only visible profile. Otherwise it shows the choice to the person installing. ## Example A minimal custom profile is a folder `profiles/acme_site` with one file, `acme_site.info.yml`: ``` name: Acme site type: profile description: 'Starting point for Acme sites.' core_version_requirement: ^11 install: - node - block themes: - stark ``` Install with [Drush](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/drush) by passing the profile name: `drush site:install acme_site`. After installation the `core.extension` configuration contains `profile: acme_site`. ## Install profiles and recipes Drupal core also ships [recipes](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/recipes). The Drush documentation describes the first argument of `site:install` as a profile name or the path to a recipe directory, and gives the example `drush si core/recipes/standard`. The Standard recipe in core 11.4.10 is described in its own file as providing a standard site with commonly used features pre-configured. ## Common mistakes - **Following old guides to the letter.** The Drupal.org guide still shows a `standard_install()` call. The Standard profile folder in core 11.4.10 contains no `.install` file, so read the current core profiles. - **Using the demo profile for a real site.** Umami is a demo, and its name in core 11.4.10 carries the word Experimental. - **Putting a custom profile in the wrong folder.** Place it in the web root's `profiles` directory, not in `modules`. - **Expecting listed modules to be locked.** Modules under `install` can be uninstalled later; only `dependencies` are required. ## For marketing and content teams The profile decides what your [modules](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/module), themes and starter settings look like on day one. Ask your developer or agency which profile your site was installed with, because it explains why a fresh site already has certain modules or roles, and which starter features you did not choose yourself. ## With DXPR DXPR describes [DXPR CMS](/marketing-cms) as a distribution that brings Drupal, the AI page builder and DXPR Theme together, curated and maintained by DXPR. A distribution is an install profile packaged for reuse. ## Sources - [Drupal.org: How to write a Drupal installation profile](https://www.drupal.org/docs/distributions/creating-distributions/how-to-write-a-drupal-installation-profile) - [Drush: site:install command](https://www.drush.org/13.x/commands/site_install/) - [Drupal core 11.4.10 source: profiles, install.core.inc and DrupalKernel (git.drupalcode.org)](https://git.drupalcode.org/project/drupal/-/tree/11.4.10/core) - [Drupal core 11.4.10 source: web/profiles/README.txt (git.drupalcode.org)](https://git.drupalcode.org/project/drupal/-/blob/11.4.10/profiles/README.txt) - [Drupal.org: Drupal 11.4.0 release notes](https://www.drupal.org/project/drupal/releases/11.4.0) - [DXPR: DXPR CMS](/marketing-cms) ## Questions about install profiles ### What is the difference between an install profile and a distribution? A distribution is an install profile packaged as a ready-made site starter. Technically the profile gains a `distribution` key in its info file, with a name and an optional language and install settings. When one is present, the installer selects it automatically instead of asking. ### Which install profile should I choose? Drush uses `standard` when you leave the profile out, unless a profile in the codebase is marked as a distribution. Its documentation advises `minimal` for a bare minimum installation. ### Where does Drupal remember which profile a site uses? In the `core.extension` configuration, under the key `profile`. Core's `DrupalKernel` reads that key and exposes it as the `install_profile` container parameter. ### Are install profiles replaced by recipes? Not in Drupal 11.4.10. Core still ships three profiles and records the active one under `profile` in `core.extension`. Recipes are a separate mechanism, and the Drush install command takes either a profile name or a recipe path. ## Cite this definition "Install profile." DXPR Drupal glossary, https://dxpr.com/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/install-profile. Last updated October 26, 2026. Copy ## Related terms - [Distribution](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/distribution) - [Recipes](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/recipes) - [Module](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/module) - [Theme](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/theme) - [Drush](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/drush) - [Configuration](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/configuration) [All Drupal terms from A to Z](/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary)