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The power of Moodle plugins: A Moodle Plugin Guardian's top picks
31 Jul 2025, 12:09 PMDan Marsden, Moodle developer at Catalyst and Moodle Plugin Guardian, shares what plugins can do, where to find them, and how to get custom plugin development.
Pictured: Dan Marsden, Moodle developer and Moodle Plugin Guardian.
Moodle plugins add new functionality to your Moodle LMS. Plus, plugins are shared with the Moodle community so everyone can benefit from them. That’s why Dan Marsden, Moodle developer at Catalyst and Moodle Plugin Guardian, enjoys developing them.
For Dan, “Moodle plugins can meet a real need and solve big or small problems. They’re a way to make your Moodle work well for you and not worry about the maintenance.”
What are Moodle plugins?
Moodle plugins enable you to customise the learning experience of your Moodle learning management system (LMS) from hanging a course layout to incorporating AI support for grading. Plugins provide the flexibility to:
- add new functionality
- integrate Moodle with other tools
- automate manual tasks
- strengthen security.
Where can I find Moodle plugins?
You can find and download Moodle plugins by checking out the Moodle Plugins directory. The plugins are grouped into types to make them easy to filter to find the functionality you’re after. For instance, you can search for things like activity modules, question types, authentication methods and more.
When developers submit plugins to the directory, Moodle Plugin Guardians (like Dan), rigorously review them so they meet standards for security, stability, and code quality. Therefore, you can freely use and download the plugins. For Dan, the review process is essential as it gives the Moodle community peace of mind when they install plugins, knowing that it won’t break their site.
What are the benefits of Moodle plugins?
There are many benefits using Moodle plugins, and for Dan, it’s about choosing what solves your biggest pain points. Here are seven of Dan’s top picks.
1. Understand how pages are performing and why
The ‘Excimer profiler plugin’ helps identify slow pages, long-running cron tasks, and subtle performance issues. It can be enabled in production environments to gain clear, actionable insights to investigate the cause of performance problems. Plus, it’s useful when reviewing performance over a long weekend or after hours, and it's a tool Catalyst developers rely on to maintain overall site performance.
2. Optimise server storage and costs
If your courses operate on a rolling intake or have a long lifespan, assignment submissions can quickly consume storage space. Using Moodle plugins such as ‘Purge old assignments’ enables you to clear up server space by deleting outdated assignments, freeing up storage space and reducing backup costs. Plus, it makes it easier to meet privacy requirements and students’ right to be forgotten.
3. Strengthen login security
Include single sign-on (SSO) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) into your login process to provide an extra layer of security. The ‘Multi-factor authentication’ is perfect if you’re on Moodle 4.2 or below, as the plugin functionality has now been incorporated into Moodle core.
4. Ensure 24/7 site health
Use plugins to check all critical service dependencies for you, including cron health checks with the ‘Heartbeat check (eg Nagios / Icinga)’ plugin. Pair this with plugins like ‘All backups’ to ensure business continuity and clear up some disk space at the same time to keep your Moodle running effectively.
5. Seamlessly integrate with your key systems
Moodle plugins bring your tools into Moodle, whether it’s a content management system, software like Office 365, or grading tools. Plugins such as the ‘Turnitin plagiarism plugin’ mean your Turnitin integrates seamlessly with your Moodle assignments, forums, quizzes, and workshops.
6. Automate repetitive manual tasks
Save time tracking down things like broken links, adding users to cohorts, and extending assignments. Moodle plugins can take over repetitive manual tasks and automate them, giving you confidence that they’re handled. From auto enrolment to checking spare disk space, many Moodle plugins can support your workflows.
7. Improve scalability and performance
If you have large or multiple Moodle instances, the ‘Object storage file system’ plugin is for you. The plugin enhances Moodle’s file storage by integrating with remote cloud-based object storage systems. This setup conserves disk space, streamlines data refreshes, and supports secure sharing of sanitised environments with developers or third parties.
Want to add more features to your Moodle? Check out the plugins that Dan and the Catalyst team have created.
Have an idea for a plugin?
If you’re a Moodle developer, Dan encourages you to give Moodle plugin development a go. You can always start by reviewing other Moodle plugins or volunteering as a Moodle Plugin Guardian.
Otherwise, if you don't have the in-house expertise, but have an idea in mind or a business challenge you're trying to solve, Dan and our Moodle experts at Catalyst are happy to help. Whether it’s custom Moodle development or a Moodle plugin, we work with you to develop the best solution for your needs. Contact us with your ideas.
Are you still on Moodle 4.1?
We’re offering extended support hours for organisations still on Moodle 4.1. If you’re planning on upgrading soon or further down the track, we can support your site so you can upgrade on your schedule.
