Section: Plugins
Order: 200

# Plugin system

Orbit has a small, **operator-controlled** plugin system. A deployment lists
plugin scripts in `config.json`; each is loaded at startup and registers against
a global `Orbit` object to hook events, read state, send IRC, theme the UI, and
add UI in predefined slots.

> **Experimental.** Orbit is a work in progress and this API may change between
> releases. Plugins are deployment-controlled — same trust level as the app
> itself. There is no user-uploaded plugin marketplace, by design.

## Enabling plugins

Add script URLs to `plugins` in [`config.json`](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/config/):

```json
{ "plugins": ["/app/plugins/orbit-demo.js"] }
```

They load in order, after the app boots. Host them anywhere the page can reach
(same-origin recommended). For a third-party origin, pin the file with
Subresource Integrity by giving an object instead of a URL:

```json
{ "plugins": [{ "url": "https://cdn.example/x.js", "integrity": "sha384-…" }] }
```

(`crossorigin` defaults to `anonymous` when an `integrity` hash is set.)

## A quick plugin

A plugin is a plain `.js` file that calls `Orbit.plugin()`. UI is authored with
the `html` tagged template (runtime markup, no build step), or with
`orbit.h(...)` (`React.createElement`).

```js
Orbit.plugin('my-plugin', (orbit, log) => {
  log('loaded, Orbit v' + orbit.version);

  orbit.on('message', (m) => log(m.from, 'said', m.text, 'in', m.target));

  orbit.addUi('composer_button', () =>
    orbit.html`<button class="composer__emoji" title="Shrug"
      onClick=${() => orbit.irc.say('¯\\_(ツ)_/¯')}>🤷</button>`);
});
```

For anything substantial — real components with state — build a compiled plugin
instead. See **[Compiled plugins](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/compiled-plugins/)**.

## The `Orbit` API

### Global

| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| `Orbit.version` / `Orbit.commit` | app version + git commit (build-time) |
| `Orbit.apiVersion` | plugin API contract version (bumped on breaking changes) — guard with `if (Orbit.apiVersion < N) …` |
| `Orbit.plugin(name, fn)` | register a plugin; `fn(orbit, log)` |
| `Orbit.on/once/off/emit(event, …)` | the app event bus |
| `Orbit.config()` | the resolved runtime config |
| `Orbit.React` / `Orbit.ReactDOM` / `Orbit.jsxRuntime` / `Orbit.Fragment` / `Orbit.h` / `Orbit.html` | render primitives (externalization targets for compiled plugins) |

### Inside `Orbit.plugin(name, (orbit) => …)`

| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| `orbit.on/once/off/emit` | event bus (see events below) |
| `orbit.state.active()` | active buffer name |
| `orbit.state.nick()` / `account()` | your nick / logged-in account |
| `orbit.state.buffers()` | open buffer names |
| `orbit.state.get()` | full store snapshot (read-only) |
| `orbit.irc.send(line)` | send a raw IRC line |
| `orbit.irc.msg(target, text)` | PRIVMSG a target |
| `orbit.irc.say(text)` | send to the active buffer |
| `orbit.irc.join(chan)` / `part(chan)` | join / part |
| `orbit.irc.list()` | request the channel list |
| `orbit.themes.current()/list()/set(id)` | read/set the theme |
| `orbit.storage.get(key, def)/set(key, val)` | namespaced persistence |
| `orbit.addUi(slot, render)` | add UI to a slot (returns a remover) |
| `orbit.addSettingsSection({label, icon?, render})` | add a whole Settings section |
| `orbit.addMessageDecorator(m => …)` | inline UI after every message's text; `m` = `{id, nick, text, kind, ts, mine}` |
| `orbit.addMessageAction(m => …)` | a button in every message's hover action toolbar (next to reply/react) |
| `orbit.h / orbit.html` | render helpers |
| `log(…)` | namespaced console logger |

### Events

`ready`, `connected` (`{nick}`), `status` (connection status string),
`buffer.active` (buffer name), `message` (`{from, target, text, self}`),
`raw` (the parsed IRC message).

### UI slots

| Slot | Where |
|---|---|
| `composer_button` | a button in the message composer toolbar |
| `topbar_item` | an item in the channel topbar action row (next to search / notifications) |
| `sidebar_item` | an item in the conversation sidebar header (next to the compose button) |
| `settings_section` | a whole section in Settings (own nav entry + pane) — use `orbit.addSettingsSection()` |

Two per-message hooks run for every rendered message:
`orbit.addMessageDecorator(m => …)` appends inline UI after the text, and
`orbit.addMessageAction(m => …)` adds a button to the hover action toolbar next
to reply/react. Every contributed slot, action and decorator renders inside its
own error boundary, so a crashing plugin renders nothing instead of taking down
the app.

## Trust & security

Plugins are **operator-controlled**: a deployment lists them in `config.json`, so
they run with the same trust as the app itself. There is no user-uploaded plugin
mechanism. Orbit deliberately does **not** expose internal modules or runtime
component replacement — that would couple plugins to internals that are still
moving. The API above is the stable surface.