Distribution

A Drupal distribution is Drupal core bundled with modules, themes and configuration for one kind of site, installed through an install profile.

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A distribution is a packaged way to start a Drupal site. It begins as an install profile, a folder with a .info.yml file of type profile. It becomes a distribution when that file carries a distribution key. The installer then chooses the profile without asking and shows the distribution's name instead of the word Drupal.

How distributions work in Drupal 11

The drupal.org page for distributions describes them as a single download with Drupal core, contributed modules, themes and pre-defined configuration, aimed at a specific type of site. The mechanism is in core. In Drupal 11.4.10, _install_select_profile() picks a profile in this order: the only profile available, a profile requested in the install parameters, the first profile marked as a distribution, and then the only visible profile. InstallerKernel also selects the first profile whose info has a distribution key.

The distribution key has these parts in the 11.4.10 code: name, which replaces "Drupal" in the installer, langcode, and under install, the theme used during installation and a finish_url where the installer redirects when it is done. Core's own profiles, standard, minimal and demo_umami, are not distributions.

Drush follows the same rule. The site:install argument accepts an install profile name or a path to a recipe, and it defaults to standard unless an install profile is marked as a distribution.

Example

This info file turns a profile into a distribution for a conference site. The names are made up.

name: Conference starter
        type: profile
        description: 'Starting point for a conference site.'
        core_version_requirement: ^11.4
        distribution:
          name: Conference Site
          install:
            theme: claro
            finish_url: 'admin/content'

With this profile in the codebase, the installer skips the profile choice, shows Conference Site as the name, and redirects the browser to admin/content when the installation finishes. Drupal CMS uses the same key in its installer profile.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing by the demo. A distribution is a set of choices made by its maintainers. Read the project page, its release notes and its security advisory coverage before you build a site on one.
  • Wondering why the installer skips the profile choice. A distribution in the codebase wins over the visible profiles. To install another profile, request it explicitly in the install parameters or as the Drush site:install argument.
  • Using old guides. The drupal.org page "Creating distributions" is undated and links to Drupal 7 material. Compare it with the core code before copying packaging steps.

For marketing and content teams

A distribution gets a team to a working site fast, because roles, content types and modules are chosen for a use case. The trade-off is that you inherit those choices. Ask your developer which distribution the site started from, so you know whose documentation applies. A site can be built from a distribution and then change, so the editors' screens may differ from the distribution's demo.

With DXPR

DXPR CMS is described on the DXPR CMS page as a distribution that brings Drupal, the DXPR Builder page builder and DXPR Theme together, curated and maintained by DXPR.

Sources

Questions about Distribution

An install profile is a folder with a .info.yml file of type profile that the installer uses to set up a new site. A distribution is an install profile whose info file has a distribution key, which makes the installer pick it automatically and show its name instead of Drupal.

Its installer, drupal_cms_installer, is an install profile whose info file in release 2.2.7 has a distribution key with the name Drupal CMS. The drupal.org project page calls Drupal CMS a platform built on Drupal core.

A distribution is chosen once, when the site is installed. The drupal.org recipes initiative page lists its drawbacks: hard to keep updated, impossible to add after a project starts, not easy to remove, and impossible to mix with other functionality. A recipe can be applied at any point in the life of a site and can build on other recipes.

On the drupal.org Distributions page. It lists them with filters for maintenance status, development status, stability and security advisory coverage, and sorts by criteria such as most installed or last release.

Cite this definition

"Distribution." DXPR Drupal glossary, https://dxpr.com/hc/documentation/learn-drupal/drupal-glossary/distribution. Last updated October 26, 2026.

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