Alfresco Developer Resources

[angelborroy]

Alfresco has a huge ecosystem, but it only becomes really useful when you know which resource to use for which problem. This post is meant to be that map, with enough detail for new developers and enough depth for experienced ones who want to discover what they are missing.

1. The Alfresco Ecosystem

For a developer, most resources fall into following groups:

1. Documentation: product, APIs, front-end frameworks, and deployment
2. Source & artifacts: GitHub organizations, Maven/Nexus, Docker and Helm tooling
3. Community channels: forums, blogs, Discord, curated link lists
4. Learning paths: tutorials, training, examples and sandboxes

2. Documentation for developers

2.1 Hyland Product Documentation portal

The main entry point for supported Alfresco products is the Hyland Documentation portal under the Alfresco product line. There you find documentation for:

• Alfresco Content Services (ACS) Community and Enterprise
• Alfresco Process Services (APS) and Process Automation
• Digital Workspace, Content Accelerator, Governance Services
• SDKs and connectors (Events SDK, Extension Inspector, In-Process SDK, etc.)

This portal has:

• Versioned docs per product
• Develop sections with extension points, events, APIs and SDKs
• Links into support content for customers

For current Enterprise projects this should be the first stop.

2.2 Legacy docs and Community Edition documentation

The older docs site at docs.alfresco.com is still extremely valuable, especially for Community Edition and older versions (3.x, 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x). It hosts:

• Community Edition reference docs and install guides
• Older REST API and extension point documentation

Even when you target a recent Enterprise version, looking at a Community page is useful for:

• Quickly scanning examples without logging in
• Understanding long-standing concepts (content model, actions, rules, web scripts) that changed slowly over time

2.3 REST API and API Explorer

For remote integrations, the REST API is the primary interface to the repository. The REST API guide explains the official v1 API and usage patterns. See the REST API Guide at docs.alfresco.com.

Complementary to that, the REST API Explorer provides an OpenAPI (Swagger) style UI on top of Alfresco REST endpoints:

• Official project: Alfresco/rest-api-explorer on GitHub (GitHub).
• It builds to a WAR that you can deploy next to alfresco.war to:
  • Browse endpoints grouped by area
  • Try calls interactively against your instance
  • Generate curl examples and understand payloads

For workflow / process engines, APS provides a built-in REST API Explorer at /activiti-app/api-explorer.html that lets you explore and test process endpoints (documentation).

2.4 ADF and front-end documentation

If you build custom UIs on top of Alfresco, the Application Development Framework (ADF) and related apps are your main tools:

• ADF documentation on Alfresco Builder Network explains the framework, components and best practices (alfresco.com).
• The ADF GitHub repo alfresco-ng2-components details prerequisites (Node, npm) and links back to tutorials and getting started guides (GitHub).
• The Alfresco Content App (ACA) has its own documentation site and GitHub repository:
  • Netlify-hosted docs: who it is for, features, how to raise issues and contribute (alfresco-content-app.netlify.app).
  • Repo: explains how to configure BASE_URL, run the app, and execute tests (GitHub).

2.5 Deployment and infrastructure docs

Alfresco provides first-class documentation for containerized and automated deployments:

• ACS Deployment (containers): how to run ACS using Docker Compose, with a pointer to acs-deployment on GitHub for actual templates and version-specific compose files (docs.alfresco.com).
• Helm charts documentation for Kubernetes: independent charts used as building blocks, documented at alfresco.github.io/alfresco-helm-charts.
• Ansible deployment docs for Community Edition: installing ACS on one or more VMs using official Ansible playbooks (docs.alfresco.com).

These resources are essential if you are:

• Building repeatable dev environments for a team
• Aligning deployments across on-prem and cloud
• Learning where and how to inject customizations in a containerized stack

3. Source code and artifacts

3.1 GitHub organizations: Alfresco and AlfrescoLabs

The main GitHub organization is github.com/Alfresco, which hosts (GitHub)

• Core repositories:
  • alfresco-community-repo – repository tier, core services, remote API (GitHub).
  • Packaging and distributions such as acs-community-packaging (GitHub).
• Front-end and framework projects:
  • alfresco-ng2-components (ADF components).
  • alfresco-content-app (Content App) (GitHub).
• DevOps tooling:
  • acs-deployment – containerized deployment (Helm and Docker Compose) (GitHub).
  • alfresco-ansible-deployment – Ansible playbooks for ACS (GitHub).
  • alfresco-build-tools – shared GitHub Actions, build pipelines and docs (GitHub).

