Drupal’s ‘Add-ons’ vs. ‘Recipes’ Terminology Sparks Debate

A seemingly minor inconsistency in Drupal’s user interface has ignited a broader debate within the community, shedding light on the ongoing struggle to balance clarity for new users with preserving Drupal’s established terminology.

The issue surfaced when long-time Drupal contributor Mike Anello (ultimike) noted that the Drupal CMS Dashboard uses the term “Add-ons” to describe a set of functionalities, whereas the Project Browser refers to the same feature as “Recipes.” Curious about the reasoning, Anello raised a concern on Drupal issue queue, prompting a flurry of discussion.

The Rationale: A Push for Simplicity

Pamela Barone, the product owner of Drupal CMS, quickly addressed the inconsistency, explaining that the use of “Add-ons” was an intentional move to make Drupal more accessible to non-technical users. The term "Recipes" had been unintentionally retained in some places due to late-stage changes in the Project Browser.

Barone defended the shift, stating that Drupal’s strategy is to reduce "Drupalisms"—specialized jargon that can be a barrier for newcomers. Ideally, all Drupal extensions, whether modules or recipes, would fall under a unified category, making the platform easier to navigate for those unfamiliar with its terminology.

“We are not renaming Recipes, but normalizing the user-facing language,” 

Barone clarified, emphasizing that user testing is underway to assess whether “Add-ons” is more intuitive than the technical term “Recipes.”

Community Reactions: A Divide Between Clarity and Tradition

While some community members welcomed this shift as a necessary step toward de-jargonizing Drupal, others saw it as a misguided rebranding that could lead to more confusion.

Chris Wells, a vocal participant in the Mastodon discussion, argued that Drupal already has terminology for “all the things” under the umbrella of “Projects” (as seen in Project Browser) and that introducing “Add-ons” without broad community consensus could further complicate matters.

“Language is hard, and people are definitely throwing it around casually,” 

Wells remarked, advocating for a community vote to settle the terminology dispute.

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Kevin Reynen (kreynen) from the University of Denver initially expressed concerns about renaming "Recipes" to "Add-ons," arguing that "Recipes" had a well-defined meaning in Drupal. However, after considering Pamela Barone’s reasoning, he acknowledged that the real issue lies in Drupal.org’s outdated navigation structure rather than the terminology choice itself. Reynen proposed a more comprehensive fix—updating the top-level “Downloads” menu to categorize Modules, Themes, Recipes, and JavaScript under a unified “Add-ons” section. He emphasized that the Drupal CMS team was addressing the issue at the level they had authority over and that a broader fix could resolve inconsistencies across the platform.

Critics of the “Add-ons” label also raised concerns about consistency and discoverability. Since “Add-ons” is a generic term, users searching for Drupal documentation may struggle to find relevant resources, whereas “Recipes” has a specific meaning within the Drupal ecosystem.

Possible Resolutions: A Path Forward?

Several alternative solutions emerged from the discussion:

1. A Unified Hierarchy: Some suggested that Drupal.org update its top-level navigation to categorize Modules, Themes, and Recipes under a single “Add-ons” section, while preserving their distinct identities.
2. Maintaining ‘Recipes’ with Clearer Definitions: Rather than replacing the term, Drupal could focus on better explaining what Recipes are and how they differ from Modules.
3. A Community Vote: Some members pushed for a formal community decision on whether “Recipes” or “Add-ons” should be the preferred terminology.

Ultimately, user testing will play a key role in determining the final terminology. As Barone noted, if research shows that non-technical users struggle with "Recipes" but find "Add-ons" intuitive, the latter will likely become the standard.

A Broader Movement: De-Jargonizing Drupal

This debate ties into a larger effort within the Drupal community to simplify technical language. Emma Horrell, a key advocate for the De-Jargoning Drupal Initiative, has been working to identify and replace confusing Drupal terms with more intuitive alternatives.

The push for more beginner-friendly language has sparked mixed reactions. While some applaud the effort to make Drupal more approachable, others worry that abandoning long-standing terminology could alienate experienced users and create a disconnect between developers and site builders.

Looking Ahead

As Drupal CMS continues to evolve, terminology debates like this one will likely become more common. The challenge is to strike a balance between modernizing Drupal’s language for wider adoption and preserving the terminology that has shaped its identity.

For now, the community remains divided—but with user testing, further discussions, and potential governance decisions, a resolution may soon be in sight.