---
title: "Developer setup"
sidebar_position: 20
---

Once you have your [server](/developers/contribute/developer-setup) and [webapp](/developers/contribute/developer-setup) set up, you can start developing on plugins.


<Note title="Note">
Plugin development doesn't require a development build of Mattermost. Development builds of Mattermost are only required if you want to develop for Mattermost internally.
</Note>


For developing on Mattermost-managed plugins, each plugin's setup instructions can be found in the plugin repository's README. Some plugins do not have external dependencies and require little to no setup, like the [Todo Plugin](https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-todo) while others require an external service to be set up, like the [Jira Plugin](https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-jira) and [GitHub Plugin](https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-github).

## Set up your environment to deploy plugins

### Deploy with local mode


<Note title="Note">
Deploying with local mode will only work for plugins that have been updated with the functionality from the [Plugin Starter Template](https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-plugin-starter-template).
</Note>


If your Mattermost server is running locally, you can enable [local mode](https://docs.mattermost.com/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool.html#local-mode) and [plugin uploads](https://docs.mattermost.com/configure/configuration-settings.html#enable-plugin-uploads) to streamline deploying your plugin. Edit your server configuration as follows:

```json
{
    "ServiceSettings": {
        // ...
        "EnableLocalMode": true,
        "LocalModeSocketLocation": "/var/tmp/mattermost_local.socket"
    },
    "PluginSettings": {
        // ...
        "Enable": true,
        "EnableUploads": true
    }
}
```

and then deploy your plugin:

```shell
make deploy
```

You may also customize the Unix socket path:

```shell
export MM_LOCALSOCKETPATH=/var/tmp/alternate_local.socket
make deploy
```

### Deploy with authentication credentials

Alternatively, you can authenticate with the server's API with credentials:

```shell
export MM_SERVICESETTINGS_SITEURL=http://localhost:8065
export MM_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
export MM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=password
make deploy
```

or with a [personal access token](https://developers.mattermost.com/integrate/reference/personal-access-token/):

```shell
export MM_SERVICESETTINGS_SITEURL=http://localhost:8065
export MM_ADMIN_TOKEN=j44acwd8obn78cdcx7koid4jkr
make deploy
```


<Note title="Tip">
Different plugin projects may require specific versions of Node.js. The recommended version for the given project is always defined in a file in the root of the repository called `.nvmrc`. You can use the tool [Node Version Manager](https://nvm.sh) to install and switch between node versions in your terminal. If you have `nvm` installed, you can run `nvm install` anywhere in the plugin repository, and it will automatically find the `.nvmrc` file in the root, and install and use that version. If you already have that version installed, you can run `nvm use`, though `nvm install` can be easier since you don't need to check if you already have the specific Node version installed.
</Note>