Master all Plexcord plugin metadata fields. Learn required, enabledByDefault, dependencies, tags, and how they affect plugin behavior.

Plugin Metadata

Beyond the three required fields (name, description, authors), Plexcord lets you define metadata that controls how your plugin behaves, how it's discovered, and how it interacts with other plugins.

Required Fields (Review)

export default definePlugin({
    name: "MyPlugin",          // Unique display name
    description: "Does X",     // Short description for the settings UI
    authors: [
        { name: "Dev", id: 123456789012345678n }
    ],
    // ...
});

These three are always required. Every other field is optional.

`required`

Prevents users from disabling the plugin. Use this only for critical infrastructure plugins.

required: true,

When to use:

Your plugin provides APIs that other plugins depend on
Your plugin is a core Plexcord component
Disabling would break fundamental functionality

Use required: true sparingly. Users generally don't like plugins they can't disable.

`enabledByDefault`

Enables the plugin by default for new Plexcord installs. It can still be disabled.

enabledByDefault: true,

When to use:

General-purpose improvements most users will want
Fixes for Discord UX issues
Quality-of-life improvements that don't change behavior dramatically

`dependencies`

Declares other plugins that must be enabled for yours to work. If a dependency is disabled, Plexcord warns the user.

dependencies: ["MessageLogger", "UserTags"],

Example: a plugin that adds UI to a message Logger:

export default definePlugin({
    name: "MessageLoggerEnhancer",
    description: "Adds extra features to MessageLogger",
    authors: [{ name: "You", id: 0n }],
    dependencies: ["MessageLogger"],   // MessageLogger must be on

    start() {
        // Safe to use MessageLogger APIs here because we declared the dependency
        const logger = Vencord.Plugins.plugins.MessageLogger;
        logger.registerExtension(this);
    }
});

dependencies is a string array of plugin names (the name field of each plugin, not the file name).

`tags`

An array of tags that help users find your plugin via search in the settings UI.

tags: ["utility", "messages", "formatting", "productivity"],

Good tags to use:

Feature category: "utility", "fun", "moderation", "accessibility"
What it affects: "messages", "voice", "channels", "server", "friends"
How it works: "notifications", "commands", "shortcuts", "appearance"

Tags are not shown to users directly; they're only used for filtering/searching. Don't use overly generic tags like "discord" or "plugin".

`settingsAboutComponent`

A React component displayed at the top of the plugin's settings panel. Use it to show docs links, warnings, or info.

import { Link } from "@components/Link";

export default definePlugin({
    name: "MyPlugin",
    description: "...",
    authors: [{ name: "You", id: 0n }],

    settingsAboutComponent() {
        return (
            <div>
                <p>This plugin modifies how messages are displayed.</p>
                <Link href="https://github.com/MutanPlex/Plexcord">
                    View source on GitHub
                </Link>
            </div>
        );
    }
});

`patches` and when they're applied

Patches are applied when the plugin is enabled (or at startup). They're automatically removed when the plugin is disabled. You don't need special metadata for this; just declare them:

patches: [
    {
        find: "someDiscordFunctionName",
        replacement: {
            match: /someRegex/,
            replace: "newCode"
        }
    }
],

See Patches System for the complete guide.

Full Metadata Example

import definePlugin, { OptionType } from "@utils/types";
import { definePluginSettings } from "@api/Settings";

const settings = definePluginSettings({
    compact: {
        type: OptionType.BOOLEAN,
        description: "Use compact mode",
        default: false
    }
});

export default definePlugin({
    name: "MessageEnhancer",
    description: "Enhances the message display with extra formatting options",
    authors: [
        { name: "Alice", id: 111222333444555666n },
        { name: "Bob", id: 777888999000111222n }
    ],

    // Metadata
    tags: ["messages", "formatting", "utility"],
    enabledByDefault: false,
    required: false,
    dependencies: [],

    // Settings
    settings,

    settingsAboutComponent() {
        return (
            <p style={{ color: "var(--text-muted)" }}>
                MessageEnhancer adds formatting buttons to the message toolbar.
                Works best with the default Discord theme.
            </p>
        );
    },

    start() {
        console.log("[MessageEnhancer] Started");
    },

    stop() {
        console.log("[MessageEnhancer] Stopped");
    }
});

Metadata Quick Reference

Field	Type	Default	Description
`name`	`string`	required	Unique plugin name
`description`	`string`	required	Short description
`authors`	`Author[]`	required	Plugin authors
`required`	`boolean`	`false`	Cannot be disabled
`enabledByDefault`	`boolean`	`false`	ON for new installs
`dependencies`	`string[]`	`[]`	Required other plugins
`tags`	`string[]`	`[]`	Search tags
`settingsAboutComponent`	`Component`	`undefined`	Info block in settings
`startAt`	`StartAt`	`DOMContentLoaded`	Init timing

Plugin Metadata

Plugin Metadata

Required Fields (Review)

`required`

`enabledByDefault`

`dependencies`

`tags`

`settingsAboutComponent`

`patches` and when they're applied

Full Metadata Example

Metadata Quick Reference

Next Steps

Settings Deep Dive

Platform-Specific Plugins

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