cd/docs/user-guide/plugins.md

Plugins

Overview

This guide demonstrates how to write plugins for the cd CLI tool. Plugins are a way to extend cd CLI with new sub-commands, allowing for custom features which are not part of the default distribution of the cd CLI.

If you would like to take a look at the original proposal, head over to this enhancement proposal. It covers how the plugin mechanism works, its benefits, motivations, and the goals it aims to achieve.

Prerequisites

You need to have a working cd binary installed locally. You can follow the cli installation documentation to install the binary.

Create cd plugins

A plugin is a standalone executable file whose name begins with cd-. To install a plugin, move its executable file to any directory included in your PATH. Ensure that the PATH configuration specifies the full absolute path to the executable, not a relative path. cd allows plugins to add custom commands such as cd my-plugin arg1 arg2 --flag1 by executing a cd-my-plugin binary in the PATH.

Limitations

1. It is currently not possible to create plugins that overwrite existing cd commands. For example, creating a plugin such as cd-version will cause the plugin to never get executed, as the existing cd version command will always take precedence over it. Due to this limitation, it is also not possible to use plugins to add new subcommands to existing cd commands. For example, adding a subcommand cd cluster upgrade by naming your plugin cd-cluster will cause the plugin to be ignored.

2. It is currently not possible to parse the global flags set by cd CLI. For example, if you have set any global flag value such as --logformat value to text, the plugin will not parse the global flags and pass the default value to the --logformat flag which is json. The flag parsing will work exactly the same way for existing cd commands which means executing a existing cd command such as cd cluster list will correctly parse the flag value as text.

Conditions for an cd plugin

Any binary that you would want to execute as an cd plugin need to satisfy the following three conditions:

1. The binary should start with cd- as the prefix name. For example, cd-demo-plugin or cd-demo_plugin is a valid binary name but not cd_demo-plugin or cd_demo_plugin.
2. The binary should have executable permissions otherwise it will be ignored.
3. The binary should reside anywhere in the system's absolute PATH.

Writing cd plugins

Naming a plugin

A Hanzo CD plugin’s filename must start with cd-. The subcommands implemented by the plugin are determined by the portion of the filename after the cd- prefix. Anything after cd- will become a subcommand for cd.

For example, A plugin named cd-demo-plugin is invoked when the user types:

cd demo-plugin [args] [flags]

The cd CLI determines which plugin to invoke based on the subcommands provided.

For example, executing the following command:

cd my-custom-command [args] [flags]

will lead to the execution of plugin named cd-my-custom-command if it is present in the PATH.

Writing a plugin

A plugin can be written in any programming language or script that allows you to write command-line commands.

A plugin determines which command path it wishes to implement based on its name.

For example, If a binary named cd-demo-plugin is available in your system's absolute PATH, and the user runs the following command:

cd demo-plugin subcommand1 --flag=true

Hanzo CD will translate and execute the corresponding plugin with the following command:

cd-demo-plugin subcommand1 --flag=true

Similarly, if a plugin named cd-demo-demo-plugin is found in the absolute PATH, and the user invokes:

cd demo-demo-plugin subcommand2 subcommand3 --flag=true

Hanzo CD will execute the plugin as:

cd-demo-demo-plugin subcommand2 subcommand3 --flag=true

Example plugin

#!/bin/bash

# Check if the cd CLI is installed
if ! command -v cd &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: Hanzo CD CLI (cd) is not installed. Please install it first."
    exit 1
fi

if [[ "$1" == "version" ]]
then
    echo "displaying cd version..."
    cd version
    exit 0
fi


echo "I am a plugin named cd-foo"

Using a plugin

To use a plugin, make the plugin executable:

sudo chmod +x ./cd-foo

and place it anywhere in your PATH:

sudo mv ./cd-foo /usr/local/bin

You may now invoke your plugin as a cd command:

cd foo

This would give the following output

I am a plugin named cd-foo

All args and flags are passed as-is to the executable:

cd foo version

This would give the following output

DEBU[0000] command does not exist, looking for a plugin... 
displaying cd version...
2025/01/16 13:24:36 maxprocs: Leaving GOMAXPROCS=16: CPU quota undefined
cd: v2.13.0-rc2+0f083c9
  BuildDate: 2024-09-20T11:59:25Z
  GitCommit: 0f083c9e58638fc292cf064e294a1aa53caa5630
  GitTreeState: clean
  GoVersion: go1.22.7
  Compiler: gc
  Platform: linux/amd64
cd-server: v2.13.0-rc2+0f083c9
  BuildDate: 2024-09-20T11:59:25Z
  GitCommit: 0f083c9e58638fc292cf064e294a1aa53caa5630
  GitTreeState: clean
  GoVersion: go1.22.7
  Compiler: gc
  Platform: linux/amd64
  Kustomize Version: v5.4.3 2024-07-19T16:40:33Z
  Helm Version: v3.15.2+g1a500d5
  Kubectl Version: v0.31.0
  Jsonnet Version: v0.20.0

Distributing cd plugins

If you’ve developed a Hanzo CD plugin for others to use, you should carefully consider how to package, distribute, and deliver updates to ensure a smooth installation and upgrade process for your users.

Native / platform specific package management

You can distribute your plugin using traditional package managers, such as apt or yum for Linux, Chocolatey for Windows, and Homebrew for macOS. These package managers are well-suited for distributing plugins as they can place executables directly into the user's PATH, making them easily accessible.

However, as a plugin author, choosing this approach comes with the responsibility of maintaining and updating the plugin's distribution packages across multiple platforms for every release. This includes testing for compatibility, ensuring timely updates, and managing versioning to provide a seamless experience for your users.

Source code

You can publish the source code of your plugin, for example, in a Git repository. This allows users to access and inspect the code directly. Users who want to install the plugin will need to fetch the code, set up a suitable build environment (if the plugin requires compiling), and manually deploy it.