| name | a0-create-plugin |
| description | Create, extend, or modify Agent Zero plugins. Follows strict full-stack conventions (usr/plugins, plugin.yaml, Store Gating, AgentContext, plugin settings). Use for UI hooks, API handlers, lifecycle extensions, or plugin settings UI. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| tags | ["plugins","create","build","develop","extend"] |
| trigger_patterns | ["create plugin","build plugin","new plugin","develop plugin","write plugin","plugin template"] |
Agent Zero Plugin Development
[!IMPORTANT]
Always create new plugins in /a0/usr/plugins/<plugin_name>/. The /a0/plugins/ directory is reserved for core system plugins.
Related skills: /a0/skills/a0-review-plugin/SKILL.md | /a0/skills/a0-contribute-plugin/SKILL.md | /a0/skills/a0-manage-plugin/SKILL.md
Primary references:
- /a0/AGENTS.md (Full-stack architecture & AgentContext)
- /a0/plugins/AGENTS.md (Plugin contract, plugin.yaml, settings, banners, extension contracts, Plugin Index)
- /a0/webui/components/AGENTS.md (Component system and modal component conventions)
- /a0/webui/js/AGENTS.md (Modal stack, API helpers, extension loader)
- /a0/webui/css/AGENTS.md (Modal CSS and shared visual primitives)
- /a0/docs/developer/plugins.md (Developer lifecycle and publishing)
Step 0: Ask First — Local or Community Plugin?
Before starting, ask the user one question:
"Should this plugin be local only (stays in your Agent Zero installation) or a community plugin (published to the Plugin Index so others can install it)?"
- Local plugin: Create it in
/a0/usr/plugins/<plugin_name>/. No repository needed. Skip to the manifest section below.
- Community plugin: The plugin must live in its own GitHub repository (runtime manifest at the repo root), and then a separate index submission PR is made to https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-plugins. Guide the user through both steps.
Plugin Manifest (plugin.yaml)
Every plugin must have a plugin.yaml or it will not be discovered.
name: my_plugin
title: My Plugin
description: What this plugin does.
version: 1.0.0
settings_sections:
- agent
per_project_config: false
per_agent_config: false
name: lowercase, numbers, underscores only (^[a-z0-9_]+$). Required by CI when submitting to the Plugin Index - must exactly match the index folder name.
settings_sections controls which Settings tabs show a subsection for this plugin. Valid values: agent, external, mcp, developer, backup. Use [] for no subsection.
Activation defaults to ON when no toggle rule exists. Set per_project_config and/or per_agent_config to enable advanced per-scope switching. Core system plugins may also use always_enabled: true to lock the plugin permanently ON (reserved for framework use).
Mandatory Frontend Patterns
1. The "Store Gate" Template
To avoid race conditions and undefined errors, every component must use this wrapper:
<div x-data>
<template x-if="$store.myPluginStore">
<div x-init="$store.myPluginStore.onOpen()" x-destroy="$store.myPluginStore.cleanup()">
</div>
</template>
</div>
2. Separate Store Module
Place store logic in a separate .js file. Do NOT use alpine:init listeners inside HTML.
import { createStore } from "/js/AlpineStore.js";
export const store = createStore("myPluginStore", {
status: 'idle',
init() { ... },
onOpen() { ... },
cleanup() { ... }
});
Import it in the HTML :
<head>
<script type="module" src="/plugins/<plugin_name>/webui/my-store.js"></script>
</head>
3. User Feedback: A0 Notifications Only
Do not show errors or success via inline boxes (e.g. a red <div> bound to store.error). Use the project notification system so toasts and history stay consistent.
- Errors:
toastFrontendError(message, "My Plugin") (or $store.notificationStore.frontendError(...))
- Success:
toastFrontendSuccess(message, "My Plugin")
- Warnings/Info:
toastFrontendWarning, toastFrontendInfo from /components/notifications/notification-store.js
Import and call from your store; do not render a dedicated error/success block in the template. See Notifications for the full API.
Plugin Settings
If your plugin needs user-configurable settings, add webui/config.html. The system detects it automatically and shows a Settings button in the relevant tabs (per settings_sections in plugin.yaml).
Settings modal contract
The modal provides Project + Agent profile context selectors. The plugin settings wrapper instantiates a local modal context from $store.pluginSettingsPrototype. Inside config.html, bind plugin fields to config.* and use context.* for modal-level state and actions:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Plugin Settings</title>
<script type="module">
import { store } from "/components/plugins/plugin-settings-store.js";
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div x-data>
<input x-model="config.my_key" />
<input type="checkbox" x-model="config.feature_enabled" />
</div>
</body>
</html>
The modal's Save button persists config to config.json in the correct scope (project/agent/global).
