Add plugin

Plugins are the extensions that expand the capabilities of the Light Portal. To create your own plugin, just follow the instructions below.

Note

You can use the PluginMaker as a helper to create your own plugins. Download and enable it on the page Admin -> Portal settings -> Plugins.

Choosing the type of plugin

Currently, the following types of plugins are available:

block

Plugins that add a new type of blocks for the portal.

ssi

Plugins (usually blocks) that use SSI functions to retrieve data.

editor

Plugins that add a third-party editor for different types of content.

comment

Plugins that add a third-party comment widget instead of the built-in.

parser

Plugins that implement the parser for the content of pages and blocks.

article

Plugins for processing the content of article cards on the main page.

frontpage

Plugins for changing the main page of the portal.

impex

Plugins for importing and exporting various portal elements.

block_options | page_options

Plugins that add additional parameters for the corresponding entity (block or page).

icons

Plugins that add new icon libraries to replace interface elements or for use in block headers

seo

Plugins that somehow affect the visibility of the forum on the network.

other

Plugins that are not related to any of the categories above.

Creating a plugin directory

Create a separate folder for your plugin files, inside /Sources/LightPortal/Plugins. For example, if your plugin is called HelloWorld, the folder structure should look like this:

...(Plugins)
└── HelloWorld/
    ├── langs/
    │   ├── english.php
    │   └── index.php
    ├── index.php
    └── HelloWorld.php

File index.php can be copied from folders of other plugins. The file HelloWorld.php contains the plugin logic:

<?php

namespace Bugo\LightPortal\Plugins\HelloWorld;

use Bugo\Compat\{Config, Lang, Utils};
use Bugo\LightPortal\Plugins\Plugin;

if (! defined('LP_NAME'))
	die('No direct access...');

class HelloWorld extends Plugin
{
    // FA icon (for blocks only)
    public string $icon = 'fas fa-globe';

    // Your plugin's type
    public string $type = 'other';

    // Optional init method
    public function init(): void
    {
        // Access to global variables: Utils::$context['user'], Config::$modSettings['variable'], etc.
        // Access to language variables: Lang::$txt['lp_hello_world']['variable_name']
    }

    // Custom properties and methods
}

Using SSI

If the plugin needs to retrieve any data using SSI functions, use the built-in getFromSsi(string $function, ...$params) method. As parameter $function you must pass the name of one of the functions contained in file SSI.php, without prefix ssi_. For example:

<?php

// See ssi_topTopics function in the SSI.php file
$data = $this->getFromSSI('topTopics', 'views', 10, 'array');

Using Composer

Your plugin can use third-party libraries installed through Composer. Make sure that the composer.json file, which contains the necessary dependencies, is located in the plugin directory. Before publishing your plugin, open the plugin directory in the command line and run the command: composer install --no-dev -o. After that, the entire contents of the plugin directory can be packaged as a separate modification for SMF (for example see PluginMaker package).