Modules Removed in Drupal 11: What to Replace Them With
When you run the Drupal 11 upgrade and it stops with "module not found," the cause is almost always the same: a module that shipped with Drupal core for years is gone. Drupal 11 removed several core modules outright, and the upgrade won't complete until you account for each one.
The good news is that most of the removed modules still exist — they just moved out of core and into contrib. The catch is that "reinstall the contrib version" is the right answer for some of them and the wrong answer for others. This is the full list of Drupal 11 removed modules, which version actually removed each one, and the replacement decision for each.
This pairs with the Drupal 11 upgrade checklist — that post covers the whole upgrade; this one zooms in on the removed-modules step, which is where most teams lose a day.
The mistake everyone makes: two different removal waves
Search results lump every removed module into one "Drupal 11" bucket. That's wrong, and it sends people chasing problems they don't have.
There were two separate removal waves:
- Removed in Drupal 10.0 (back in 2022): CKEditor 4, Color, Aggregator, RDF, HAL, and Quick Edit.
- Removed in Drupal 11.0: Actions UI, Activity Tracker, Book, Forum, Statistics, and Tour.
If you're upgrading from Drupal 10 to Drupal 11, you already dealt with the first wave when you went to Drupal 10 — those modules can't be on your site anymore. You only need to worry about the second wave. If you're coming from an older version, both waves apply at once.
This distinction matters because the most-searched module of the lot, CKEditor 4, was not removed in Drupal 11. It went in Drupal 10.0. If you're on Drupal 10 today, you're already on CKEditor 5. (Source: Drupal.org deprecated and obsolete extensions.)
The complete removed-module list with replacements
| Module | Removed in | Replacement | Drop-in or decision? | |---|---|---|---| | Statistics | 11.0 | Contributed Statistics project | Decision | | Book | 11.0 | Contributed Book project | Drop-in | | Forum | 11.0 | Contributed Forum module | Decision | | Tour | 11.0 | Contributed Tour module | Drop-in (or drop) | | Actions UI | 11.0 | Contributed Actions UI module | Drop-in | | Activity Tracker | 11.0 | Contributed Activity Tracker module | Drop-in (or drop) | | CKEditor 4 | 10.0 | CKEditor 5 (already in core) | Already handled | | Color | 10.0 | Contributed Color module | Already handled | | Aggregator | 10.0 | Contributed Aggregator module | Already handled | | RDF | 10.0 | Contributed RDF module | Already handled | | HAL | 10.0 | Contributed HAL module | Already handled | | Quick Edit | 10.0 | Contributed Quick Edit module, or uninstall | Already handled |
For a true drop-in, the fix is one line. Remove the core dependency, then pull the contrib version:
composer require drupal/book
drush updatedb
drush crYour content and configuration stay intact because the contrib module is the same code that used to live in core. The decision modules are different — read on.
The "drop-in" modules: reinstall and move on
These four moved to contrib unchanged. If your site uses one, install the contrib package and you're done.
- Book — the hierarchical content module. Heavily used on documentation and intranet sites, and the contrib version is a straight continuation. Reinstall it.
- Actions UI — the admin interface for advanced actions. If your editors configure actions through the UI, reinstall it.
- Tour — the guided-tooltip module for admin onboarding. Reinstall it if your admin theme relies on tours. Many sites never used it and can simply leave it uninstalled.
- Activity Tracker — the "recent content" tracker. Low usage on most sites; reinstall only if a page or block depends on it.
For all four, run the Upgrade Status report first to confirm the module is actually enabled on your site before you bother requiring it. Removing an unused module is faster than porting it.
The "decision" modules: don't just reinstall these
Two removed modules deserve a real conversation before you reflexively pull the contrib version.
Statistics — most sites should not reinstall it
The core Statistics module counted node views and logged access in your database. It was always a heavy, imprecise way to measure traffic, and its removal from core is a nudge in the right direction.
Before you composer require drupal/statistics, ask whether you need it at all. If you run Google Analytics 4, Matomo, or any real analytics platform, the contrib Statistics module is duplicate, lower-quality data that bloats your database. Reinstall it only if you have a feature that reads the live view counter — for example, a "most popular" block driven by node counts. Otherwise, drop it and rely on your analytics stack.
