Manifest schema

Every plugin ships a plugin.json manifest next to its entry assembly. It's small by design — richer display metadata lives in the store index, not here.

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Meaning
`schemaVersion`	int	Optional (default 1)	Manifest format version.
`id`	string	Yes	Permanent, stable identity; connections reference a provider by it.
`type`	string	Yes	`provider` / `tool` / `mcp` / `extension`.
`name`	string	Yes	Display name.
`version`	string	Optional	The plugin's own SemVer (used for gallery listing and updates).
`hostApiVersion`	int	Yes	Host-API version the plugin was built against; the loader gates on it.
`entryAssembly`	string	Yes	Entry DLL, relative to the plugin folder.
`localization`	string	Optional	Resource prefix for the plugin's localization files.
`capabilities`	string[]	Optional (default [])	For `extension` plugins: the powers it needs (panel, background, menu, storage, connections, process).

Provider example

// a provider plugin
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "id": "myengine",
  "type": "provider",
  "name": "MyEngine",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "hostApiVersion": 26,
  "entryAssembly": "SqlExplorer.Providers.MyEngine.dll"
}

Extension example

An extension declares the capabilities it needs; the user consents to those at install time.

// an extension plugin, declaring the powers it needs
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "id": "local-containers",
  "type": "extension",
  "name": "Local Containers",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "hostApiVersion": 3,
  "entryAssembly": "LocalContainers.dll",
  "capabilities": ["panel", "menu", "connections", "process"]
}

Host-API versions (current / minimum supported): providers 26 / 23, tools & extensions 3 / 1, MCP 2 / 1. Build against the current version; older plugins keep loading while they stay within range.

Learn more

For the full developer guide — implementing a provider or tool, packaging and publishing — see PLUGINS.md in the repository.