How to setup module install (sub-folder) paths from the *very beginning* (contrib, custom, features etc) - i.e. not move them after the install

Question

I've seen plenty of guides saying why it's a good thing to organise modules in different folders... (and I'd agree) e.g.:

• Where to put custom modules?

• https://drupal.org/documentation/install/modules-themes/modules-7

• http://befused.com/drupal/module-directory-structure (particularly like this guide, more folders and options to choose from)

...and how to move the modules to the new place(s) after installation

• How to move installed modules from /sites/all/modules/* to /sites/all/contrib/modules/*

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2654720/drupal-moving-module-folder

• How to reorganize drupal sites/all/modules structure without symbolic links?

... but these haven't worked for me, perhaps I need to try again. My site broke, even after trying the registry rebuild and clear cache many times.

So my question is this: How can I run the installation of Drupal to set up the modules to be installed in different folders (e.g. like in examples http://befused.com/drupal/module-directory-structure )?

There doesn't seem to be anything out there if you want your module paths (sub-folders) structured in a certain way, right from the beginning. NOT after the fact.

I want the folders to be set up in the first place, right from the beginning. So example, whenever I use drush to download a contrib module, the module is placed in the contrib sub-folder: sites/all/modules/contrib for example.

Some other references:

• Can Drupal be configured to find modules in other locations? - this suggests Drupal can just discover the location, I'm not so keen on this, I'd rather Drupal always know where the modules are rather than having to discover where they are.

• Is it possible to change the path of modules/themes installed using an installation profile? - I just want to use the plain vanilla Drupal 7 core install. If I was going to use this option, what would be the minimum I would need to provide in a setup to have module sub-folders?

Answer 1

Actually it seems like all you need to do is just create a folder called contrib in /sites/all/modules

when I issued drush dl views (at the docroot/install top level root of my site), drush put the views module in the contrib folder

as for features - you specify where you want the module to go when you (re)create the Feature (in the Feature section of the Drupal config)

as for custom - I'm hoping that Drupal will discover custom modules here - but is discovering, rather than a setting determining the path, a good thing?

Thought I'd still ask the question even after I'd found an answer, didn't want to waste the effort in making the question - hope someone else finds it useful.

Please provide your own answer or comment to enhance what I found.