Plugins¶
cmd2
has a built-in plugin framework which allows developers to create a
a cmd2
plugin which can extend basic cmd2
functionality and can be
used by multiple applications.
There are many ways to add functionality to cmd2
using a plugin. Most
plugins will be implemented as a mixin. A mixin is a class that encapsulates
and injects code into another class. Developers who use a plugin in their
cmd2
project will inject the plugin’s code into their subclass of
cmd2.Cmd
.
Mixin and Initialization¶
The following short example shows how to mix in a plugin and how the plugin gets initialized.
Here’s the plugin:
class MyPlugin:
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
# code placed here runs before cmd2.Cmd initializes
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
# code placed here runs after cmd2.Cmd initializes
and an example app which uses the plugin:
import cmd2
import cmd2_myplugin
class Example(cmd2_myplugin.MyPlugin, cmd2.Cmd):
"""An class to show how to use a plugin"""
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
# code placed here runs before cmd2.Cmd or
# any plugins initialize
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
# code placed here runs after cmd2.Cmd and
# all plugins have initialized
Note how the plugin must be inherited (or mixed in) before cmd2.Cmd
.
This is required for two reasons:
- The
cmd.Cmd.__init__
method in the python standard library does not callsuper().__init__()
. Because of this oversight, if you don’t inherit fromMyPlugin
first, theMyPlugin.__init__()
method will never be called. - You may want your plugin to be able to override methods from
cmd2.Cmd
. If you mixin the plugin aftercmd2.Cmd
, the python method resolution order will callcmd2.Cmd
methods before it calls those in your plugin.
Add commands¶
Your plugin can add user visible commands. You do it the same way in a plugin
that you would in a cmd2.Cmd
app:
class MyPlugin:
def do_say(self, statement):
"""Simple say command"""
self.poutput(statement)
You have all the same capabilities within the plugin that you do inside a
cmd2.Cmd
app, including argument parsing via decorators and custom
help methods.
Add (or hide) settings¶
A plugin may add user controllable settings to the application. Here’s an example:
class MyPlugin:
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
# code placed here runs before cmd2.Cmd initializes
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
# code placed here runs after cmd2.Cmd initializes
self.mysetting = 'somevalue'
self.add_settable(cmd2.Settable('mysetting', str, 'short help message for mysetting'))
You can hide settings from the user by calling
remove_settable()
. See Settings for
more information.
Decorators¶
Your plugin can provide a decorator which users of your plugin can use to wrap functionality around their own commands.
Override methods¶
Your plugin can override core cmd2.Cmd
methods, changing their
behavior. This approach should be used sparingly, because it is very brittle.
If a developer chooses to use multiple plugins in their application, and
several of the plugins override the same method, only the first plugin to be
mixed in will have the overridden method called.
Hooks are a much better approach.
Hooks¶
Plugins can register hook methods, which are called by cmd2.Cmd
during various points in the application and command processing lifecycle.
Plugins should not override any of the deprecated hook methods, instead they
should register their hooks as described in the Hooks
section.
You should name your hooks so that they begin with the name of your plugin.
Hook methods get mixed into the cmd2
application and this naming
convention helps avoid unintentional method overriding.
Here’s a simple example:
class MyPlugin:
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
# code placed here runs before cmd2 initializes
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
# code placed here runs after cmd2 initializes
# this is where you register any hook functions
self.register_postparsing_hook(self.cmd2_myplugin_postparsing_hook)
def cmd2_myplugin_postparsing_hook(self, data: cmd2.plugin.PostparsingData) -> cmd2.plugin.PostparsingData:
"""Method to be called after parsing user input, but before running the command"""
self.poutput('in postparsing_hook')
return data
Registration allows multiple plugins (or even the application itself) to each inject code to be called during the application or command processing lifecycle.
See the Hooks documentation for full details of the application and command lifecycle, including all available hooks and the ways hooks can influence the lifecycle.
Classes and Functions¶
Your plugin can also provide classes and functions which can be used by
developers of cmd2
based applications. Describe these classes and
functions in your documentation so users of your plugin will know what’s
available.
Examples¶
See https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2-plugin-template for more info.