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Plugin Development

Overview

Anatomy of a plugin:

- plugin_name/
-- config.json
-- plugin_name.js
-- modules_meshcore/ // optional
--- plugin_name.js 	// optional

Plugin Configuration File

A valid JSON object within a file named config.json in the root folder of your project. An example:

{
  "name": "Plugin Name",
  "shortName": "plugin_name",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "author": "Author Name",
  "description": "Short Description of the plugin",
  "hasAdminPanel": false,
  "homepage": "https://www.example.com",
  "changelogUrl": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/User/Project/master/changelog.md",
  "configUrl": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/User/Project/master/config.json",
  "downloadUrl": "https://github.com/User/Project/archive/master.zip",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/User/Project.git"
  },
  "versionHistoryUrl": "https://api.github.com/repos/User/Project/tags",
  "meshCentralCompat": ">0.4.3"
}

Configuration File Properties

Field Required Type Description
name Yes string a human-readable name for the plugin
shortName Yes string an alphanumeric, unique short identifier for the plugin (will be used to access your functions throughout the project
version Yes string the current version of the plugin
author No string the author's name
description Yes string a short, human-readable description of what the plugin does
hasAdminPanel Yes boolean true or false, indicates whether or not the plugin will offer its own administrative interface
homepage Yes string the URL of the projects homepage
changelogUrl Yes string the URL to the changelog of the project
configUrl Yes string the URL to the config.json of the project
downloadUrl Yes string the URL to a ZIP of the project (used for installation/upgrades)
repository Yes JSON object contains the following attributes
repository.type Yes string valid values are git and in the future, npm will also be supported in the future
repository.url Yes string the URL to the project's repository
versionHistoryUrl No string the URL to the project's versions/tags
meshCentralCompat Yes string the minimum version string of required compatibility with the MeshCentral server, can be formatted as "0.1.2-c" or ">=0.1.2-c". Currently only supports minimum version, not full semantic checking.

Plugin Hooks

These are separated into the following categories depending on the type of functionality the plugin should offer.

  • Web UI, to modify the MeshCentral admin interface
  • Back End, to modify core functionality of the server and communicate with the Web UI layer as well as the Mesh Agent (Node) layer to send commands and data
  • Mesh Agent (Node), to introduce functionality to each agent

Web UI Hooks

onDeviceRefreshEnd: called when a device is selected in the MeshCentral web interface registerPluginTab: callable when a device is selected in the MeshCentral web interface to register a new tab for plugin data, if required. Accepts an object, or function that returns an object, with the following properties: { tabId: "yourShortNameHere", tabTitle: "Your Display Name"}. A tab and div with the associated ID and title will be created for your use onDesktopDisconnect: called when a remote desktop session is disconnected onWebUIStartupEnd: called when the page has loaded for the first time after a login / refresh goPageStart: called before page changes take effect. Passes 2 arguments ( : int, : Event) goPageEnd: called after page changes take effect. Passes 2 arguments ( : int, : Event)

Exports

Any function can be exported to the Web UI layer by adding the name of the function to an exports array in the plugin object.

Back End Hooks

server_startup: called once when the server starts (or when the plugin is first installed) hook_agentCoreIsStable: called once when an agent initially checks in hook_processAgentData: called each time an agent transmits data back to the server hook_userLoggedIn: called when a user has logged into the web interface

Mesh Agent

Use of the optional file plugin_name.js in the optional folder modules_meshcore will include the file in the default meshcore file sent to each endpoint. This is useful to add functionality on each of the endpoints.

Structure

Much of MeshCentral revolves around returning objects for your structures, and plugins are no different. Within your plugin you can traverse all the way up to the web server and MeshCentral Server classes to access all the functionality those layers provide. This is done by passing the current object to newly created objects, and assigning that reference to a parent variable within that object.

Versioning

Versioning your plugin correctly and consistently is essential to ensure users of your plugin are prompted to upgrade when it is available. Semantic versioning is recommended.

Changelog

A changelog is highly recommended so that your users know what's changed since their last version.

Sample Plugin

MeshCentral-Sample is a simple plugin that, upon disconnecting from remote desktop, prompts the user to enter a manual event (note), pre-filled in with the date and timestamp.