plugins

​
This is a simple plugin manager.
Functions
It has a few core functions:
plugins.init(...)
This function will load all enabled plugins in the specified 'parent' folders. For example:
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local plugins = require("cp.plugins")
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plugins.init("~/Library/Application Support/CommandPost/Plugins")
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This will load all plugins in the current user's Library/Application Support/CommandPost/Plugins folder.
cp.plugins.getPluginModule(id)
Once the plugins have been loaded, the module can be accessed by their ID via the getPluginModule(id) function. It will return the module returned by the plugin's init function. This can also be done via the default function for the library. Eg:
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plugins("my.plugin.id").doSomething()
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Plugin Modules
Plugins typically have two parts:
1.The plugin table, which defines details about the plugin, and
2.The module, or result, which could be anything, which is returned from the init function.
A plugin file should return a plugin table that allows the plugin to be initialised. The table will look something like this:
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local module = {}
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​
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local module.init(otherPlugin)
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    -- do stuff with otherPlugin here
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end
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​
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local plugin = {
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    id = "my.plugin.id",
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    group = "foo",
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    dependencies = {
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        ["some.other.plugin"] = "otherPlugin",
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    },
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}
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​
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function plugin.init(dependencies)
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   -- do stuff to initialise the module here
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   module.init(dependencies.otherPlugin)
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   return module
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}
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​
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function plugin.postInit(dependencies)
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   -- do stuff that will happen after all plugins have been initialised.
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end
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As you can see above, plugin module can have a few simple functions and properties. The key ones are:
plugin.id
This is a unique ID for the plugin. It is used to load the plugin externally, as well as to define dependencies between plugins.
plugin.group
This is the group ID for the plugin. This is used to group plugins visually in the Properties panel for Plugins.
plugin.required
This optional property can be specified for plugins which should never be disabled. This should only be set for plugins which will break the application if disabled.
plugin.dependencies
This is a table with the list of other plugins that this plugin requires to be loaded prior to this plugin. Be careful of creating infinite loops of dependencies - we don't check for them currently!
It is defined like so:
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plugin.dependencies = {
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    "cp.plugins.myplugin",
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    ["cp.plugins.otherplugin"] = "otherPlugin"
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}
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​
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As you can see, there are two ways of declaring a dependency. The first is with just the plugin ID, the second has an alias.
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​
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These can be accessed in the `init` and `postInit` functions like so:
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​
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```lua
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function plugin.init(dependencies)
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   local myPlugin = dependencies["cp.plugins.myplugin"]
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   local otherPlugin = dependencies.otherPlugin -- or dependencies["cp.plugins.otherplugin"]
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end
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A plugin will only have its init function called after its dependencies have successfully had their init functions called. Additionally, if a plugin has a postInit, all declared postInits for dependencies will have been called prior to the plugin's postInit function.
function plugin.init(dependencies[, environment]) -> module
This function is basically required. It will be executed when the plugin is initialised. The dependencies parameter is a table containing the list of dependencies that the plugin defined via the dependencies property. The environment provides access to resources such as images, HTML files, or other lua modules that are bundled with the plugin. See Simple vs Complex Plugins below.
As you may have noted, there are two ways to specify a plugin is required. Either by simply specifying it as an 'array' item (the first example) or as a key/value (the second example). Doing the later allows you to specify an alias for the dependency, which can be used in the init(...) function, like so:
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local plugin = {}
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​
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plugin.dependencies = {
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    "cp.plugins.myplugin",
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    ["cp.plugins.otherplugin"] = "otherplugin"
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}
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​
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function plugin.init(dependencies)
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    local myplugin = dependencies["cp.plugins.myplugin"]
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    local otherplugin = dependencies.otherplugin
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​
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    -- do other stuff with the dependencies
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​
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    return myinstance
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end
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​
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return plugin
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Simple vs Complex Plugins
There are two types of plugin structures supported. The Simple version is a single .lua file that matches the above format for plugin. The Complex version is a folder containing an init.lua file that matches the above format.
The key advantage of Complex Plugins is that the folder can contain other resources, such as images, HTML templates, or other .lua files - including 3rd-party libraries if desired. These can be accessed via two main mechanisms:
1.The second environment parameter in the init function. This is a cp.plugins.env table, which provides access to files and templates inside the plugin folder. See the documentation for details.
2.The standard require method will allow loading of *.lua files inside the plugin from the init.lua.
For example, if you have a file called foo.lua in your folder, it can be required like so:
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local foo = require("foo")
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You do not have to know anything about where the plugin folder is stored, or use the plugin ID. Just use the local file path within the plugin. If you have another file in a foo folder called bar.lua, it can be loaded via:
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local fooBar = require("foo.bar")
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These modules will not be accessible to other plugins or to the main application. They are only available to code inside the plugin.
