paseo/docs/plugins.md

Plugins

Local plugins contribute daemon RPCs, native app surfaces, workspace panels, Command Center items, composer pills, app themes, and composer attachment sources from one index.ts. Paseo executes the server contribution in a subprocess and evaluates the client contribution in the app runtime. Plugin code is trusted code; Paseo does not sandbox it.

Install a directory source

Create a typecheckable plugin project, install its development dependencies, then install it into the daemon. init only writes the project files; it does not run the package manager.

paseo plugin init /absolute/path/to/my-plugin
cd /absolute/path/to/my-plugin
npm install
npm run typecheck
paseo plugin install /absolute/path/to/my-plugin
paseo plugin install /absolute/path/to/my-plugin --id another-runtime-id
paseo plugin ls

The daemon stores directory sources under the root plugins object:

{
  "pluginsEnabled": true,
  "plugins": {
    "my-plugin": {
      "source": "directory",
      "path": "/absolute/path/to/my-plugin",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

The plugin system is disabled unless pluginsEnabled is true. Changing that root field is runtime-safe: run paseo reload after editing config.json. Enabling starts every configured, enabled plugin; disabling tears them all down without restarting the daemon. Plugin source entries remain lifecycle-owned and do not reload from manual config edits.

The directory contains an identity-only manifest, one entry point, and local typechecking support:

my-plugin/
  paseo-plugin.json
  index.ts
  main.client.tsx
  paseo-plugin.d.ts
  package.json
  tsconfig.json

Paseo compiles TypeScript and TSX when loading the plugin, so these packages are development dependencies only. The generated declaration file supplies @getpaseo/plugin and @getpaseo/plugin/server types until the SDK is distributed as a public package. Regenerate new plugins with the matching Paseo CLI when the SDK contract changes.

{
  "id": "my-plugin"
}

The config key is the runtime plugin ID. The manifest ID is the default selected during install; --id overrides it. Existing configuration is not renamed when the manifest changes, and the runtime does not compare the two IDs. The same directory can be installed under several config keys.

Never enable plugins on a user's behalf without explicit permission. Before asking, check the target daemon's current pluginsEnabled value. State that plugins are trusted, unsandboxed code: backend code can access the daemon machine, while client contributions run inside the Paseo app.

Source changes are explicit. Run paseo plugin reload <id> to stop and fully tear down the old plugin before compiling and starting from disk. A failed reload stays failed; Paseo does not restore the old code. Use enable, disable, and remove to manage one plugin. Removing a directory source never deletes it. The global pluginsEnabled switch remains available.

Install a Git source

GitHub repositories use an owner/repository shorthand. Other hosts use a Git URL. An existing directory always wins over shorthand resolution.

paseo plugin add owner/repository
paseo plugin add https://git.example.com/owner/repository.git
paseo plugin add owner/monorepo --path plugins/review
paseo plugin add owner/repository --ref main
paseo plugin status
paseo plugin update review
paseo plugin update --all

Omitting --ref tracks the remote's default branch. A branch passed with --ref also tracks; tags and commits stay pinned. status fetches tracked refs and reports the installed and available commits. update checks out a new version, validates its manifest, compiles both bundles, and starts it before changing the configured path. A compilation or startup failure restores the running version. Removing a Git source deletes Paseo's managed checkout.

Git installation does not run a package manager or install script. A distributable source plugin uses Paseo's host-provided modules or commits any other bundled source it needs. Native React Native dependencies work only when the Paseo app already ships the native module.

Server contributions can write to stdout and stderr with normal Node logging. Paseo adds [paseo] entries for loading, ready, stopping, and stopped transitions. Compilation and load failures are recorded as stderr entries before a subprocess exists. Inspect the recent in-memory tail from the host plugin settings or with paseo plugin logs <id>. Reload, disable, and process failure retain the tail; removing the plugin clears it. Daemon restarts do not retain the tail, but structured copies remain in $PASEO_HOME/daemon.log. Plugin output can contain secrets, so do not log credentials or tokens.

Contribute behavior and UI

Default export one contribution function from index.ts. Keep it to contribution wiring. Runtime code lives behind filename boundaries:

Suffix	Owns
*.client.tsx	React, React Native, hooks, styles, surfaces, panels, and callbacks.
*.server.ts	Node APIs, filesystem and process access, credentials, and handlers.
*.shared.ts	Zod RPC contracts and plain values used by both runtimes.

