Plugin Manifest

The plugin manifest (plugin.json) is the core configuration file that defines your plugin’s metadata, capabilities, and contribution points. This document covers both v1 and v2 manifest formats.

Manifest Version

Lokus supports two manifest versions:

v1 - Original format, suitable for most plugins
v2 - Enhanced format with additional features (Lokus 2.0+)

Specify version in your manifest:

{
  "manifestVersion": "2",
  "id": "my-plugin",
  ...
}

If not specified, v1 is assumed for backward compatibility.

Core Fields

Required Fields

{
  "id": "publisher.plugin-name",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "name": "My Plugin",
  "description": "A brief description of what your plugin does",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "license": "MIT",
  "lokusVersion": "^1.0.0"
}

id

Type: string Required: Yes

Unique identifier for your plugin. Must follow the format publisher.name or just name.

Rules:

Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only
No spaces or special characters
Must be globally unique
Cannot start with lokus. (reserved)

{
  "id": "mycompany.awesome-plugin"
}

version

Type: string Required: Yes

Plugin version following semantic versioning (semver).

Format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH[-prerelease][+build]

{
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "version": "2.0.0-beta.1",
  "version": "1.0.0+20231015"
}

name

Type: string Required: Yes

Human-readable display name.

{
  "name": "Awesome Plugin"
}

description

Type: string Required: Yes

Brief description (max 200 characters). Shown in plugin marketplace and info dialogs.

{
  "description": "Add amazing features to your Lokus workspace"
}

author

Type: string | AuthorObject Required: Yes

Plugin author information.

{
  "author": "John Doe"
}

Or detailed format:

{
  "author": {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "url": "https://example.com"
  }
}

license

Type: string Required: Yes

SPDX license identifier.

{
  "license": "MIT"
}

Common licenses: MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0, BSD-3-Clause, ISC

lokusVersion

Type: string Required: Yes

Minimum Lokus version required. Uses semver ranges.

{
  "lokusVersion": "^1.0.0",    // 1.x.x
  "lokusVersion": ">=1.5.0",   // 1.5.0 or higher
  "lokusVersion": "~1.2.0"     // 1.2.x
}

Optional Fields

displayName

Type: string

Alternative display name. Falls back to name if not provided.

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "displayName": "My Awesome Plugin"
}

keywords

Type: string[]

Keywords for search and discovery.

{
  "keywords": ["markdown", "editor", "preview", "syntax"]
}

icon

Type: string

Path to plugin icon (128x128 PNG recommended).

{
  "icon": "assets/icon.png"
}

homepage

Type: string

Plugin homepage URL.

{
  "homepage": "https://github.com/myorg/my-plugin"
}

repository

Type: string | RepositoryObject

Source code repository.

{
  "repository": "https://github.com/myorg/my-plugin"
}

Or detailed format:

{
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/myorg/my-plugin.git",
    "directory": "packages/plugin"
  }
}

bugs

Type: string | BugsObject

Bug tracker URL.

{
  "bugs": "https://github.com/myorg/my-plugin/issues"
}

Or:

{
  "bugs": {
    "url": "https://github.com/myorg/my-plugin/issues",
    "email": "bugs@example.com"
  }
}

Entry Points

main

Type: string

Path to compiled JavaScript entry point.

{
  "main": "./dist/index.js"
}

types

Type: string

Path to TypeScript declarations.

{
  "types": "./dist/index.d.ts"
}

browser

Type: string

Entry point for browser/webview contexts (v2 only).

{
  "browser": "./dist/browser.js"
}

Activation

activationEvents

Type: string[]

Events that trigger plugin activation.

{
  "activationEvents": [
    "onStartup",
    "onLanguage:markdown",
    "onCommand:myPlugin.command",
    "onView:myPlugin.view",
    "workspaceContains:**/*.custom",
    "onFileSystem:custom-fs",
    "onDebug",
    "onUri"
  ]
}

Activation Event Types:

onStartup

Activate immediately on Lokus startup.