Submodules
​cp.plugins.env​
​cp.plugins.plugin​
API Overview
Constants - Useful values which cannot be changed
​CACHE​
​SETTINGS_DISABLED​
Variables - Configurable values
​IDS​
Functions - API calls offered directly by the extension
​addDependent​
​disable​
​enable​
​getDependents​
​getPlugin​
​getPluginIds​
​getPluginModule​
​getPlugins​
​init​
​initPlugin​
​initPlugins​
​isDisabled​
​loadComplexPlugin​
​loadDependencies​
​loadSimplePlugin​
​postInitPlugin​
​postInitPlugins​
​scanDirectory​
​watchPluginPaths​
API Documentation
Constants
​CACHE​
Signature
cp.plugins.CACHE -> table
Type
Constant
Description
Plugin Cache
​SETTINGS_DISABLED​
Signature
cp.plugins.SETTINGS_DISABLED -> string
Type
Constant
Description
Plugin Disabled Code
Variables
​IDS​
Signature
cp.plugins.IDS -> table
Type
Variable
Description
Plugin Status Codes
Functions
​addDependent​
Signature
cp.plugins.addDependent(id) -> none
Type
Function
Description
Adds the dependentPlugin as a dependent of the plugin with the specified id.
Parameters
id - The plugin package ID.
dependentPlugin - The plugin which is a dependent
Returns
None
​disable​
Signature
cp.plugins.disable(...) -> boolean, string
Type
Function
Description
Disabled the plugin(s) with the specified IDs and reloads the application.
Parameters
... - The list of plugin package IDs.
Returns
true if the plugin was disabled, or false if any of the plugins failed.
If disabling failed, the first ID that failed is returned as the second value.
​enable​
Signature
cp.plugins.enable(...) -> boolean, string
Type
Function
Description
Enables the plugin with the specified ID, and reloads the application.
Parameters
... - The plugin package ID.
Returns
true if the plugins had been disabled and are now enabled.
If enabling failed, the plugin ID which could not be enabled is returned as the second value.
​getDependents​
Signature
cp.plugins.getDependents(pluginId)
Type
Function
Description
Retrieves the list of dependent plugins for the specified plugin id.
Parameters
id - The plugin ID.
Returns
The table of dependents.
​getPlugin​
Signature
cp.plugins.getPlugin(id) -> plugin
Type
Function
Description
Retrieves a plugin from the cache by ID.
Parameters
id - The ID of the plugin you want to get
Returns
The plugin
​getPluginIds​
Signature
cp.plugins.getPluginIds() -> table
Type
Function
Description
Retrieves an array of the loaded plugin IDs.
Parameters
None
Returns
the list of plugin IDs.
​getPluginModule​
Signature
cp.plugins.getPluginModule(id) -> value
Type
Function
Description
Returns an initialised plugin result with the specified id.
Parameters
id - The plugin package ID.
Returns
the result of the plugin's init(...) function call.
​getPlugins​
Signature
cp.plugins.getPlugins() -> table
Type
Function
Description
Retrieves an array of details about the set of loaded plugins.
Parameters
None
Returns
the list of plugins.
​init​
Signature
cp.plugins.init(paths) -> cp.plugins
Type
Function
Description
Initialises the plugin loader to look in the specified file paths for plugins.
Parameters
paths - An array of paths to search for plugins in.
Returns
cp.plugins - The module.
​initPlugin​
Signature
cp.plugins.initPlugin(id) -> module
Type
Function
Description
Initialises a specific plugin with the specified path.
Parameters
id - The LUA package to look in
Returns
the result of the plugin's init(...) function call.
​initPlugins​
Signature
cp.plugins.initPlugins() -> none
Type
Function
Description
Initialises all registered plugins.
Parameters
None
Returns
None
​isDisabled​
Signature
cp.plugins.isDisabled(id) -> boolean
Type
Function
Description
Checks if the specified plugin ID is disabled.
Parameters
id - The plugin package ID.
Returns
true if the plugin is disabled.
​loadComplexPlugin​
Signature
cp.plugins.loadComplexPlugin(path) -> plugin
Type
Function
Description
Loads a 'complex' plugin, which is a folder containing an init.lua file.
Parameters
path - The plugin package ID.
Returns
true if the plugin is successfully post-initialised.
​loadDependencies​
Signature
cp.plugins.loadDependencies(plugin) -> table
Type
Function
Description
Loads the list of dependencies for the provided plugin.
Parameters
plugin - The plugin object
Returns
an array of the dependencies required by the plugin, or nil if any could not be loaded.
​loadSimplePlugin​
Signature
cp.plugins.loadSimplePlugin(id) -> plugin
Type
Function
Description
Loads a 'simple' plugin, where it is defined by a single LUA script.
Parameters
path - The plugin package ID.
Returns
true if the plugin is successfully post-initialised.
​postInitPlugin​
Signature
cp.plugins.postInitPlugin(id) -> boolean
Type
Function
Description
Runs any post-initialisation functions declared for the specified plugin ID.
Parameters
id - The plugin package ID.
Returns
true if the plugin is successfully post-initialised.
​postInitPlugins​
Signature
cp.plugins.postInitPlugins() -> none
Type
Function
Description
Performs any post-initialisation required for plugins.
Parameters
None
Returns
None
​scanDirectory​
Signature
cp.plugins.scanDirectory(directoryPath) -> cp.plugins
Type
Function
Description
Scans the specified directory and loads any plugins in the directory,
Parameters
directoryPath - The path to the directory to scan.
Returns
boolean - true if the path was loaded successfully, false if there were any issues.
​watchPluginPaths​
Signature
cp.plugins.watchPluginPaths() -> none
Type
Function
Description
Watches the plugin paths for changes and reloads the application if any change.
Parameters
None
Returns
None