Plugins overview

What a plugin is

A plugin is a small program that adds something to Athanor: a command, a docked panel, a file format, a check that flags problems, or a source of structures to insert. Official plugins are made by the Athanor Team. Community plugins are made by anyone with an arbastro account, and every published one is screened, reviewed and signed before you can install it.

Plugins are on by default. You can turn them all off from Main menu › Object › Plugins › Plugins.

What a plugin can add

It can add	Where you find it
Commands	Main menu › Object › Plugins, the Plugins tab of Ctrl+K, and right-click on the canvas › Plugins
Windows and panels	A window over the canvas, with Athanor's title bar and close button. Plugin windows float by default, and you can dock one beside the canvas like Athanor's own panels
Exporters	The Export window, under From plugins
Checks	The issues badge (it reads No issues when there are none), each finding labeled with the plugin's name
Input sources	Quick insert (/): the plugin's results appear in the list as you type
Settings	A form Athanor draws from the plugin's manifest, in the Plugins window

To browse and manage plugins, select Plugins in the top bar, then Browse plugins…. Each installed plugin has a button that starts it (Open for a window, Try it for a command, Export, Show checks or Try in Quick insert), and a "Where to find it" hint that says where its commands, windows and formats appear.

One official plugin ships with Athanor and is installed for you: Periodic table, a periodic table with element details that inserts or changes atoms. You can turn it off or uninstall it like any other plugin.

How plugins stay safe

• A plugin asks before it gets anything. Before you install, a permission sheet lists what the plugin will be able to do, in plain words. A plugin gets only the permissions it declared, and you can switch any of them off later.
• A plugin never edits your document directly. It sends a change. Athanor checks it, runs the safety screen on every structure it adds, and applies it as one undo step named after the plugin. If any part is refused, nothing on the page changes.
• A plugin runs in a sandbox. Its code runs in its own isolated JavaScript engine inside a separate worker, with a time limit and a memory limit. A plugin that hangs or crashes is stopped, and the app keeps running. One that fails three times in ten minutes is turned off for the session.
• A plugin never sees your account. It cannot read your password, your email address or your session.
• Published code comes only from Athanor. A community plugin is downloaded from Athanor's own storage and checked against its signature before it loads.

Read the full picture in Security model.

Where to go next

Using plugins

• Using plugins: find, install, run, update and remove plugins.

Building plugins

• Build your first plugin: from developer mode to a running command.
• Guides: Commands, Panels and windows, Changes, undo and previews, Importers and exporters, Analysis checks, Input sources, Settings, Network access, Theming.
• Reference: API reference and Manifest reference.

Sharing plugins

• Publishing: screening, review and signing.
• Security model and the Changelog.