Sidebar Button (sidebar entry point)
- Extension point:
sidebar-quick-actions-main-start
- Class:
class="config-button"
- Placement:
x-move-after=".config-button#dashboard"
- Action:
@click="openModal('/plugins/<plugin_name>/webui/my-modal.html')"
Backend API & Context
Import Paths
- Correct:
from agent import AgentContext, AgentContextType
- Correct:
from initialize import initialize_agent
- Correct for plugin-local Python modules under
usr/plugins/<name>/: from usr.plugins.<name>.helpers.module import ...
- Avoid
sys.path hacks for plugin-local imports
- Avoid symlink-dependent imports like
from plugins.<name>... for user/community plugins in usr/plugins/
Sending Messages Proactively
from agent import AgentContext
from helpers.messages import UserMessage
context = AgentContext.use(context_id)
task = context.communicate(UserMessage("Message text"))
response = await task.result()
Reading Plugin Settings (backend)
from helpers.plugins import get_plugin_config, save_plugin_config
settings = get_plugin_config("my-plugin", agent=agent) or {}
save_plugin_config(
"my-plugin",
project_name="my-project",
agent_profile="default",
settings=settings,
)
Configuration Hook Caller Context
Use caller context only when the same settings need different behavior for a
known origin. An unlabeled call remains compatible and uses "api"; a
plugin-controlled runtime path can opt in explicitly:
settings = get_plugin_config("my-plugin", agent=agent, caller="agent") or {}
Its hooks.py receives hook_context={"caller": ...}. For example, a plugin
can redact a stored credential for a UI-specific path while preserving its
normal runtime configuration:
def get_plugin_config(default=None, hook_context=None, **kwargs):
caller = (hook_context or {}).get("caller", "api")
return redact_for_display(default) if caller == "ui" else default
The available values are "ui", "agent", and "api". Existing hooks do
not need to change: the framework safely ignores this new argument for hooks
that do not accept it. This is behavior metadata, never authorization; do not
use it to grant or deny access to secrets or other protected data. A
config.html alone does not set the caller; its backend load/save path must
pass it explicitly.
Directory Layout
/a0/usr/plugins/<name>/
plugin.yaml # Required manifest
execute.py # Optional user-triggered setup, post-install, or maintenance script
hooks.py # Optional framework runtime hook functions
default_config.yaml # Optional default settings fallback
README.md # Optional locally; strongly recommended for community plugins
LICENSE # Optional locally (shown in Plugin List UI when present); required at repo root for Plugin Index submission
agents/
<profile>/agent.yaml # Optional plugin-distributed agent profile
api/ # API Handlers (ApiHandler base class)
tools/ # Tool subclasses
helpers/ # Shared Python logic
prompts/ # Prompt templates
conf/
model_providers.yaml # Optional: add or override model providers
extensions/
python/<extension_point>/ # Named Python lifecycle extensions
python/_functions/<module>/<qualname>/<start|end>/ # Implicit @extensible hooks
webui/<point>/ # HTML/JS hook extensions
webui/
config.html # Optional: plugin settings UI
my-modal.html # Full plugin pages
my-store.js # Alpine stores
Do not create the retired flattened extensible path form extensions/python/<module>_<qualname>_<start|end>/. The current runtime only resolves the deep _functions/<module>/<qualname>/<start|end> layout for implicit @extensible hooks.
Import rule for plugin-local Python code
Use the fully qualified usr.plugins.<plugin_name>... path for plugin-local
imports. This lets plugins keep a normal helpers/ directory without renaming
it to <name>_helpers, and it avoids both sys.path mutation and symlink
installation steps.
Good:
from usr.plugins.my_plugin.helpers.runtime import do_work
import usr.plugins.my_plugin.helpers.state as state
Avoid:
sys.path.insert(0, ...)
from helpers.runtime import do_work
from plugins.my_plugin.helpers.runtime import do_work
Plugin Execution Script (execute.py)
If your plugin needs a user-triggered script for setup, post-install work, maintenance, or other manual operations, add an execute.py at the plugin root.
Good uses for execute.py include:
- installing dependencies or downloading models/assets
- running post-install steps after the plugin is copied into place
- rebuilding caches, indexes, or generated files
- applying migrations, repair steps, or sync jobs that the user may need to run again later
- performing periodic maintenance tasks that should happen only when explicitly requested by the user
Use execute.py for user-initiated work. If the behavior is framework-internal or should happen automatically as part of plugin lifecycle handling, use hooks.py or lifecycle extensions instead.