Shared files import contracts from @getpaseo/plugin/server. Client files import Paseo UI from @getpaseo/plugin/react-native. Its Icon resolves a Lucide name using the client's installed icon set; an unknown name renders nothing so it cannot break the plugin surface. Its controlled modal keeps presentation metadata on <Modal title="…" icon={…}> and body UI in <Modal.Content>. Plugin UI runs on desktop and mobile across multiple themes: color every Text from theme.colors.foreground or theme.colors.foregroundMuted, and size layout from layout.compact. See public-docs/plugins/reference.md.

Module	Use it for
@getpaseo/plugin	contribution contracts and client data hooks
@getpaseo/plugin/react-native	Paseo React Native components and UI hooks
@getpaseo/plugin/server	defineRpc, defineAttachmentSource, and handler types

The compiler removes client registrations and imports from the server entry point, and server registrations and imports from the client entry point. Importing a *.server module from a client module, or a *.client module from a server module, fails compilation. Top-level React Native calls such as StyleSheet.create belong in *.client.tsx; placing them in index.ts executes them in the server bundle.

import type { PluginContext } from "@getpaseo/plugin";
import { Greeting } from "./greeting.client";
import { createGreeting } from "./greeting.server";
import { greetRpc } from "./greeting.shared";

export default function contribute(plugin: PluginContext) {
  plugin.handle(greetRpc, createGreeting);
  plugin.addSurface("main", Greeting);
  plugin.addSidebarItem({ id: "main", title: "Greeting", icon: "MessageCircle", surface: "main" });
  return () => {};
}

The contribution function must return cleanup. Server cleanup may be async; Paseo waits for it when the plugin is reloaded, disabled, removed, disconnected, or shut down. Cleanup is for resources created by plugin code. Paseo removes registered contributions, unmounts surfaces, clears query state, rejects pending RPCs, closes the plugin's daemon session, and stops the subprocess. Cleanup errors are logged and do not interrupt host teardown.

Paseo owns the route, screen header, Lucide icon validation, close action, theme DTO, layout facts, and render error boundary. The contributed component owns the complete body below the header.

RPC contracts validate inputs and outputs in both the app and plugin subprocess. useRpc returns a typed async function. Use the host-provided @tanstack/react-query for request state and caching; Paseo gives each plugin installation its own query client.

usePaseo() and the handler's { paseo } context expose the same PaseoApi: projects, workspaces, agents, providers, and daemon config. They do not expose connection lifecycle. A surface borrows the selected host's existing connection; switching the screen's host changes both usePaseo() and useRpc() to that host. An offline selected host fails there and never falls through to another installation. A server handler owns an IPC-backed daemon session for the life of its subprocess. Use plugin RPC for plugin-specific backend behavior that is not a normal Paseo operation.

Each subprocess gets an exclusively owned plugin:<id> session. That identity is reserved from normal clients, never resumes another session, and is cleaned immediately on exit without reconnect grace. During daemon startup, plugin sessions may connect while application WebSockets remain paused; the daemon accepts clients only after configured plugins have settled and the initial catalog is complete.

When the same plugin contribution exists on multiple hosts, Paseo shows it once in the sidebar and adds a host picker to the screen header. The selected host supplies the bundle, RPC transport, and query cache. Plugin code cannot address another host.

Workspace panels and Command Center items remain client contributions. The daemon transports their compiled bundle without interpreting placement or callbacks. Panel props contain workspace and agent IDs. Required-selector hooks read normalized client state synchronously and use shallow equality, so a panel does not subscribe to fields it does not render. Command callbacks materialize their snapshots only when invoked. Contribution discovery and panel opening never fetch active context through plugin RPC. Snapshot DTOs are deeply readonly and frozen at runtime so plugin code cannot mutate normalized app state or a memoized selection. Panels use one persisted plugin workspace-tab target, so reload, disable, removal, and restoration resolve through the current installed-plugin catalog. A missing contribution renders unavailable inside the tab. Panels declare locations: ["workspace", "explorer"] to opt into Explorer hosting; omission means workspace only. Location controls hosting, not context. An agent panel target keeps its agentId when moved between hosts. Explorer configuration can create workspace-context panels and remove existing agent-context instances, but it cannot create an agent panel without an agent-aware command.

Command Center callbacks use the selected host's existing PaseoApi for normal Paseo operations. They use typed plugin RPC only for plugin-specific backend work. Surface and panel props expose optional client-owned agent and workspace navigation; its absence is the compatibility gate for older clients. Other navigation remains limited to registered global surfaces and workspace panels. Plugins do not receive Expo Router or workspace-layout store access.

