Node Types

Register custom node types when built-in types are not enough — specialised URLs, structural wrappers, or integration-specific behaviour.

The examples assume an existing module using the namespace modules\sitemodule. The Group type below supplies a non-link label for a custom layout.

Create a Class

Create modules/sitemodule/nodetypes/Group.php in the Craft project. Extend verbb\navigation\base\NodeType (or ElementNodeType for Craft element pickers):

<?php
namespace modules\sitemodule\nodetypes;

use verbb\navigation\base\NodeType;

class Group extends NodeType
{
    public static function displayName(): string
    {
        return 'Group';
    }

    public static function hasUrl(): bool
    {
        return false;
    }

    public static function getTag(): string
    {
        return 'span';
    }
}

Common static methods: hasTitle(), hasUrl(), hasNewWindow(), getColor(), getTag().

Implement instance methods such as getUrl(), getDefaultTitle(), beforeSaveNode(), and getEditorHtml() as needed. The quick-add schema method getAddNodeSchema(array $context) is static.

For element-backed types, extend ElementNodeType and implement getElementType().

Register the Type

Place this registration in your module’s init() method, with the imports at the top of its PHP file. It adds your class when Navigation collects the available types:

use verbb\navigation\events\RegisterNodeTypeEvent;
use verbb\navigation\services\NodeTypes;
use yii\base\Event;

Event::on(NodeTypes::class, NodeTypes::EVENT_REGISTER_NODE_TYPES, function (RegisterNodeTypeEvent $event) {
    $event->types[] = \modules\sitemodule\nodetypes\Group::class;
});

The registered Group type appears in the builder and the menu’s Permissions tab. Its title field comes from the base class. getBuilderConfig() belongs to element-backed picker types; the Group example does not require it.

Open the builder, add a Group node, enter a title, and save the menu. Render it with node.link: the output should be a span containing that title. If Group is missing, check the module’s Composer namespace, bootstrap entry, and the menu’s Permissions tab.

Builder Schema

Override getAddNodeSchema() and getAddNodeDefaultData() for quick-add fields in the menu builder. Override getEditorHtml() for slide-out settings.

See built-in types in src/nodetypes/ for examples — especially Dynamic (with sources in src/dynamic/sources/) and GroupColumn.

Dynamic Sources

Dynamic nodes delegate projection to source providers registered on DynamicSources::EVENT_REGISTER_DYNAMIC_SOURCES. Implement verbb\navigation\base\DynamicSourceProvider (or extend DynamicSource) and add your class to the event’s providers array. See Events — Register dynamic sources.