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How to write a plugin
A short introductory guide for plugin beginners.
Should it be a plugin?
First of all figure out what your plugin / code should do. If you want to change how InvenTree base mechanics and business logic work, a plugin will not be sufficient. Maybe fork the project or better start a discussion on GitHub. There might be an easier / established way to do what you want.
If you want to remove parts of the user interface -> remove the permissions for those objects / actions and the users will not see them.
If you add a lot of code (over ~1000 LOC) maybe split it into multiple plugins to make upgrading and testing simpler.
It will be a plugin!
Great. Now please read the plugin documentation to get an overview of the architecture. It is rather short as a the (builtin) mixins come with extensive docstrings.
Pick your building blocks
Consider the usecase for your plugin and define the exact function of the plugin, maybe wrtie it down in a short readme. Then pick the mixins you need (they help reduce custom code and keep the system reliable if internal calls change).
- Is it just a simple REST-endpoint that runs a function (ActionMixin) or a parser for a custom barcode format (BarcodeMixin)?
- How does the user interact with the plugin? Is it a UI separate from the main InvenTree UI (UrlsMixin), does it need multiple pages with navigation-links (NavigationMixin).
- Will it make calls to external APIs (APICallMixin helps there)?
- Do you need to run in the background (ScheduleMixin) or when things in InvenTree change (EventMixin)?
- Does the plugin need configuration that should be user changeable (SettingsMixin) or static (just use a yaml in the config dir)?
- You want to receive webhooks? Do not code your own untested function, use the WebhookEndpoint model as a base and override the perform_action method.
- Do you need the full power of Django with custom models and all the complexity that comes with that – welcome to the danger zone and AppMixin. The plugin will be treated as a app by django and can maybe rack the whole instance.