{ "activationEvents": ["onStartup"] }

Use sparingly - impacts startup performance.

onLanguage

Activate when file with specific language is opened. Format: onLanguage:languageId

{ "activationEvents": ["onLanguage:markdown"] }

onCommand

Activate when specific command is executed. Format: onCommand:commandId

{ "activationEvents": ["onCommand:myPlugin.hello"] }

onView

Activate when view is opened. Format: onView:viewId

{ "activationEvents": ["onView:myPlugin.sidebar"] }

workspaceContains

Activate when workspace contains matching files. Format: workspaceContains:pattern

{
  "activationEvents": [
    "workspaceContains:**/package.json",
    "workspaceContains:**/*.ts"
  ]
}

onFileSystem

Activate when URI with specific scheme is accessed. Format: onFileSystem:scheme

{ "activationEvents": ["onFileSystem:custom"] }

onDebug

Activate when debug session starts.

{ "activationEvents": ["onDebug"] }

onUri

Activate when plugin URI is opened.

{ "activationEvents": ["onUri"] }

Permissions

permissions

Type: string[]

Required permissions for plugin functionality.

{
  "permissions": [
    "editor:read",
    "editor:write",
    "filesystem:read",
    "filesystem:write",
    "network:fetch",
    "workspace:read",
    "workspace:write",
    "ui:create",
    "commands:register",
    "commands:execute",
    "storage:read",
    "storage:write",
    "terminal:create",
    "terminal:sendText",
    "debug:start",
    "debug:stop",
    "theme:register",
    "languages:register",
    "tasks:register",
    "shell:execute",
    "clipboard:read",
    "clipboard:write"
  ]
}

Permission Categories:

Editor Permissions:

editor:read - Read editor content
editor:write - Modify editor content
editor:create - Create editors
editor:extensions - Register TipTap extensions

Filesystem Permissions:

filesystem:read - Read files
filesystem:write - Write files
filesystem:delete - Delete files
filesystem:watch - Watch file changes

Network Permissions:

network:fetch - Make HTTP requests
network:websocket - Create WebSocket connections

Workspace Permissions:

workspace:read - Read workspace settings
workspace:write - Modify workspace settings
workspace:files - Access workspace files

UI Permissions:

ui:create - Create UI elements (panels, dialogs)
ui:modify - Modify existing UI
ui:notifications - Show notifications
ui:statusBar - Add status bar items
ui:treeView - Register tree views
ui:webview - Create webview panels

Command Permissions:

commands:register - Register commands
commands:execute - Execute commands

Terminal Permissions:

terminal:create - Create terminal instances
terminal:sendText - Send text to terminals
terminal:close - Close terminals

Task Permissions:

tasks:register - Register task providers
tasks:execute - Execute tasks

Debug Permissions:

debug:start - Start debug sessions
debug:stop - Stop debug sessions
debug:register - Register debug adapters

Theme Permissions:

theme:register - Register color themes
theme:modify - Modify theme colors

Language Permissions:

languages:register - Register language features
languages:completion - Provide completions
languages:hover - Provide hover information
languages:formatting - Provide formatting

Storage Permissions:

storage:read - Read plugin storage
storage:write - Write plugin storage
storage:secrets - Access secret storage

System Permissions:

shell:execute - Execute shell commands
clipboard:read - Read clipboard
clipboard:write - Write clipboard
process:spawn - Spawn processes

Contributions

The contributes section declares what your plugin adds to Lokus.

commands

{
  "contributes": {
    "commands": [
      {
        "command": "myPlugin.hello",
        "title": "Say Hello",
        "category": "My Plugin",
        "icon": "$(heart)",
        "when": "editorTextFocus",
        "enablement": "!editorReadonly"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Fields:

command - Unique command ID
title - Display title
category - Command category (optional)
icon - Icon (optional)
when - When clause for visibility (optional)
enablement - When clause for enablement (optional)

keybindings

Define keyboard shortcuts.

{
  "contributes": {
    "keybindings": [
      {
        "command": "myPlugin.hello",
        "key": "ctrl+shift+h",
        "mac": "cmd+shift+h",
        "linux": "ctrl+shift+h",
        "win": "ctrl+shift+h",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Key Modifiers:

ctrl / cmd - Control/Command
shift - Shift
alt / option - Alt/Option
meta - Windows/Command key

menus

Add items to context menus and toolbars.

