topic How convert a custom local module to a global module? in CMS Development

How convert a custom local module to a global module?

OksanaR — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:25:19 GMT

Hi guys, I'm new to HubSpot.
I have a custom local module, I need to make it global.
I read this but it doesn't work for me, I don't see any more buttons in the inspector where I can convert my module

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

Anton — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 10:34:01 GMT

Hi @OksanaR,

you can do it by modifing the meta.json file via local development

It will look something like this

{ "label": "My custom module", "css_assets": [], "external_js": [], "global": false, "help_text": "", "host_template_types": [ "PAGE", "BLOG_POST", "BLOG_LISTING" ], "js_assets": [], "other_assets": [], "smart_type": "NOT_SMART", "tags": [], "is_available_for_new_content": false }

if you change it like this,the module will be global

"global": true,

BUT: unless you have all settings predefined as default values, you'll lose them.

best,

Anton

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

BarryGrennan — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 11:46:45 GMT

The local dev method @Anton suggests is the way to go!

A quick note though, if you think there's a posibility that you'll need the local version again down the line, I'd save a copy of it.

There's a bug a few of us have encountered in that scenario. Quoting @Stephanie-OG who described the bug succinctly:

When you change a module's parameter from "global": true to "global": false in the meta.json file, in the editor it's no longer showing the global overlay, but when you click into it it has the "The creator of this template prevented editing this module in the content editors." message.

Don't know if that bug still exists. But it did 3 months ago and a year ago in my case.

I was able to use revision history to roll back to a pre-bug state, but that might be a pain in the **bleep** if you've made substantial changes to your module by then.

Barry Grennan

Freelance HubSpot CMS Developer

Website | Contact

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

OksanaR — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:15:03 GMT

Thanks for the solution, but I'm not using local development yet.
Therefore, I solved my problem like this: I created a new global module, copied the code there and created the necessary fields))). It wasn't difficult because my custom module has few fields, but if there were a lot of them, this method wouldn't work.
So thanks for the tips, I'll try to use them

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

OksanaR — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:15:41 GMT

Thanks for the tips, I'll try to use them

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

tone4407 — Thu, 11 May 2023 18:58:43 GMT

I was able to fix this issue by removing:

"locked" : true,

from all of the fields within the fields.json file.

This fix has to be done via the CLI.

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

Albusis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 19:41:12 GMT

I feel your pain. The bug is still there, although.....

When you open the JSON file of that module, it will have for every subsection a parameter "locked: true". In my case, I just went through the file and marked it all as "locked: false"

and hey, now I can edit it 🙂

Re: How convert a custom local module to a global module?

helloteichner — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:07:34 GMT

@OksanaR @BarryGrennan @Albusis @Anton @tone4407

I ran into the same issue many times and decided to build a small tool to make the process easier. It’s called Hub Module Convert – and as the name suggests, it does just that 😄

It’s just launched and currently in public beta. If you'd like to give it a try (and maybe share some feedback), feel free to email me at chris@hubmoduleconvert.com and I’ll set you up with a free account.

Thanks,
Chris