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Batteries

Turning modules off

Grit ships every battery enabled — that's the point of the framework. But not every app wants an AI endpoint or a job queue, and a module you aren't using shouldn't mount routes, start workers, or create tables.

Switching one off

Set the flag in .env. Every module defaults to true, so leaving these unset changes nothing:

.env
MODULE_AI=false
MODULE_JOBS=false
MODULE_WEBHOOKS=false

The full set:

MODULE_AI          # /api/ai/* chat + completion
MODULE_JOBS        # asynq workers + the Jobs page
MODULE_CRON        # scheduled tasks
MODULE_BACKUP      # backup/restore + Data & Backup
MODULE_WEBHOOKS    # outbound webhook delivery
MODULE_REALTIME    # WebSocket hub
MODULE_FILES       # uploads + File manager
MODULE_MAIL        # transactional email
MODULE_AUDIT       # activity log
MODULE_FLAGS       # feature flags
MODULE_TWOFACTOR   # TOTP / 2FA

What actually happens

A disabled module:

  • mounts no routes — the endpoints stop existing
  • registers no workers or cron entries
  • disappears from the admin sidebar and the System hub

The code stays in your repo. If you want it gone entirely, delete it — it's your codebase, not a vendored dependency.

Restart required

Flags are read once at startup. Changing one needs a restart — routes are mounted at boot, not per request.

Checking from the frontend

The admin reads GET /api/system/modules to hide nav for disabled modules. Use the same hook in your own pages:

const { moduleEnabled } = useModules()


{moduleEnabled("jobs") && <JobsWidget />}

Unlike can(), this fails open: while the flags are loading, everything is treated as enabled. Briefly hiding navigation because a request is slow looks like the feature vanished, and a visible link to a disabled module is only a 404 — not a privilege leak.

Why not a smaller scaffold?

Grit is for projects that will grow into these features. If your app is small enough that the batteries are pure overhead, a lighter framework is genuinely the better tool — and you can always remove what you don't want: grit remove resource Blog deletes the demo blog entirely.

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