{
  "contributes": {
    "menus": {
      "editor/context": [
        {
          "command": "myPlugin.hello",
          "when": "editorTextFocus",
          "group": "navigation"
        }
      ],
      "editor/title": [
        {
          "command": "myPlugin.action",
          "when": "resourceExtname == .md",
          "group": "navigation"
        }
      ],
      "view/title": [
        {
          "command": "myPlugin.refresh",
          "when": "view == myPlugin.view",
          "group": "navigation"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Menu Locations:

editor/context - Editor right-click menu
editor/title - Editor title bar
editor/title/context - Editor title right-click
view/title - View title bar
view/item/context - View item right-click
commandPalette - Command palette

configuration

Define plugin settings.

{
  "contributes": {
    "configuration": {
      "title": "My Plugin",
      "properties": {
        "myPlugin.enabled": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": true,
          "description": "Enable plugin features"
        },
        "myPlugin.mode": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["simple", "advanced"],
          "enumDescriptions": [
            "Simple mode for basic use",
            "Advanced mode with all features"
          ],
          "default": "simple",
          "description": "Operation mode"
        },
        "myPlugin.maxItems": {
          "type": "number",
          "minimum": 1,
          "maximum": 100,
          "default": 10,
          "description": "Maximum number of items"
        },
        "myPlugin.customColors": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "string",
            "pattern": "^#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$"
          },
          "default": ["#FF0000", "#00FF00"],
          "description": "Custom colors (hex format)"
        },
        "myPlugin.settings": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "api": {
              "type": "string",
              "description": "API endpoint"
            },
            "timeout": {
              "type": "number",
              "description": "Request timeout (ms)"
            }
          },
          "default": {
            "api": "https://api.example.com",
            "timeout": 5000
          },
          "description": "Plugin settings object"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration Types:

boolean - True/false
string - Text
number - Numeric
array - List
object - Nested object
null - Null value

themes

Contribute color themes.

{
  "contributes": {
    "themes": [
      {
        "id": "my-dark-theme",
        "label": "My Dark Theme",
        "uiTheme": "vs-dark",
        "path": "./themes/dark-theme.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}

languages

Add language support.

{
  "contributes": {
    "languages": [
      {
        "id": "mylang",
        "aliases": ["MyLang", "mylanguage"],
        "extensions": [".ml"],
        "filenames": ["MyFile"],
        "filenamePatterns": ["**/myfiles/**"],
        "firstLine": "^#!/.*\\bmylang\\b",
        "configuration": "./language-configuration.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}

grammars

Define syntax highlighting.

{
  "contributes": {
    "grammars": [
      {
        "language": "mylang",
        "scopeName": "source.mylang",
        "path": "./syntaxes/mylang.tmLanguage.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}

snippets

Provide code snippets.

{
  "contributes": {
    "snippets": [
      {
        "language": "javascript",
        "path": "./snippets/javascript.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}

views

Create custom views and tree views.

{
  "contributes": {
    "viewsContainers": {
      "activitybar": [
        {
          "id": "myPlugin",
          "title": "My Plugin",
          "icon": "resources/icon.svg"
        }
      ]
    },
    "views": {
      "myPlugin": [
        {
          "id": "myPlugin.view",
          "name": "My View",
          "when": "workspaceHasFiles"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

statusBarItems

Add items to the status bar.

{
  "contributes": {
    "statusBarItems": [
      {
        "id": "myPlugin.status",
        "alignment": "left",
        "priority": 100,
        "text": "$(check) Ready",
        "tooltip": "Plugin is ready",
        "command": "myPlugin.showInfo"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Fields:

id - Unique identifier
alignment - left or right
priority - Position order (higher = more left/right)
text - Display text (supports codicons: $(icon-name))
tooltip - Hover tooltip
command - Command to execute on click

treeViews

{
  "contributes": {
    "treeViews": [
      {
        "id": "myPlugin.explorer",
        "name": "My Explorer",
        "viewId": "myPlugin",
        "canSelectMany": true,
        "showCollapseAll": true
      }
    ]
  }
}

Fields:

id - Unique tree view identifier
name - Display name
viewId - Container view ID
canSelectMany - Allow multi-selection
showCollapseAll - Show collapse all button

Dependencies

dependencies

Type: object

Runtime dependencies.

