---
url: /technical/packages.md
description: >-
  Packages are MODLR's proprietary export/import format for moving pre-built
  model objects between models or instances.
---

# Packages

Packages are a proprietary file type developed by MODLR (`.package`), used to export and import pre-built model objects - moving work between models, or between instances such as Development and Production.

Both actions are reached from the model's **Actions** menu.

![The model Actions menu, showing Manage Model, Create a Package and Import a Package](/model-actions-menu-annotated.png)

## Creating a Package

**Create a Package** asks for a name and description, then which model objects to include.

![Package Creation](/package-creation.png)

After saving, the package is written to the root directory of the model's file system, where it can be downloaded from the [File Manager](/technical/file-manager).

![File System](/file-system.png)

## Importing a Package

**Import a Package** asks for the file, then shows what it contains so you can choose what to bring in.

![The Import Package screen, listing the object types in the package with conflict and compatibility checks](/import-package.png)

Contents are grouped by object type, and a package can carry any of:

| | | |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Workviews | Cubes | Cards |
| Dimensions | Mappings | Pages |
| Processes | Schedules | Screens |
| Tables | Tags | Variables |

Each object is checked before import and reported against two columns: whether it **conflicts** with something already in the target model, and whether it's **compatible** with it. An object showing `No conflicts` is safe to bring in as-is; a conflict means the target model already has an object of that name, and importing will act on the existing one.

::: warning Check conflicts before importing into a live model
The conflict column is the only warning you get that an import will overwrite existing work. Importing into Production is worth doing from a package that has already been imported into a Development instance and checked there first.
:::

Importing runs as a background task, so a large package doesn't block the Gateway. It appears in the [Task Manager](/technical/logs-and-monitoring#task-manager) as a `Package Import` task while it runs.

## Related

* [Model Objects](/technical/model-objects) - the object types a package can carry
* [File Manager](/technical/file-manager) - where created packages are written
* [Logs and Monitoring](/technical/logs-and-monitoring) - watching an import run
* [Security Package](/technical/security-package) - a prebuilt package adding a front-end UI for model security