Plugins

Since the release of version 0.39.0, Publii has included support for Plugins, providing additional features that go beyond those included in the default installation of the app.

What is a plugin?

A plugin is, in simple terms, an extra bit of code that can be added to an existing application to provide extra features or functions. For example, by installing the Syntax Highlighter plugin, you can add syntax highlighting to code examples on your website. The plugin extends, or adds to, the base features of Publii.

So why aren't the extra options and features available through plugins already included in the base Publii installation? As a rule, Publii is developed to be a simple, easy-to-install and easy-to-use tool for building websites. Adding features can increase the complexity of the app and its install size. Depending on what they do, some features also add files to the generated website. By separating out additional features into plugins, users can customize their installation to use only the features they need.

Installing Plugins

Since plugins are not included in Publii by default in order to reduce the install size, you’ll need to download any that you wish to use on your site. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open Publii’s App Menu by clicking on the three-dot menu in the top-right of the main app window.
2. In the menu that appears, click on Plugins. This will take you to the Plugins page where you can see any plugins that you have installed.
3. To download a plugin, click on the Get more plugins box to open your browser at the Publii Plugins Marketplace, which displays the available plugins.
4. Select the plugin you wish to use, then click on it to open the description page. From here, you can click the Download button to download the zipped install package.
5. Once the download has finished, return to the Plugins screen in Publii and click on the Install plugin button at the top of the page. This will open your file browser; browse to the folder where you downloaded your plugin and select its ZIP file without extracting it. Publii will automatically install the plugin and make it available in the Plugins section of each website.

Installing a plugin does not automatically enable it on your websites. You can choose which websites use it and configure it separately for each one.

Enabling Plugins

Open the website where you want to use the plugin, then click on Plugins in the left sidebar. Each plugin listed here can be individually enabled or disabled using the switch in its row. The Status column shows whether the plugin is Enabled or Disabled.

However, though the plugin is enabled, there may be some options that must be configured before it can be used. If a plugin has settings, click on its name after enabling it, or open the three-dot menu in its row and choose Settings. Configure the available options, then click on Save settings.

If a plugin requires additional options to be configured, refer to its documentation for the specific steps. For plugins that affect your website’s output, preview the result and synchronize your website to publish the changes.

To install more plugins or remove installed ones, click on Manage installed plugins at the top of this screen.

Uninstalling a Plugin

If you no longer want to use a plugin and need to free up space, you can uninstall it completely from your Publii installation. To do so, open the App Menu > Plugins page. In the list of installed plugins, find the plugin you no longer need and click the Trash icon next to its name. You will be asked to confirm deletion; clicking the Delete plugin button will uninstall the plugin from Publii.

Uninstalling a plugin removes its files and makes it unavailable to all your websites. If you only want to stop using it on one website, disable it in that website’s Plugins section instead. Disabling a plugin keeps its settings, so you can enable it again later.