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A convention is a shared agreement between plugins about names, data formats, metadata, URLs, or frontend behavior. The Kernel provides the plugin runtime, transports, IPC, and lifecycle. Plugins can build those features outside the Kernel by following the same conventions. One plugin publishes a resource or capability, and another plugin recognizes it by its agreed name and format.

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Why conventions matter

Conventions keep plugin integrations independent from a particular provider. A plugin can be replaced when the replacement publishes the same metadata and follows the same behavior. You can also add a custom provider or consumer without changing the Kernel or extending the plugin protocol. This makes conventions useful for application-level behavior such as:
  • publishing discoverable resource URLs;
  • exposing plugin pages in the application navigation;
  • sharing the application’s visual theme and frontend styling;
  • providing optional browser-side helper behavior.
The Kernel transports and IPC mechanisms remain the foundation, but the meaning of a convention belongs to the participating plugins.

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Core plugin implementations

The conventions in this section are currently implemented by coreplugins. They are recommended conventions for plugins that want to integrate with the standard application experience. They are not additional Kernel APIs, and a plugin should not depend on private implementation details of the provider. The implementation may change as long as the convention remains compatible. If you replace one of these plugins, preserve the keys, metadata meanings, URLs, or browser behavior that other plugins consume.