Start Building

After scaffolding, open the project in your editor. Most of the work happens in two files: src/plugin.ts and manifest.json.

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Your entry point — src/plugin.ts

This is the file you edit. It exports a single default function that receives a CorePluginContext and returns { onload, onunload, metadata }.

import type { CorePluginContext } from '@voiden/sdk/ui';
import manifest from '../manifest.json';

export default function createMyPlugin(context: CorePluginContext) {
  return {
    onload: async () => {
      // Register everything here
    },

    onunload: async () => {
      // Clean up subscriptions, listeners, etc.
    },

    metadata: manifest,
  };
}

Hook	When it runs
onload	Called once when the plugin is activated. Register block types, slash commands, sidebar tabs, commands, event listeners, and context menus here
onunload	Called when the plugin is disabled or the app unloads. Cancel any subscriptions made in onload. Always store unsubscribe functions and call them here to avoid memory leaks
metadata	Pass manifest directly — Voiden uses this to display plugin info in the Extensions browser

The entry file can be named plugin.ts or plugin.tsx (for JSX) — the build script detects both automatically.

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Your manifest — manifest.json

The single source of truth for your plugin. Voiden reads this when loading the plugin and the Extensions browser displays it to users.

{
  "id": "my-plugin",
  "name": "My Plugin",
  "description": "What this plugin does",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "voidenVersion": ">=2.0.0",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "icon": "Globe",
  "type": "community",
  "priority": 30,
  "permissions": ["filesystem", "events"],
  "capabilities": {},
  "features": []
}

Bump version before every release

Voiden uses version to decide whether to offer an update. Always increment it before building and publishing a new release.

Capabilities are auto-populated

Do not edit the capabilities field manually. build.mjs scans your compiled bundle and fills it in automatically at build time.

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Where to start based on what you're building

Goal	What to do
Add a custom block type	Define a TipTap Node, call context.registerVoidenExtension(YourNode) in onload
Add a slash command	Call context.addVoidenSlashGroup(...) in onload
Add a sidebar panel	Write a React component, call context.registerSidebarTab(...)
Add a command palette entry	Declare "commandPalette" in permissions, call context.registerCommand(...)
React to workspace events	Declare "events" in permissions, call context.events.on(...) — store the unsubscribe function and call it in onunload
Read or write project files	Declare "filesystem" in permissions, use context.fs.*
Persist plugin settings	Declare "settings" in permissions, use context.settings.* and context.ui.registerSettings(...)
Add native OS features	Create src/main-process.ts, register ipcMain handlers, run npm run build:main

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Plugin API docs

For the full reference — every context.* method, all event names, TipTap node registration, and more — see the Plugin API Reference.

If you want a guided walkthrough from zero, the Build a Plugin guide walks through a complete example step by step, from project setup to installing the plugin in Voiden.

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Fast iteration loop

npm run build && npm run zip

Then in Voiden: Extensions → ⋯ → Install from file → dist/my-plugin.zip

Voiden replaces the previous version in place. Restart Voiden to pick up changes that affect the main process or plugin registration.