pluginctl

A command-line interface tool for Mattermost plugin development. pluginctl provides utilities to manage, inspect, and work with Mattermost plugins from the command line.

Installation

From Source

git clone https://github.com/mattermost/pluginctl.git
cd pluginctl
make build

Binary Installation

Download the latest binary from the releases page.

Package Managers

# Using go install
go install github.com/mattermost/pluginctl/cmd/pluginctl@latest

# Using Homebrew (if available)
brew install mattermost/tap/pluginctl

# Using Scoop on Windows (if available)
scoop bucket add mattermost https://github.com/mattermost/scoop-bucket.git
scoop install pluginctl

Usage

Basic Commands

# Display plugin information
pluginctl info

# Show help
pluginctl --help

# Show version
pluginctl --version

Plugin Path Configuration

pluginctl supports multiple ways to specify the plugin directory:

1. Command-line flag (highest priority):

   pluginctl --plugin-path /path/to/plugin info
   

2. Environment variable:

   export PLUGINCTL_PLUGIN_PATH=/path/to/plugin
   pluginctl info
   

3. Current directory (default):

   cd /path/to/plugin
   pluginctl info
   

Commands

info

Display comprehensive information about a Mattermost plugin:

pluginctl info

Output includes:

• Plugin ID, name, and version
• Minimum Mattermost server version required
• Description (if available)
• Server code presence and supported platforms
• Webapp code presence and bundle path
• Settings schema availability

Example output:

Plugin Information:
==================

ID:              com.example.testplugin
Name:            Test Plugin
Version:         1.0.0
Min MM Version:  7.0.0
Description:     A test plugin for demonstrating pluginctl functionality

Code Components:
================
Server Code:     Yes
  Executables:   linux-amd64, darwin-amd64, windows-amd64
Webapp Code:     Yes
  Bundle Path:   webapp/dist/main.js
Settings Schema: Yes

Requirements

• Go 1.24.3 or later
• Valid Mattermost plugin directory with plugin.json manifest file

Development Tools

The project uses the following tools for development and release automation:

• golangci-lint v1.62.2 - Code linting and quality checks
• goreleaser v2.6.2 - Automated releases and cross-platform builds
• gosec v2.22.0 - Security vulnerability scanning

Plugin Directory Structure

pluginctl expects to work with standard Mattermost plugin directories containing a plugin.json file. For more information about Mattermost plugin structure, visit the official documentation.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
PLUGINCTL_PLUGIN_PATH	Default plugin directory path

Contributing

We welcome contributions to pluginctl! Please see the CLAUDE.md file for architecture guidelines and development instructions.

Development Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mattermost/pluginctl.git
   cd pluginctl
   

2. Set up development environment (installs pinned tool versions):

   make dev-setup
   

3. Install dependencies:

   make deps
   

4. Build the project:

   make build
   

5. Test with a sample plugin:

   ./pluginctl info
   

Development Workflow

Use these Make targets for efficient development:

# Quick development build (format, lint, build)
make dev

# Check all changes before committing (lint, security, test)
make check-changes

# Full verification (clean, lint, test, build)
make verify

# Run tests with coverage
make test-coverage

# Build for all platforms
make build-all

Available Make Targets

Development:

• make dev - Quick development build
• make check-changes - Validate changes (lint, security, test)
• make verify - Full build verification
• make fmt - Format code
• make clean - Clean build artifacts

Testing:

• make test - Run tests
• make test-coverage - Run tests with coverage report
• make lint - Run linter
• make lint-fix - Fix linting issues automatically
• make security - Run security scan

Building:

• make build - Build for current platform
• make build-all - Build for all platforms
• make install - Install to GOPATH/bin

Release:

• make release - Create production release
• make snapshot - Create snapshot release

Utilities:

• make help - Show all available targets
• make version - Show version information
• make dev-setup - Install development tools

Adding New Commands

1. Create a new command file (e.g., build.go)
2. Implement the command following the patterns in info.go
3. Register the command in cmd/pluginctl/main.go
4. Update the help text and documentation

See CLAUDE.md for detailed architecture guidelines.

Code Style

• Follow Go best practices and conventions
• Use the official Mattermost model types from github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/public/model
• Maintain separation between CLI framework and command implementation
• Include comprehensive error handling with descriptive messages

Testing

Test your changes with various plugin configurations:

# Run all tests
make test

# Run tests with coverage
make test-coverage

# Test CLI functionality
./pluginctl info

# Test with command-line flag
./pluginctl --plugin-path /path/to/plugin info

# Test with environment variable
export PLUGINCTL_PLUGIN_PATH=/path/to/plugin
./pluginctl info

# Validate all changes before committing
make check-changes

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Related Projects

• Mattermost Plugin Developer Documentation
• Mattermost Plugin Starter Template
• Mattermost Server

Support

For questions, issues, or feature requests, please:

1. Check the issues page
2. Create a new issue if your problem isn't already reported
3. Join the Mattermost Community for general discussion