The AlfrescoLabs organization hosts experimental and community-driven projects (GitHub)

• alfresco-addons-catalog – zero-infrastructure catalog of third-party solutions.
• alfresco-mcp-server – experimental MCP server for AI integrations.
• Docker and deployment helpers, hackathon repos, and prototype tools.

3.2 Personal and community repos

Several individuals maintain high-quality Alfresco examples. For instance, Angel Borroy GitHub profile aggregates contributions to the Alfresco ecosystem, Docker tooling and AI integrations (GitHub profile).

Examples like alfresco-docker-installer provide installers that generate Docker Compose templates for specific ACS versions (6.1, 6.2, 7.x, 23.x) with optional modules and features (GitHub).

For Share customizations and content model examples, projects like alfresco-share-extensions-catalog show real-world AMPs/JARs and Docker setups that you can reuse as templates (GitHub).

3.3 Maven and Nexus artifacts

On the Java side, you will mostly consume Alfresco libraries through Maven:

• Public artifacts live in Maven Central under org.alfresco and related groups (reference).
• For Enterprise customers, private artifacts are hosted in Alfresco Nexus repositories, with access managed through support (how to configure).

The Product Access page clearly explains (Alfresco Product Access)

• Where source JARs and Enterprise libraries are stored
• That most SDKs require Maven plus Nexus credentials
• How to contact support if something is missing

For test environments, the alfresco-testcontainers library in Maven Central is particularly helpful if you want to spin up ACS as part of integration tests (Maven Central).

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4. Deployment blueprints you can reuse

If you want to reach production quality while staying close to official patterns, three projects cover almost every scenario:

1. acs-deployment: official Docker Compose and Helm templates for ACS, with documentation and examples for both Community and Enterprise (GitHub).
2. alfresco-ansible-deployment: Ansible playbooks with a complete deployment guide, security notes and versioned releases (GitHub).
3. alfresco-enterprise-docker (AlfrescoLabs): a generator for Enterprise Docker Compose templates that you can use as a reference to design your own architecture (GitHub).

5. Community channels and communication

5.1 Hyland Connect (Alfresco Community area)

Hyland Connect is the main community hub for Alfresco: forums, blogs, release notes, support links and event announcements live there under the Alfresco category (Hyland Connect).

As a developer you will use it to:

• Search past forum questions about specific errors or patterns
• Follow the Alfresco Blog for release notes, migration notes and deep dives (Alfresco Blog)
• Keep an eye on posts about events, Tech Talk Live episodes, and new tools like the MCP Server or Agent Mesh examples (events)

5.2 Discord and real-time chat

Real-time conversations around Alfresco typically happen in:

• The Alfresco Discord channel, which mirrors the historic FreeNode IRC channel and is referenced from curated lists like awesome-alfresco and community resource pages (community resources).

This is the place to:

• Ask short, time-sensitive questions
• Share quick tips, experiments or “I tried this and it failed” logs
• Coordinate around hackathons, summits, or open-source projects

6. Add-ons and integrations

The legacy addons.alfresco.com site is gone, but the ecosystem has moved forward.

The Alfresco Add-ons Catalog hosted under AlfrescoLabs is now the central place for third-party extensions (AlfrescoLabs on GitHub)

• Repository: AlfrescoLabs/alfresco-addons-catalog in GitHub.
• Static site: alfrescolabs.github.io/alfresco-addons-catalog (zero-infrastructure, GitHub Pages based).
• Purpose: community-driven, version-tagged catalog of add-ons with metadata and links to upstream projects.

Release notes for recent Community versions highlight this catalog as the recommended way to discover add-ons, which means it is likely to evolve together with the platform (release notes).

7. Learning paths and training

7.1 Community tutorials and books

A few long-standing educational resources remain extremely relevant:

• Alfresco Developer Tutorial Series by Jeff Potts – a series of articles that walk through repository customizations, actions, web scripts and more, aimed at developers who need an overview of the main extension points (ecmarchitect.com). Updating process happening in https://aborroy.github.io/alfresco-developer-series/
• The Alfresco Developer Guide (book) by the same author, which expands the series into a full textbook for real-world deployments (Amazon).

