Customizing Existing Mods

If you found a mod you like, but want to change something, there's no need to build from scratch— you can easily copy the existing mod and customize the copied version as you see fit.

Copying an existing mod is useful when you want most of the functionality of a mod, but you want to add (or remove) some bricks. You might also copy a mod and customize it to learn more about how it's built and become a stronger PixieBrix developer 💪.

Before customizing a mod, you'll need to copy it. This is easy to do from the Page Editor.

Copying a mod

1. Select the mod you want to copy from the Mods Panel.

2. Click the three-dot menu and choose "Make a copy"

1. You'll be prompted to set an alias (like a username) if you haven't already.

2. Optional: Edit the Mod ID, Name, and Description fields in the modal that appears

   
3. Click Create.

Tips for customizing

You’re free to explore and edit any of the bricks in the copied mod, and you can remove the original mod by clicking the three-dot menu and selecting Remove when you're done with it.

Make one change at a time

Making multiple changes before running your mod can make it difficult to tell what exactly broke if your mod stops working as desired. It's better to make one change at a time and run the mod to confirm it has the desired behaviour and expected outputs.

Keep the original mod

While customizing, it can be helpful to keep the original mod so you can compare what's changed in case anything breaks. Of course, you can remove it whenever you'd like and reactivate later if you need to. If you do keep the original, make sure to change the name of the newly copied mod and change any text for triggers, such as Quick Bar Action name or Context Menu text to distinguish between the original version and your copy.