First rule of plugin side effects: do not modify the system permanently in ways
that outlive the plugin. When a plugin is deleted, there should be no leftover
symlinks, unmanaged services, or stray files outside plugin-owned paths unless
the user explicitly requested that behavior and the plugin documents how to
clean it up.
import subprocess
import sys
def main():
print("Installing plugin dependencies...")
result = subprocess.run(
[sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "requests==2.31.0"],
text=True,
)
if result.returncode != 0:
print("ERROR: Installation failed")
return result.returncode
print("Refreshing plugin resources...")
print("Done.")
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
sys.exit(main())
Users trigger it from the Plugins UI. Treat it as a manual, rerunnable operation: return 0 on success, non-zero on failure, and print progress so the user can understand what happened. When possible, make it safe to run more than once; if reruns are not safe, detect the state and print a clear message.
Runtime Hooks (hooks.py)
If your plugin needs framework-internal hook points, add a hooks.py file at the plugin root. The framework can call exported functions by name via helpers.plugins.call_plugin_hook(...).
hooks.py runs inside the Agent Zero framework runtime, not the separate agent execution environment.- Use it for things like install hooks, pre-update hooks, plugin registration work, cache setup, file preparation, or other internal framework operations.
- Current built-in usage:
- the plugin installer calls
install() in hooks.py after placing a plugin in usr/plugins/
- the plugin updater calls
pre_update() in hooks.py immediately before pulling new plugin code into place
- the plugin uninstaller calls
uninstall() in hooks.py before deleting the plugin directory — use this to clean up any dependencies or state created by install()
- Hook functions may be sync or async.
- Hooks should be reversible and cleanup-safe. Prefer framework-managed state and plugin-owned paths over permanent system modifications.
Environment targeting rules
- If
hooks.py runs sys.executable -m pip install ..., it installs into the same Python environment that is running Agent Zero.
- That is correct for dependencies needed by the plugin inside the framework runtime.
- If the dependency is meant for the separate agent runtime or for OS-level tools, do not assume the current environment is correct.
Instead, explicitly switch targets in a subprocess:
- invoke the exact Python interpreter for the target runtime
- activate the target virtualenv in the subprocess before running
pip
- run the relevant OS package manager from a subprocess configured for the intended environment
In Docker, this usually means hooks.py affects /opt/venv-a0 unless you intentionally target /opt/venv or another environment.
Community Plugin: GitHub Repo + Plugin Index Submission
If the user chose a community plugin, follow these additional steps after building and testing the plugin locally.
1. Repository Structure
The plugin must live in its own GitHub repository with the plugin contents at the repository root (not inside a subfolder):
your-plugin-repo/ ← GitHub repository root
├── plugin.yaml ← runtime manifest (must include name field!)
├── default_config.yaml
├── README.md
├── LICENSE ← required at repo root before Plugin Index submission
├── api/
├── tools/
├── extensions/
└── webui/
The runtime plugin.yaml at the repo root must include a name field matching the index folder name:
name: my_plugin
title: My Plugin
description: What this plugin does.
version: 1.0.0
Help the user create this repository and push the plugin files to it.
2. Index manifest (different from runtime manifest)
The Plugin Index (https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-plugins) uses a separate index.yaml file that only describes discoverability — it is NOT the same as the runtime plugin.yaml and has a different schema:
title: My Plugin
description: What this plugin does.
github: https://github.com/yourname/your-plugin-repo
tags:
- tools
- example
screenshots:
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourname/your-plugin-repo/main/docs/screen1.png
Required fields: title, description, github. Optional: tags (up to 5), screenshots (up to 5 URLs).
See the recommended tag list at https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-plugins/blob/main/TAGS.md.
Important: CI also checks that your remote plugin.yaml contains a name field matching the index folder name exactly.
3. Submission steps
- Fork
https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-plugins.
- Create the folder
plugins/<your_plugin_name>/ in the fork.
- Folder name: lowercase letters, numbers, underscores only (
^[a-z0-9_]+$) - no hyphens
- Must exactly match the
name field in your remote plugin.yaml
- Add
index.yaml inside it (and optionally a square thumbnail ≤ 20 KB named thumbnail.png, thumbnail.jpg, or thumbnail.webp).
- Open a Pull Request. The PR must add exactly one new plugin folder.
- CI validates automatically. A maintainer reviews and merges.
Submission constraints:
- Folder name: unique, stable,
^[a-z0-9_]+$
- Folders starting with
_ are reserved for internal use
title max 50 characters, description max 500 charactersindex.yaml max 2000 characters total
For a fully guided contribution flow (including git operations), read /a0/skills/a0-contribute-plugin/SKILL.md.
Plugin Index & Plugin Hub
The Plugin Index is the community hub at https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-plugins.
Agent Zero now exposes indexed plugins through the built-in Plugin Hub. Users can open it from the Plugins dialog either through the Browse tab or through the Install button, then inspect plugin details and install directly from the UI.
