Creating Plugins

Developing a Robo plugin works the same way as developing features for a Robo.

To create a new plugin project, run the following command:

npx create-robo@next your-awesome-robo-plugin --plugin

Testing Your Plugin

To test your plugin during development, install it from your local directory in a test Robo project. Navigate to your test Robo project's directory and run:

robo add /path/to/your-awesome-robo-plugin

Replace /path/to/your-awesome-robo-plugin with the actual path to your plugin's directory. Build your plugin between changes using the robo build plugin command.

Use the --watch flag to automatically rebuild your plugin when changes are detected. If your test Robo is also running in dev mode, it will auto-reload when your plugin is rebuilt:

robo build plugin --watch

Building the Plugin

Robo.js includes a built-in compiler to package your plugin for distribution:

robo build plugin

This compiles your plugin and prepares it for publishing to npm.

Publishing to npm

Once you have built your plugin using robo build plugin, you can publish it to npm. Make sure you have set up your npm account and are logged in through the CLI:

npm publish

Your plugin is now available on npm for other Robo.js users to install.

Lifecycle Hooks

Plugins can hook into the Robo.js lifecycle by creating files in src/robo/. These hooks let your plugin run code at startup, shutdown, or during builds.

import type { StartContext } from 'robo.js'

export default async (context: StartContext) => {
	const { pluginConfig, logger } = context
	logger.info('My plugin started!')
}

export default async (context) => {
	const { pluginConfig, logger } = context
	logger.info('My plugin started!')
}

Plugins can also define route definitions to register custom file conventions (like how @robojs/discordjs makes src/commands/ work).

See Lifecycle Hooks for all available hooks and their execution order.

Next Steps