Plugin Publishing Guide - ElizaOS Documentation

This guide walks you through the entire process of creating, developing, and publishing an ElizaOS plugin. By the end, you’ll have a published plugin available in the ElizaOS registry.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Bun installed (installation guide)
Git installed and configured
npm account (create one here)
GitHub account with a Personal Access Token (PAT)

Setting up GitHub Personal Access Token

Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
Click “Generate new token (classic)”
Name it “ElizaOS Publishing”
Select scopes: repo, read:org, and workflow
Save the token securely

Step 1: Create Your Plugin

Start by creating a new plugin using the ElizaOS CLI:

# Create a new plugin with the interactive wizard
elizaos create -t plugin my-awesome-plugin

# Navigate to your plugin directory
cd plugin-my-awesome-plugin

The CLI automatically prefixes your plugin name with plugin- to follow ElizaOS conventions.

Step 2: Understand Plugin Structure

Your new plugin has this structure:

plugin-my-awesome-plugin/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts         # Main plugin file
├── images/              # Required images for registry
│   ├── logo.jpg        # 400x400px square logo
│   └── banner.jpg      # 1280x640px banner
├── __tests__/          # Test files
├── package.json        # Plugin metadata
├── tsconfig.json       # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md           # Plugin documentation

Key Files to Edit

src/index.ts - Your plugin’s main code
package.json - Plugin metadata and configuration
README.md - Documentation for users
images/ - Visual assets for the registry

Step 3: Develop Your Plugin

Basic Plugin Structure

// src/index.ts
import { Plugin, IAgentRuntime } from "@elizaos/core";

export const myAwesomePlugin: Plugin = {
    name: "my-awesome-plugin",
    description: "A plugin that does awesome things",

    actions: [
        // Your custom actions
    ],

    providers: [
        // Your custom providers
    ],

    evaluators: [
        // Your custom evaluators
    ],

    services: [
        // Your custom services
    ],

    async init(runtime: IAgentRuntime) {
        // Initialize your plugin
        console.log("My Awesome Plugin initialized!");
    }
};

export default myAwesomePlugin;

Adding an Action

import { Action, IAgentRuntime, Memory, HandlerCallback } from "@elizaos/core";

const greetAction: Action = {
    name: "GREET_USER",
    description: "Greets the user with a personalized message",

    validate: async (runtime: IAgentRuntime, message: Memory) => {
        // Validate the action can be performed
        return message.content.text.toLowerCase().includes("hello");
    },

    handler: async (
        runtime: IAgentRuntime,
        message: Memory,
        state: any,
        options: any,
        callback: HandlerCallback
    ) => {
        // Perform the action
        const response = `Hello! Welcome to ${runtime.character.name}!`;
        callback({
            text: response,
            action: "GREET_USER"
        });
    },

    examples: [
        [
            {
                user: "user123",
                content: { text: "Hello there!" }
            },
            {
                user: "assistant",
                content: {
                    text: "Hello! Welcome to Eliza!",
                    action: "GREET_USER"
                }
            }
        ]
    ]
};

Development Commands

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Start development mode with hot reload
elizaos dev

# Run tests
elizaos test

# Build your plugin
bun run build

Step 4: Configure package.json

Update your package.json with accurate information:

{
  "name": "plugin-my-awesome-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A plugin that adds awesome functionality to ElizaOS agents",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
  "author": "Your Name <your.email@example.com>",
  "license": "MIT",
  "repository": "github:yourusername/plugin-my-awesome-plugin",
  "keywords": ["elizaos-plugin", "eliza-plugin", "ai", "chatbot"],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "dev": "tsc --watch",
    "test": "vitest",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@elizaos/core": "latest"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "vitest": "^1.0.0",
    "@types/node": "^20.0.0"
  },
  "agentConfig": {
    "actions": ["GREET_USER"],
    "providers": [],
    "evaluators": [],
    "models": ["gpt-4", "gpt-3.5-turbo", "claude-3"],
    "services": []
  }
}

The agentConfig section is required for your plugin to be properly loaded by ElizaOS agents.

Step 5: Add Required Images

Your plugin needs two images for the registry:

Logo (images/logo.jpg)

Size: 400x400 pixels
Format: JPEG
Max file size: 500KB
Purpose: Displayed in plugin listings

Size: 1280x640 pixels
Format: JPEG
Max file size: 1MB
Purpose: Featured on your plugin’s detail page

Use high-quality images that represent your plugin’s functionality. The logo should be clear at small sizes.

Step 6: Write Documentation

Create a comprehensive README.md:

# My Awesome Plugin

A plugin that adds awesome functionality to ElizaOS agents.