Forum — removal is a prompt to reassess
The core Forum module was never a strong discussion platform, and maintaining a forum inside your CMS is a real cost. Its move to contrib is a fork in the road:
- Light usage, want continuity → reinstall the contrib Forum module. It works.
- Active community → consider a purpose-built platform (Discourse, a hosted community tool) and link to it, rather than carrying forum code in your Drupal stack indefinitely.
- Dead forum → export anything worth keeping and remove it. A neglected forum is a spam magnet and a security surface.
Themes were removed too
It's not just modules. Drupal 11 removed four themes from core: Bartik, Seven, Classy, and Stable. This bites if your custom theme declares one of them as its base theme.
- Seven (the old admin theme) → switch to Claro, the current core admin theme.
- Bartik (the old default front-end theme) → available as a contrib project, but most sites should move to Olivero or a custom theme.
- Classy / Stable → available as contrib base themes. If your theme extends one, require the contrib version so your theme keeps inheriting its templates.
Check your theme's .info.yml for a base theme: line pointing at any of these before you upgrade.
How to find which removed modules affect you
Don't guess from this list — let the tooling tell you exactly. The Upgrade Status module scans your site and flags every enabled module that won't survive the jump to Drupal 11, including the removed core modules:
composer require --dev drupal/upgrade_statusThen open the report at /admin/reports/upgrade-status. Anything in the removed list shows up with a clear "removed from core" note. Work that list against the table above: drop-in modules get a composer require, decision modules get a five-minute conversation, unused modules get uninstalled. This is the same report that drives the rest of the upgrade checklist.
Why this is worth getting right now
Drupal 10 reaches end-of-life in December 2026, so the upgrade is coming whether you plan it or not. Removed modules are the single most common reason an otherwise-smooth Drupal 11 upgrade stalls — not because they're hard to fix, but because teams discover them mid-upgrade instead of triaging them in advance.
Handle the removed-module list during your audit and it costs you an hour. Discover it during the upgrade window and it costs you a day of debugging while the site is half-migrated. If you're still on Drupal 7, this is a smaller concern inside a much larger project — see Drupal 7 End-of-Life: What It Means for Your Website Security for that path.
Frequently asked questions
Which modules were removed in Drupal 11?
Six modules were removed from Drupal 11 core: Actions UI, Activity Tracker, Book, Forum, Statistics, and Tour. All six are available as contributed projects. A separate earlier wave (CKEditor 4, Color, Aggregator, RDF, HAL, Quick Edit) was removed back in Drupal 10.0, so sites already on Drupal 10 have handled those.
Was CKEditor 4 removed in Drupal 10 or Drupal 11?
CKEditor 4 was removed in Drupal 10.0, not Drupal 11. Drupal 10 replaced it with CKEditor 5. If your site is on any version of Drupal 10, you are already running CKEditor 5 and there's nothing to do during the Drupal 11 upgrade.
Will I lose data when a module moves to contrib?
No. The contributed versions of Book, Statistics, Forum, and the others are the same code that used to live in core. Removing the core dependency and requiring the contrib package keeps your existing content and configuration intact. The database tables and fields are unchanged.
Do I have to reinstall the Statistics module?
Only if you actively use it. If you run Google Analytics, Matomo, or another analytics platform, the core Statistics module was redundant low-quality data. Reinstall the contrib version only when a site feature reads the live node view counter directly; otherwise drop it.
How do I know which removed modules my site uses?
Install the Upgrade Status module (composer require --dev drupal/upgrade_status) and open its report at /admin/reports/upgrade-status. It lists every enabled module that won't work in Drupal 11, including removed core modules, with a per-module note.
What about the Bartik and Seven themes?
Both were removed from Drupal 11 core. Switch the Seven admin theme to Claro (the current core admin theme). Bartik, Classy, and Stable are available as contrib projects — require them only if your custom theme uses one as a base theme.
Get the removed-module list triaged before you upgrade
The removed-module step is quick when it's done in the audit and painful when it's done mid-upgrade. We triage the full list for you — which modules to reinstall, which to drop, and which to migrate off entirely — as part of a Drupal 11 upgrade scope.