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plugin.json

Each plugin package contains a configuration file called plugin.json. Here is a sample, keeping in mind that not all options are required:

{
    "id": "nodebb-plugin-myplugin",
    "url": "Absolute URL to your plugin or a Github repository",
    "library": "./my-plugin.js",
    "staticDirs": {
        "images": "public/images"
    },
    "scss": [
        "assets/style.scss"
    ],
    "hooks": [
        { "hook": "filter:post.save", "method": "filter" },
        { "hook": "action:post.save", "method": "emailme" }
    ],
    "scripts": [
        "public/src/client.js"
    ],
    "acpScripts": [
        "public/src/admin.js"
    ],
    "modules": {
        "../client/myplugin.js": "./public/src/myplugin.js",
        "../admin/plugins/myplugin.js": "./public/src/admin.js"
    },
    "upgrades": [
        "upgrades/your_upgrade_script.js"
    ],
    "languages": "path/to/languages",
    "templates": "path/to/templates"
}

id is a unique identifier for your plugin. NodeBB will refer to your plugin by this id, and if published to npm, NodeBB will try to download the package with the same name as this id.

The library property is a relative path to the library in your package. It is automatically loaded by NodeBB (if the plugin is activated).

The staticDirs property is an object hash that maps out paths (relative to your plugin's root) to a directory that NodeBB will expose to the public at the route /plugins/{YOUR-PLUGIN-ID}.

  • e.g. The staticDirs hash in the sample configuration maps /path/to/your/plugin/public/images to /plugins/my-plugin/images

The scss property contains an array of paths (relative to your plugin's directory), that will be precompiled into the CSS served by NodeBB.

The hooks property is an array containing objects that tell NodeBB which hooks are used by your plugin, and what method in your library to invoke when that hook is called. Each object contains the following properties (those with a * are required):

  • hook, the name of the NodeBB hook
  • method, the method called in your plugin
  • priority, the relative priority of the method when it is eventually called (default: 10)

The scripts property is an array containing files that will be compiled into the minified javascript payload served to users.

The acpScripts property is similar to scripts, except these files are compiled into the minified payload served in the Admin Control Panel (ACP)

The modules property allows you to embed third-party AMD-style scripts into your plugin. For more information, see Using Third-Party Libraries.

The upgrades array is optional, useful for seamlessly updating your plugin's database schema via NodeBB's upgrade system. Have a look at this example in NodeBB's dbsearch plugin for further details.

The languages property is optional, which allows you to set up your own internationalization for your plugin (or theme). Set up a similar directory structure as core, for example: language/en-GB/myplugin.json.

The templates property is optional, and allows you to define a folder that contains template files to be loaded into NodeBB. Set up a similar directory structure as core, for example: partials/topic/post.tpl.