Contribute composer pills

Register a headless client entrypoint, then add and remove targeted pills from that client lifecycle. addClientSide runs once per plugin installation in each connected app and never runs in the daemon subprocess. It can subscribe to the client API, call plugin RPCs, and own arbitrary client state without mounting a panel or surface.

export function contributeClient(client: PluginClientContext) {
  const pills = new Map<string, () => void>();
  const unsubscribe = client.paseo.agents.subscribe((update) => {
    if (update.kind !== "upsert" || !update.agent.workspaceId) return;
    const { id: agentId, workspaceId } = update.agent;
    pills.get(agentId)?.();
    pills.set(
      agentId,
      client.addComposerPill({
        id: "review",
        title: "Open review",
        workspaceId,
        agentId,
        Component: ReviewPill,
        async onPress() {
          await client.rpc(refreshReview, { agentId });
          client.openPanel("review", { workspaceId, agentId });
        },
      }),
    );
  });
  return () => {
    unsubscribe();
    for (const remove of pills.values()) remove();
  };
}

Wire it from index.ts with plugin.addClientSide(contributeClient). addComposerPill exists only on PluginClientContext; it returns an idempotent removal function. A pill appears only in the matching workspace and agent track bar alongside Tasks and Subagents. Paseo owns the pressable, shared chrome, pending state, error reporting, and placement. The component owns its icon and text; the callback is client code by construction. Removing the pill, reloading the plugin, disconnecting the host, or unloading the app tears down the contribution.

Contribute timeline items

Timeline transformers and renderers are client contributions. The daemon's canonical rows and built-in projection stay unchanged. The app transforms fetched projected history before building its render model. A matching live event requests a fresh projected tail, so lifecycle deltas are collapsed before the transformer replaces anything.

query.itemType selects one public AgentTimelineItem.type. The callback owns any detailed recognition and returns plain plugin item objects. undefined keeps the source item, items replaces it, and an empty array removes it. Output data must be JSON-compatible. Paseo adds the runtime plugin ID, preserves the source timeline cursor, validates renderer data with its Zod schema, and mounts the component inside the normal plugin runtime and error boundary.

Transformers run synchronously and must be deterministic. When several transformers match, the first one that returns a result owns that source item. Plugin and registration ordering is stable. See plugin-examples/timeline-items for the complete contract.

Contribute composer attachments

Register a declarative attachment source backed by a plugin RPC. Paseo owns the attachment menu, search picker, drafts, selected pill, and submission. The plugin returns complete text snapshots; credentials and vendor API calls stay in the daemon handler.

import type { PluginContext } from "@getpaseo/plugin";
import { search } from "./issues.server";
import { issues, searchIssues } from "./issues.shared";

export default function contribute(plugin: PluginContext) {
  plugin.handle(searchIssues, search);
  plugin.addAttachmentSource(issues);
  return () => {};
}

Attachment sources stay scoped to the composer's host. Unlike sidebar contributions, equal sources on several hosts are not coalesced. The selected snapshot submits as a text attachment with neutral external-resource presentation, so it remains readable if the plugin is removed or an older peer drops the optional presentation fields.

Contribute a theme

addTheme takes a small light or dark palette and a display name. Paseo expands it through the same semantic builders as the built-in themes, so plugins do not depend on the complete app token contract. Unistyles needs every theme name at StyleSheet.configure time, so packages/app/src/styles/theme.ts reserves one light and one dark plugin slot. The appearance provider rewrites the matching slot when the selection changes. See unistyles.md for the runtime-patching rules the appearance settings share.

addTheme is a client registration, so the compiler strips it from the backend bundle. A daemon that predates it does not, and the plugin fails to start there. Daemons advertise features.pluginThemes in server_info; the plugin theme catalog is the one place the app reads it, and a host without it contributes no themes.

The selection persists as theme: "plugin" plus a pluginThemeId of <pluginId>/theme/<themeId>, so equal themes on several hosts coalesce the way sidebar contributions do. Two hosts can answer that id with different palettes, so picking a theme records its host through rememberPluginContributionHost and resolution prefers it; a peer connecting or dropping then does not repaint the app. Without a preference the sorted registry snapshot decides, so the result is stable rather than arrival-ordered. The app resolves that id against the installed catalog on every change; an id nothing contributes falls back to the default preference instead of painting the reserved slot's placeholder colors.

See plugin-examples/local-plugin for a native surface, plugin-examples/linear for a complete attachment-source example, plugin-examples/timeline-items for timeline projection, and plugin-examples/catppuccin for a theme.