Modules and Extending FluentBoards

FluentBoards Core

FluentBoards organizes work as boards that contain stages (columns), which contain tasks. The pages in this section are task-oriented guides for each of these objects. They show how to work with them from your own plugin through the PHP API, and where to hook in.

Page	What it covers
Boards	Listing boards, creating a board (with default stages and labels), reading stages and labels, creating labels
Stages	Listing and reading stages, adding a stage, renaming or recoloring it, setting its default task status, archiving and restoring
Tasks	Creating tasks, assigning users and labels, moving tasks between stages, updating fields, subtasks and attachments (Pro)
Navigation	Adding items to the top navigation and to the board menu, and customizing the app URL, logo and icon

For the full method signatures and return values, see the API reference pages: Boards API, Stages API and Tasks API.

Building an add-on

Keep your code in its own plugin so FluentBoards updates never overwrite it. A typical add-on:

1. Waits for FluentBoards to load. FluentBoards fires fluent_boards_loaded (with the application instance) on plugins_loaded. Register that listener when your plugin file loads, not inside another plugins_loaded callback that runs later.
2. Uses the PHP API for writes. FluentBoardsApi('boards' | 'stages' | 'tasks') checks the current user's permissions and runs the same services as the app, so positions, activities and hooks stay consistent.
3. Uses the models for reads the API does not cover. The models are in FluentBoards\App\Models (Board, Stage, Task, Label, Comment, …). See Models.
4. Reacts to events with hooks. See Action hooks (for example fluent_boards/task_created, fluent_boards/board_created, fluent_boards/task_stage_updated) and Filter hooks (for example fluent_boards/before_task_create, fluent_boards/task_priorities).
5. Exposes data remotely through the REST API under /wp-json/fluent-boards/v2/. See REST API.

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: My Boards Add-on
 */

defined('ABSPATH') || exit;

add_action('fluent_boards_loaded', function ($app) {

    // Label every new task that comes from a specific source
    add_action('fluent_boards/task_created', function ($task) {
        if ($task->source !== 'my-addon') {
            return;
        }

        $labels = FluentBoardsApi('boards')->getLabels($task->board_id);
        $label  = $labels ? $labels->firstWhere('title', 'Imported') : null;

        if ($label) {
            FluentBoardsApi('tasks')->attachLabels($task->id, [$label->id]);
        }
    });

    // Rename the "Urgent" priority (keys stay the same, only labels change)
    add_filter('fluent_boards/task_priorities', function ($priorities) {
        $priorities['urgent'] = __('Fire!', 'my-addon');
        return $priorities;
    });
});

Permissions in background jobs

The PHP API checks the current WordPress user. In cron jobs, Action Scheduler callbacks, webhooks or WP-CLI there is often no user, so calls return false. Switch to a user who has access with wp_set_current_user($userId) before you call the API.

Modules in the code base

"Module" also refers to optional feature modules that can be switched on in Settings → Modules. Their state is stored in the WordPress option fluent_boards_modules and read with fluent_boards_get_pref_settings().

Module	Where	Notes
Time tracking	Pro: app/Modules/TimeTracking	Adds the fbs_time_tracks table and timer endpoints. Pref key timeTracking.
Frontend portal	Pro	Serves the app on a front-end page or slug. Pref key frontend.
Recurring tasks	Pro	Pref key recurring_task
Cloud storage	Pro: app/Modules/CloudStorage	S3, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces and Backblaze drivers. Flag cloud_storage in fluent_boards_get_features_config().
MCP / AI abilities	Core and Pro: app/Modules/MCP	Registers board, stage, task and comment abilities through the WordPress Abilities API, exposed on a FluentBoards MCP server when the WP MCP Adapter is installed. Extend it on fluent_boards/mcp_loaded.
Menu placement	Core	Show FluentBoards inside the FluentCRM menu. Pref key menu_settings.