Contributing Plugins to Fluent Search

Fluent Search's extensibility is powered by a vibrant community of developers contributing plugins that enhance its functionality. To have your plugin featured in the Fluent Search Plugins window, you'll need to submit a pull request (PR) to the official Fluent Search GitHub repository. This involves adding a new entry to the plugins-manifest.json file, which serves as the catalog for available plugins.

Steps to Submit Your Plugin

1. Fork the Repository: Navigate to the Fluent Search GitHub repository and click on the "Fork" button to create a personal copy of the repository.

2. Clone Your Fork: Clone your forked repository to your local machine using:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/Fluent-Search.git
   

3. Create a New Branch: It's good practice to create a new branch for your changes:

   git checkout -b add-your-plugin
   

4. Modify plugins-manifest.json: Locate the plugins-manifest.json file in the repository. Add a new entry for your plugin with the following structure:

   {
     "PluginType": "Dotnet", // or "Task" for Tasks plugins
     "Name": "YourPluginName",
     "DisplayName": "Your Plugin Display Name",
     "Description": "A brief description of your plugin",
     "PublisherName": "Your Name or Organization",
     "Version": "1.0.0.0",
     "MinimumFluentSearchVersion": null, // or specify a version if applicable
     "URL": "https://github.com/your-username/your-plugin-repo",
     "DownloadURL": "https://your-download-link.com/your-plugin.zip",
     "IconUrl": null, // or provide a URL to your plugin's icon
     "IconGlyph": "", // Unicode character for the icon
     "IconBase64": null // or provide a base64-encoded icon
   }
   

   Note: Ensure that the DownloadURL points directly to the compiled plugin file (e.g., a .zip containing your .dll for C# plugins or a .yaml file for Tasks plugins).

5. Commit Your Changes: After editing the file, commit your changes:

   git add plugins-manifest.json
   git commit -m "Add [Your Plugin Name] to plugins manifest"
   

6. Push to Your Fork: Push the changes to your forked repository:

   git push origin add-your-plugin
   

7. Create a Pull Request: Go to your fork on GitHub, and you'll see a prompt to create a pull request. Click on it, provide a descriptive title and detailed description, and submit the pull request.

Plugin Entry Details

When adding your plugin to the plugins-manifest.json, ensure the following fields are accurately filled:

• PluginType: Specify "Dotnet" for C# plugins or "Task" for Tasks plugins.

• Name: A unique identifier for your plugin.

• DisplayName: The name that will appear in the Plugins window.

• Description: A concise explanation of what your plugin does.

• PublisherName: Your name or the name of your organization.

• Version: The current version of your plugin, following the major.minor.patch.build format.

• MinimumFluentSearchVersion: Specify if your plugin requires a certain version of Fluent Search; otherwise, set to null.

• URL: Link to your plugin's repository or homepage.

• DownloadURL: Direct link to the plugin's downloadable file.

• IconUrl: (Optional) URL to an image representing your plugin.

• IconGlyph: (Optional) A Unicode character serving as the plugin's icon.

• IconBase64: (Optional) Base64-encoded image data for the icon.

Example for a C# Plugin:

{
  "PluginType": "Dotnet",
  "Name": "Translator",
  "DisplayName": "Translator",
  "Description": "Use translator tag or specific language tag to translate text",
  "PublisherName": "Blast Apps",
  "Version": "1.4.0.0",
  "MinimumFluentSearchVersion": null,
  "URL": "https://github.com/adirh3/Translator.Fluent.Plugin",
  "DownloadURL": "https://download.fluentsearch.net/fluent-search-plugins/Translator.Fluent.Plugin.1.4.0.zip",
  "IconUrl": null,
  "IconGlyph": "",
  "IconBase64": null
}

Example for a Tasks Plugin:

{
  "PluginType": "Task",
  "Name": "Change Windows Theme",
  "DisplayName": "Change Windows Theme",
  "Description": "Search 'wt' to change Windows theme",
  "PublisherName": "Blast Apps",
  "Version": "1.0.0.0",
  "MinimumFluentSearchVersion": null,
  "URL": "https://github.com/adirh3/Fluent-Search-Tasks/tree/main/Windows/Change%20Windows%20Theme",
  "DownloadURL": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adirh3/Fluent-Search-Tasks/main/Windows/Change%20Windows%20Theme/Change%20Windows%20Theme.yaml",
  "IconUrl": null,
  "IconGlyph": "",
  "IconBase64": null
}

Additional Considerations

• Testing: Before submitting, thoroughly test your plugin to ensure compatibility and stability with the