---
title: Installation
date: 2026-06-13T16:01:00+01:00
author: John Henry Donovan
canonical_url: "https://johnhenry.ie/plugins/order-lifecycle/docs/getting-started/installation"
section: Plugins
---
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Documentation

Documentation

# Installation

## Requirements

- Craft CMS 5.0 or later
- Craft Commerce 5.0 or later
- PHP 8.2 or later

## Install using Composer

```bash
# go to the project directory
cd /path/to/my-project

# tell Composer to load the plugin
composer require johnhenry/craft-order-lifecycle

# tell Craft to install the plugin
./craft plugin/install order-lifecycle
```

## Install using DDEV

```bash
ddev composer require "johnhenry/craft-order-lifecycle:^1.0.0" -w && ddev craft plugin/install order-lifecycle
```

## Install from the Plugin Store

Go to the Plugin Store in your project’s Control Panel and search for “Order Lifecycle”. Then press “Install”.

## Post-Installation

Once it's installed, most event tracking starts straight away - no extra configuration needed. One event (checkout started) needs a small template change, covered below.

### Create and Add the Order Lifecycle Field

The timeline is a custom field type, so first you need a field using it, added to your order field layout. See [Field Type](https://johnhenry.ie/plugins/order-lifecycle/docs/guide/field-type) for the full step-by-step.

### Enable Checkout Tracking

Nearly every event on the timeline is logged automatically - but not `checkoutStarted`. Craft Commerce doesn't fire a native event when a customer lands on the checkout page, so you need to add this yourself, somewhere in your checkout flow:

```twig
{# Example only - add this wherever your checkout flow actually lives #}
{% set cart = craft.commerce.carts.cart %}
{% if cart and cart.email %}
  {% do craft.orderLifecycle.logCheckoutStarted(cart) %}
{% endif %}
```

This is just an example of the pattern, not a fixed location. "Checkout template" is shorthand - your setup might call it something else entirely (an address step, a cart index template, a single-page checkout partial), so add the tag wherever the customer first commits to checking out in your build.

Skip this and the timeline will simply never show a "Customer visited checkout" entry - nothing else breaks, but that piece of the picture is missing. See [Event Tracking](http://localhost:5174/order-lifecycle/guide/event-tracking.html#manual-checkout-tracking) for the PHP equivalent and more detail.

### Verify Installation

1. Go to **Commerce** → **Orders**
2. Open any order
3. You should see the Order Lifecycle field with a timeline (may be empty for orders created before installation)

## What's Next?

- [Field Type](http://localhost:5174/order-lifecycle/guide/field-type.html) - What the field shows and how it behaves
- [Configuration](https://johnhenry.ie/plugins/order-lifecycle/docs/getting-started/configuration) - Customize which events are logged
- [Event Tracking](https://johnhenry.ie/plugins/order-lifecycle/docs/guide/event-tracking) - Learn what is tracked automatically
- [Timeline View](https://johnhenry.ie/plugins/order-lifecycle/docs/guide/timeline-view) - Explore the interface

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