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Plugin Management

Backend.AI GO supports a plugin system that allows you to extend the application's functionality with third-party or custom plugins. This guide covers how to manage plugins through the Plugins page.

Future Feature

The plugin system is currently in preview mode with demonstration data. Full plugin support will be available in a future release.

Overview

Plugins extend Backend.AI GO with additional features such as:

  • Enhanced chat formatting and syntax highlighting
  • Model analytics and performance monitoring
  • Custom themes and UI modifications
  • Data export capabilities
  • Third-party service integrations

Accessing the Plugins Page

Navigate to the Plugins page from the sidebar under the Platform section. Here you can:

  • View all installed plugins
  • Enable or disable plugins
  • Configure plugin settings
  • Install new plugins
  • Uninstall plugins you no longer need

Plugin Categories

Plugins are organized into the following categories:

Category Description
UI User interface enhancements, themes, and visual modifications
Model Model-related tools, analytics, and performance monitoring
Data Data management, export, and transformation tools
Integration Third-party service integrations
Utility General-purpose utilities and tools

Managing Plugins

Enabling and Disabling Plugins

Each plugin card displays a toggle switch to enable or disable the plugin:

  1. Locate the plugin you want to manage
  2. Click the toggle switch to change its state
  3. Enabled plugins are shown in the "Enabled" section
  4. Disabled plugins are shown in the "Disabled" section

Plugin Settings

Many plugins offer configurable settings. To access plugin settings:

  1. Click the Settings button (gear icon) on the plugin card
  2. Modify the available settings in the settings modal
  3. Click Save to apply your changes

Settings may include:

  • Feature toggles (boolean options)
  • Selection dropdowns (choose from predefined options)
  • Text or numeric inputs

Installing Plugins

To install a new plugin:

  1. Click the Install Plugin button in the page header
  2. Choose an installation method:
  3. From File: Select a local plugin package file
  4. From URL: Enter a URL to download the plugin
  5. Follow the installation progress
  6. The plugin will appear in your plugin list once installed

Uninstalling Plugins

To remove a plugin:

  1. Click the Uninstall button (trash icon) on the plugin card
  2. Confirm the uninstallation in the confirmation dialog
  3. The plugin will be removed from your system

Warning

Uninstalling a plugin removes all its data and settings. This action cannot be undone.

Plugin Permissions

Plugins may request various permissions to function properly. When viewing plugin details, you can see the permissions it requires:

  • Required permissions: The plugin cannot function without these
  • Optional permissions: Additional features that can be granted

Common permissions include:

Permission Description
Read chat messages Access to chat content for processing
Modify UI elements Ability to render custom components
Read model information Access to model metadata
Collect metrics Monitor performance data
Write to filesystem Save files to disk

Searching Plugins

Use the search bar at the top of the Plugins page to filter plugins by:

  • Plugin name
  • Description
  • Author
  • Category

Best Practices

  1. Only install trusted plugins: Verify the source before installing any plugin
  2. Review permissions: Understand what permissions a plugin requests before enabling it
  3. Keep plugins updated: Check for updates to ensure you have the latest features and security fixes
  4. Disable unused plugins: Disabled plugins don't consume resources

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

If a plugin fails to load:

  1. Check that the plugin is compatible with your Backend.AI GO version
  2. Try disabling and re-enabling the plugin
  3. Check the application logs for error messages
  4. Consider uninstalling and reinstalling the plugin

Settings Not Saving

If plugin settings aren't being saved:

  1. Ensure you have write permissions to the application data directory
  2. Try restarting the application
  3. Reset the plugin to default settings and reconfigure