These are ideal if you want a conceptual foundation with extensive examples, even if some screenshots or framework versions are slightly dated.

7.2 Hyland University and TechQuest

Hyland University provides structured training for Alfresco (Hyland University)

• Learning paths for content, process and governance
• Self-paced online courses, virtual and in-person classes
• Sandbox environments delivered via Docker Compose to accompany courses (sandbox environments)

Alfresco TechQuest is a technical event with hands-on tracks, covering fundamentals and advanced topics for developers and admins (TechQuest agenda).

7.3 ADF tutorials and examples

For front-end developers, the ADF ecosystem has its own learning path:

• Official ADF tutorials on the Alfresco Builder Network, graded as beginner, intermediate and advanced (tutorials).
• The adf-examples repository with working example projects that demonstrate common ADF use cases and best practices (GitHub).

Combining these with the Content App repository gives you both “from scratch” tutorials and a real production-grade application to study.

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8. A living catalog you can keep up to date

This section is designed to be future-proof. As resources move, you can simply edit this table in your blog post, add new rows, or mark items as deprecated.

Alfresco developer resource catalog (living list)

Category	Name / Description	URL / Location	Best use case	Ownership / Support	Notes (version, status, etc.)
Docs	Hyland Alfresco Documentation Portal	https://support.hyland.com (Alfresco section)	Current product docs, Enterprise features, SDKs	Hyland	Login required for full access
Docs	Alfresco Community Edition docs (legacy site)	Community docs	Community features, older versions, quick reference	Hyland	Redirects some content to portal
Docs / API	REST API Guide + REST API Explorer	Docs + GitHub	Designing integrations and custom services	Hyland / community	Deploy Explorer locally for your environment
Front-end	ADF docs (Builder Network)	ADF docs	Learning ADF components and patterns	Hyland	Pairs well with ADF GitHub repo
Front-end	Alfresco Content App (ACA)	GitHub repository	Reference front-end, starting point for custom apps	Hyland	Uses ADF and Nx monorepo
Source	Alfresco GitHub organization	https://github.com/Alfresco	Core source, packaging, ADF, deployment tooling	Hyland	Main source location
Source (labs)	AlfrescoLabs GitHub (experiments)	https://github.com/AlfrescoLabs	Experimental tools, prototypes, community projects	Alfresco team members (labs)	No support guarantee
Artifacts	Public Maven artifacts	Maven Central (see reference)	Java dependencies for extensions and integrations	Hyland	Community and some Enterprise libraries
Artifacts	Private Nexus repository	https://artifacts.alfresco.com / https://nexus.alfresco.com	Enterprise artifacts and source JARs	Hyland (support credentials)	Requires Enterprise contract
Deployment	ACS containerized deployment (Helm + Docker Compose)	acs-deployment	Dev and production deployments, Docker and Kubernetes	Hyland	Docs at alfresco.github.io/acs-deployment
Deployment	Alfresco Ansible Deployment	GitHub	VM-based installs with Ansible	Hyland	Good for infrastructure as code
Add-ons	Alfresco Add-ons Catalog	Catalog	Discover third-party extensions and modules	AlfrescoLabs (community-driven)	New home for add-ons
Community	Hyland Connect – Alfresco area	Alfresco on Hyland Connect	Forums, blogs, release notes, announcements	Hyland + community	Main Q&A and blog platform
Community	Alfresco Discord channel	Invite link	Real-time chat with community and experts	Community	Invite link may change over time
Training	Hyland University – Alfresco catalog	Training catalog	Structured courses, labs, learning paths	Hyland	Requires account / subscription
Training	Alfresco Developer Tutorial Series (Jeff Potts)	Tutorial series Updating info	Conceptual grounding and example-driven tutorials	Community (Jeff Potts)	Great for understanding extension points
Examples	ADF examples repository	GitHub	Sample ADF apps and patterns	Community / Alfresco	Version-specific examples

You can extend this catalog with:

• Your own example projects
• Internal guidelines (for example “our base ACS Compose file”)
• Links to up-to-date MCP / AI projects, monitoring stacks, or CI templates