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4.4. Uninstalling Unused Modules for Drupal 8, 9, 10, and 11

Goal

Uninstall the core Search and History modules, as well as the core Actions UI module if you installed it in Section 4.3, “Installing a Module”, to reduce overhead.

Prerequisite knowledge

Section 1.2, “Concept: Modules”

Site prerequisites

  • You must have at least one unused module on your site that you want to uninstall, such as the core Search module.
  • If you want to use Drush to uninstall modules, Drush must be installed. See Section 3.2, “Concept: Additional Tools”.

Steps

Sprout Video

You can use the administrative interface or Drush to uninstall modules.

Using the administrative interface

  1. In the Manage administrative menu, navigate to Extend > Uninstall (admin/modules/uninstall) where you will find the list of modules that are ready to be uninstalled.
  2. Check the boxes for the modules you are uninstalling (Search, History, and Actions UI). Click Uninstall at the bottom of the page.

    Image
    Uninstalling module

    Note

    You cannot uninstall a module if it is required by some other module(s) and/or functionality. For example, the core File module is required by the core Text Editor, CKEditor, and Image modules. It can’t be uninstalled unless you uninstall its dependent module(s) and functionality first. A module that cannot be uninstalled yet will have a disabled checkbox, restricting you from uninstalling it.

  3. Step 2 will prompt you to confirm the module uninstall request. Click Uninstall.

    Image
    Confirm uninstall - search module

Using Drush

  1. In the Manage administrative menu, navigate to Extend (admin/modules). The Extend page appears showing all the available modules in your site.
  2. Find the machine name of the module you want to uninstall, by expanding the information area for the module. For instance, the core Actions UI module’s machine name is action.
  3. Run the following Drush command to uninstall the module:

    drush pm:uninstall action

Expand your understanding

Drupal User Guide