EDMC Plugin Browser

[ZaviiNet]

EDMC Plugin Browser

Plugin Version: (1.0.0)
Compatible with EDMC: (Specify compatible EDMC versions, e.g., >=5.0.0)

Description

The EDMC Plugin Browser is a plugin for Elite Dangerous Market Connector (EDMC) that allows users to easily discover, install, manage, and remove other EDMC plugins directly from within the EDMC settings interface.

It fetches a list of available plugins from a configurable manifest URL, displays them alongside currently installed plugins, and provides simple actions for installation, removal, enabling, and disabling.

Features

• Browse Available Plugins: View a list of plugins available for installation from a remote manifest.
  • Displays plugin name, author, version, and description.
  • Option to refresh the list of available plugins.
  • Link to the plugin's repository (if provided in the manifest).
• Install Plugins: Download and install plugins with a single click.
  • Handles ZIP file extraction.
  • Warns that EDMC needs a restart after installation.
• Manage Installed Plugins:
  • View a list of currently installed plugins and their status (enabled/disabled).
  • Enable or disable installed plugins (requires EDMC restart).
  • Remove installed plugins (requires EDMC restart).
• Configurable Manifest URL: Users can change the URL from which the list of available plugins is fetched.
• Status Updates: Provides feedback messages for all operations.

Installation

1. Download:
   • Go to the releases page of this plugin's repository.
   • Download the latest .zip file for the Plugin Browser.
2. Install in EDMC:
   • Open EDMC.
   • Go to File -> Settings -> Plugins tab.
   • Click the Open Plugins Folder button. This will open the directory where EDMC stores user-installed plugins (usually %LOCALAPPDATA%\EDMarketConnector\plugins\ on Windows).
   • Extract the contents of the downloaded .zip file into this plugins directory. You should have a folder named PluginBrowser (or similar, depending on how the zip is structured) containing load.py and plugin_manager_module.py.
3. Restart EDMC: Close and reopen EDMarketConnector for the new plugin to be loaded.

Usage

1. Open EDMC.
2. Go to File -> Settings.
3. You will find a new tab labeled "Plugin Browser".
4. Manifest URL:
   • The first field allows you to set the URL for the plugin manifest file. By default, it points to Plugin_Manifest.json . You can change this if you have an alternative manifest source.
   • Changes to this URL are saved when you click "OK" on the main EDMC Settings window.
5. Available Plugins:
   • This section lists plugins fetched from the Manifest URL.
   • Click "Refresh List" to update the list of available plugins.
   • Select a plugin from the list to enable the "Install Selected" and "View Repository" buttons.
   • Click "Install Selected" to download and install the chosen plugin. You will be prompted to confirm.
   • Click "View Repository" to open the plugin's code repository in your web browser (if a URL is provided in the manifest).
6. Installed Plugins:
   • This section lists all plugins currently detected in your EDMC plugins folder.
   • Select a plugin from this list to enable the "Enable/Disable" and "Remove Selected" buttons.
   • Click "Enable/Disable" to toggle the selected plugin's status. This works by renaming the plugin's folder (adding/removing .disabled).
   • Click "Remove Selected" to delete the plugin's folder. You will be prompted to confirm.
7. Restart EDMC: After installing, removing, enabling, or disabling any plugin, you must restart EDMC for the changes to take full effect. The Plugin Browser will remind you of this.
8. Status Bar: A status bar at the bottom of the tab provides feedback on ongoing operations and any errors encountered.

Configuration

The main configuration option for the Plugin Browser itself is the Manifest URL, which can be set directly in its settings tab. This URL points to a JSON file that lists available plugins.

The default manifest URL is: Plugin_Manifest.json

Troubleshooting

• "Failed to fetch plugin list":
  • Check your internet connection.
  • Ensure the Manifest URL in the settings is correct and accessible.
  • The remote server hosting the manifest might be temporarily unavailable.
• Plugin installation fails:
  • Check the status messages for details. It could be a network error during download, a corrupted ZIP file, or a file permission issue in your plugins directory.
  • Ensure you have write permissions to your EDMC plugins folder.
• Plugin doesn't appear after install/enable:
  • Make sure you have restarted EDMC.
  • Verify the plugin folder structure is correct inside your main EDMC plugins directory (e.g., PluginBrowser/load.py).

For further issues, please check the EDMC logs (%TEMP%\EDMarketConnector.log and %TEMP%\EDMarketConnector\EDMarketConnector-debug.log on Windows) and report issues on this plugin's repository: Issues

For Plugin Developers (Wanting to be listed in a Manifest)

To have your plugin listed by a Plugin Browser instance, your plugin needs to be included in the JSON manifest file that the browser is configured to use. The manifest typically requires information like:

• id: A unique machine-readable identifier for your plugin (e.g., my-cool-plugin).
• name: The human-readable name of your plugin.
• version: The current version of your plugin.
• author: Your name or your organization's name.
• description: A brief description of what your plugin does.
• downloadUrl: A direct link to the .zip file of your plugin.
• edmcCompatibility (optional): A string indicating EDMC version compatibility (e.g., >=5.0.0).
• repositoryUrl (optional): A link to your plugin's source code repository (e.g., GitHub).

Contact the maintainer of the specific plugin manifest you wish to be added to.

License

This plugin (EDMC Plugin Browser) is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later.
This README is for the EDMC Plugin Browser plugin. For EDMarketConnector itself, please refer to its own documentation.

[AlekseyKudrya1973]

In the new version 6.0.0, the edmc-colonisation-plugin plugin no longer displays properly.
I'll be rolling back to the older version.

[Rixxan]

This is likely due to the plugin not being updated and using old, deprecated function calls which have been marked for removal for quite a while now. I recommend reaching out to the plugin authors to have them update the plugin.

[AlekseyKudrya1973]

Thank you. But the developer hasn't shown up for nine months and hasn't responded.
But his plugin is the best and most user-friendly, with nothing extra. It's exactly what I need.

So, thanks again for your work, but for now I'll stick with the previous version.

[ZaviiNet]

Why am I just getting notifications now 🙃, I'll get the midnight oil burning and push some updates

[Rixxan]

@ZaviiNet I'm actually thinking of working on a dedicated, in-EDMC plugin browser. I might tag you in on some of this, if you're interested when we start development of this concept? (I think Aleksey's comment was on a different plugin).

[ZaviiNet]

@Rixxan I've added you on discord, we can further discuss there :)