2026-06-12 13:51:20 +08:00

3.5 KiB

name description
developing-blockninja-plugins Use when creating, modifying, building, or publishing BlockNinja CMS plugins or themes — work in plugins/* repos, plugin registration, blocks, templates, plugin Connect services, migrations, ninja plugin commands, check-safety for plugins, or block/core SDK usage in standalone plugin repos.

Developing BlockNinja Plugins

Overview

Never write plugin code from memory — every SDK symbol is locally verifiable. Truth lives at:

  • SDK source: ~/src/blockninja/core — import prefix git.dev.alexdunmow.com/block/core/... is the ONLY one allowed; never block/cms/...
  • Canonical guide: ~/src/blockninja/cms/docs/PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md
  • Publish workflow + hard rules: ~/src/blockninja/plugins/CLAUDE.md
  • Exemplars: plugins/messenger (compact), plugins/symposium (service-heavy: RPC, jobs, AI, embeddings)

Core-vs-plugin: platform-wide behavior → core; domain-specific or owns its own data/UI → plugin (decision table in PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md).

Doc routing

Working on Read first (under cms/docs/)
Scaffold, registration, blocks, CoreServices PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md
Public HTTP routes (webhooks, widgets) PLUGIN_HTTP_HANDLERS.md
Load/Unload, runtime state, goroutines PLUGIN_LIFECYCLE_HOOKS.md
Themes, templates, master pages, CSS TEMPLATE_PLUGINS.md
Block editor / settings UI (Module Federation) PLUGIN_EDITOR_SDK.md
.so build pipeline, loader internals compiled-plugin-architecture.md
Release, registry, install plugins/CLAUDE.md (not cms/docs)

Verifying SDK symbols

Before using an unfamiliar SDK call, check: (1) the pinned SDK the build compiles against — go doc git.dev.alexdunmow.com/block/core/plugin CoreServices from the plugin dir; (2) nearest exemplar usage in messenger/symposium; (3) the CMS-side implementation in cms/backend for semantics.

Missing capability ⇒ two sanctioned paths only: extend block/core (long-term; needs SDK release + re-pin + image rebuild), or vendor the cms-internal package into the plugin's internal/ with a provenance header (established convention — check-safety vendors cms internal/theme this way). NEVER replace directives; NEVER block/cms imports.

Version pinning: go.mod pins block/core to exactly what the CMS uses: grep 'block/core ' ~/src/blockninja/cms/backend/go.mod

Gates — run before commit / bump / publish

make                          # CGO build; templ/sqlc drift surfaces here
cd ~/src/blockninja/check-safety && go run . <plugin-path>   # MUST exit 0
make archive-check            # proves `git archive HEAD` (= what publish ships) compiles

check-safety traps: plugin web/ lint extends ../../../cms/web/eslint.config.js, so it only runs from the canonical sibling layout; raw <button> in plugin UI fails (use @block-ninja/ui Button); any usage warns.

Release traps

ninja plugin bump patch       # commits plugin.mod — does NOT git-tag
git tag vX.Y.Z                # manual; must equal plugin.mod version (hard rule 6)
git push origin main vX.Y.Z   # explicit — --follow-tags skips lightweight tags
ninja plugin publish          # ships `git archive HEAD`: untracked files DON'T ship;
                              # web/dist and ALL generated Go must be committed

New plugin: ninja plugin init, minimal files per PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md §Minimal Layout, copy the Makefile from messenger. First publish lands private; review via orchestrator dashboard.