## Features

- ✨ Feature 1: Personalized greetings
- 🚀 Feature 2: Advanced responses
- 🎯 Feature 3: Custom actions

## Installation

\`\`\`bash
elizaos plugins add @your-npm-username/plugin-my-awesome-plugin
\`\`\`

## Configuration

Add to your agent's character file:

\`\`\`json
{
  "plugins": ["@your-npm-username/plugin-my-awesome-plugin"]
}
\`\`\`

## Usage

The plugin automatically adds the following actions:
- `GREET_USER`: Responds to hello messages

## API Reference

### Actions

#### GREET_USER
Greets the user with a personalized message.

**Trigger**: Messages containing "hello"
**Response**: Personalized greeting

## License

MIT

Step 7: Test Your Plugin

Before publishing, thoroughly test your plugin:

# Run unit tests
elizaos test

# Test in a real project
cd ../test-project
elizaos plugins add ../plugin-my-awesome-plugin
elizaos dev

Testing Checklist

Step 8: Pre-publish Validation

Run a test publish to catch any issues:

# Dry run to see what would happen
elizaos publish --test

# Check generated registry files
elizaos publish --dry-run
ls packages/registry/

Common Validation Issues

Missing images: Ensure both logo.jpg and banner.jpg exist
Invalid package name: Must start with plugin-
Missing agentConfig: Required in package.json
Image size: Check dimensions and file size

Step 9: Publish Your Plugin

Authenticate First

# Login to npm
bunx npm login

# Set GitHub token (or you'll be prompted)
export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_pat_here

Publish

# Publish to npm and submit to registry
elizaos publish --npm

This command will:

Validate your plugin structure
Build your TypeScript code
Publish to npm
Create a GitHub repository
Open a PR to the ElizaOS registry

What Happens Next

npm Package: Available immediately at npmjs.com/package/your-plugin
GitHub Repo: Created at github.com/yourusername/plugin-my-awesome-plugin
Registry PR: Opened at github.com/elizaos-plugins/registry/pulls

Registry PRs are reviewed by maintainers. Approval typically takes 1-3 business days.

Step 10: Post-Publishing

Updating Your Plugin

For updates after initial publication:

# 1. Make your changes
# 2. Update version in package.json
bun version patch  # or minor/major

# 3. Build and test
bun run build
elizaos test

# 4. Publish directly to npm
bun publish

# 5. Push to GitHub
git add .
git commit -m "Update to version x.y.z"
git push
git push --tags

Marketing Your Plugin

Announce on Discord: Share in the #plugins channel
Write a Blog Post: Explain what your plugin does
Create Examples: Show real-world usage
Record a Demo: Video tutorials help adoption

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

# Clear and rebuild
rm -rf dist node_modules
bun install
bun run build

Publishing Errors

# Check npm authentication
bunx npm whoami

# Verify GitHub token
echo $GITHUB_TOKEN

# Try step-by-step
elizaos publish --test  # Test first
elizaos publish --npm --skip-registry  # Skip registry if needed

Registry PR Issues

If your PR is not approved:

Check comments from reviewers
Fix any requested changes
Update your PR branch

Best Practices

Code Quality

Write clean, documented code
Include comprehensive tests
Use TypeScript types properly
Follow ElizaOS conventions

Documentation

Clear README with examples
API documentation for all exports
Configuration examples
Troubleshooting section

Versioning

Use semantic versioning
Document breaking changes
Maintain a CHANGELOG.md
Tag releases in Git

Community

Respond to issues on GitHub
Help users in Discord
Accept contributions
Keep plugin updated

Resources

Getting Help

If you run into issues:

Check this guide’s troubleshooting section
Search existing GitHub issues
Ask in Discord #plugin-dev channel
Open an issue on your plugin’s repo

Remember: Publishing a plugin is just the beginning. The best plugins evolve based on user feedback and community contributions!

Get Started

Core Concepts

Deep Dive

Guides

​Prerequisites

​Setting up GitHub Personal Access Token

​Step 1: Create Your Plugin

​Step 2: Understand Plugin Structure

​Key Files to Edit

​Step 3: Develop Your Plugin

​Basic Plugin Structure

​Adding an Action

​Development Commands

​Step 4: Configure package.json

​Step 5: Add Required Images

​Logo (images/logo.jpg)

​Banner (images/banner.jpg)

​Step 6: Write Documentation

​Step 7: Test Your Plugin

​Testing Checklist

​Step 8: Pre-publish Validation

​Common Validation Issues

​Step 9: Publish Your Plugin

​Authenticate First

​Publish

​What Happens Next

​Step 10: Post-Publishing

​Updating Your Plugin

​Marketing Your Plugin

​Troubleshooting

​Build Failures

​Publishing Errors

​Registry PR Issues

​Best Practices

​Code Quality

​Documentation

​Versioning

​Community

​Resources

​Getting Help

Prerequisites

Setting up GitHub Personal Access Token

Step 1: Create Your Plugin

Step 2: Understand Plugin Structure

Key Files to Edit

Step 3: Develop Your Plugin

Basic Plugin Structure

Adding an Action

Development Commands

Step 4: Configure package.json

Step 5: Add Required Images

Logo (images/logo.jpg)

Banner (images/banner.jpg)

Step 6: Write Documentation

Step 7: Test Your Plugin

Testing Checklist

Step 8: Pre-publish Validation

Common Validation Issues

Step 9: Publish Your Plugin

Authenticate First

Publish

What Happens Next

Step 10: Post-Publishing

Updating Your Plugin

Marketing Your Plugin

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

Publishing Errors

Registry PR Issues

Best Practices

Code Quality

Documentation

Versioning

Community

Resources

Getting Help