{
  "dependencies": {
    "axios": "^1.0.0",
    "lodash": "^4.17.21"
  }
}

devDependencies

Type: object

Development dependencies.

{
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "@types/node": "^18.0.0"
  }
}

peerDependencies

Type: object

Peer dependencies (must be provided by host or other plugins).

{
  "peerDependencies": {
    "lokus-plugin-sdk": "^1.0.0"
  }
}

extensionDependencies

Type: string[]

Other Lokus plugins this plugin depends on.

{
  "extensionDependencies": [
    "publisher.other-plugin"
  ]
}

Scripts

scripts

Type: object

npm scripts for development and building.

{
  "scripts": {
    "vscode:prepublish": "npm run build",
    "compile": "tsc -p ./",
    "watch": "tsc -watch -p ./",
    "pretest": "npm run compile",
    "test": "node ./out/test/runTest.js",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext ts",
    "build": "npm run compile",
    "package": "lokus-plugin package",
    "publish": "lokus-plugin publish"
  }
}

Platform-Specific

engines

Type: object

Platform requirements.

{
  "engines": {
    "lokus": "^1.0.0",
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

os

Type: string[]

Supported operating systems.

{
  "os": ["darwin", "linux", "win32"]
}

cpu

Type: string[]

Supported CPU architectures.

{
  "cpu": ["x64", "arm64"]
}

Publishing

publishConfig

Type: object

Publishing configuration for registry.

{
  "publishConfig": {
    "registry": "https://registry.lokus.dev",
    "access": "public",
    "tag": "latest"
  }
}

private

Type: boolean

Prevent accidental publishing.

{
  "private": true
}

Complete Example

Here’s a comprehensive manifest example:

{
  "manifestVersion": "2",
  "id": "mycompany.awesome-plugin",
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "name": "Awesome Plugin",
  "displayName": "Awesome Plugin for Lokus",
  "description": "Add amazing features to your Lokus workspace",
  "categories": ["Editor", "Languages"],
  "keywords": ["editor", "markdown", "productivity"],
  "author": {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "url": "https://example.com"
  },
  "license": "MIT",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/mycompany/awesome-plugin",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/mycompany/awesome-plugin.git"
  },
  "bugs": "https://github.com/mycompany/awesome-plugin/issues",
  "icon": "assets/icon.png",
  "lokusVersion": "^1.0.0",
 
  "main": "./dist/index.js",
  "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
 
  "activationEvents": [
    "onLanguage:markdown",
    "onCommand:awesomePlugin.hello"
  ],
 
  "permissions": [
    "editor:read",
    "editor:write",
    "ui:create",
    "commands:register",
    "storage:read",
    "storage:write"
  ],
 
  "contributes": {
    "commands": [
      {
        "command": "awesomePlugin.hello",
        "title": "Say Hello",
        "category": "Awesome Plugin",
        "icon": "$(heart)"
      }
    ],
    "keybindings": [
      {
        "command": "awesomePlugin.hello",
        "key": "ctrl+shift+h",
        "mac": "cmd+shift+h"
      }
    ],
    "configuration": {
      "title": "Awesome Plugin",
      "properties": {
        "awesomePlugin.enabled": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": true,
          "description": "Enable plugin features"
        }
      }
    }
  },
 
  "dependencies": {
    "lokus-plugin-sdk": "^1.0.0"
  },
 
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "@types/node": "^18.0.0"
  },
 
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "test": "jest",
    "package": "lokus-plugin package"
  },
 
  "engines": {
    "lokus": "^1.0.0",
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

Validation

Validate your manifest before publishing:

lokus-plugin validate

This checks for:

Required fields
Valid JSON syntax
Semver version format
Permission validity
Contribution point validity
Dependency conflicts

Next Steps

Getting Started Plugin Lifecycle