Advanced7 min

Publishing Plugins

Share your custom integrations with the community. Turn your API connections into reusable plugins.

Prerequisites

Before publishing:

Plugin Requirements

Quality Standards

Your plugin must:

  • Work reliably
  • Handle errors gracefully
  • Follow security best practices
  • Be well-documented

Technical Requirements

  • All actions must be functional
  • OAuth flow must complete successfully
  • Rate limiting must be implemented
  • Error messages must be helpful

Preparing for Publication

1. Documentation

Create comprehensive docs:

# plugin.yaml
documentation:
  setup: |
    ## Setup Instructions
    1. Create an account at example.com
    2. Generate an API key
    3. Enter your key here

  actions:
    create_item:
      description: Creates a new item
      example: |
        Input: { name: "Test", type: "widget" }
        Output: { id: "123", created: true }

2. Branding

Prepare assets:

  • Icon - 256x256px, SVG preferred
  • Banner - 1200x400px for listing
  • Screenshots - Action examples

3. Testing Checklist

Verify:

  • [ ] All actions work
  • [ ] OAuth connects/disconnects properly
  • [ ] Errors show helpful messages
  • [ ] Rate limits are respected
  • [ ] Pagination works correctly
  • [ ] Different account types work

Publishing Process

Step 1: Initiate Publishing

  1. Go to Plugins > My Plugins
  2. Find your plugin
  3. Click Publish to Marketplace

Step 2: Plugin Details

Enter information:

| Field | Requirement | |-------|-------------| | Name | Clear, unique | | Description | 100-500 words | | Category | Primary function | | Tags | Up to 10 | | Website | Service homepage | | Support URL | Help documentation |

Step 3: Actions Documentation

For each action, provide:

  • Clear description
  • Input field explanations
  • Output format
  • Example usage

Step 4: Authentication Guide

Document auth setup:

  • Where to get credentials
  • Required permissions/scopes
  • Step-by-step instructions

Step 5: Pricing

Set your pricing:

  • Free - Open source contribution
  • Freemium - Basic free, premium paid
  • Paid - One-time or subscription

Step 6: Submit for Review

  1. Review all information
  2. Accept developer terms
  3. Submit

Review Process

Security Review

We check for:

  • Credential handling
  • Data transmission
  • Permission scope
  • Vulnerability patterns

Functionality Review

We test:

  • All actions
  • Authentication flow
  • Error handling
  • Edge cases

Documentation Review

We verify:

  • Clear setup instructions
  • Action descriptions
  • Support information

Timeline

  • Initial review: 3-5 business days
  • Security review: 2-3 days
  • Revisions: +2 days per round

After Publishing

Plugin Goes Live

Once approved:

  • Listed in marketplace
  • Users can install
  • Analytics begin tracking

Managing Your Plugin

From My Plugins:

  • View install count
  • Monitor usage
  • Read reviews
  • Check error reports

Version Updates

To update your plugin:

  1. Make code changes
  2. Increment version: 
    version: 1.1.0  # was 1.0.0
  3. Add changelog
  4. Submit update
  5. Review (usually faster)

Deprecating Actions

If removing an action:

  1. Mark as deprecated first
  2. Give users time to migrate
  3. Remove in future version

Best Practices

1. Semantic Versioning

Use version numbers meaningfully:

  • 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 - Bug fix
  • 1.0.0 → 1.1.0 - New feature
  • 1.0.0 → 2.0.0 - Breaking change

2. Backwards Compatibility

When updating:

  • Don't remove actions without warning
  • Don't change input/output formats
  • Add new actions for new functionality

3. Error Handling

Provide helpful errors:

errors:
  invalid_api_key:
    message: "API key is invalid or expired"
    suggestion: "Generate a new key at example.com/settings"
  rate_limited:
    message: "Rate limit exceeded"
    suggestion: "Wait 60 seconds before retrying"

4. Support

Be responsive:

  • Monitor reviews
  • Answer questions
  • Fix reported bugs
  • Communicate updates

Plugin Verification

Verified Badge

Earn verification by:

  • High quality rating
  • Active maintenance
  • Good user support
  • Security compliance

Benefits

Verified plugins get:

  • Badge on listing
  • Higher search ranking
  • Featured opportunities
  • Trust from users

Next Steps

Tags

marketplacepublishingplugins