[Feature Request] Simpler way to install plugins

[willhbr]

It would be nice if MarkEdit had a simpler way of installing plugins that didn't involve manually copying JavaScript files into a particular folder.

Currently to install MarkEdit-preview (for example) I would clone the repo, open MarkEdit, open the extensions folder via the menu, copy the cloned files from dist/ into that folder, then restart MarkEdit.

This could be a plugin registry (like Obsidian) which would be the most convenient for users, but I think there are a few ways of doing this that are still very convenient but don't rely on running an external service.

My ideas:

Install via zip files

Similar to Blender plugins, MarkEdit could offer a menu to load a zip file and handle unpacking it into the right location automatically. The user would just have to select the file and restart MarkEdit.

Install via Git repo URL

MarkEdit could take a Git repo URL, clone it, and copy the dist/ folder across automatically. This relies on the repo being in a specific format.

Install via GitHub release artefacts

Instead of cloning the repo, take the URL, find the latest release, and download a packaged zip to the right location. This would work in tandem with an option to manually install from a zip archive.

This could support updating plugins if new releases were made available.

It would probably be useful to have a standard GH action template to build a project into a zip file in the way MarkEdit expects.

[cyanzhong]

Thank you for the feedback. This is a valid concern and something I considered carefully.

The main reason I did not move it forward is that we do not currently have a clear specification for what an extension actually is. At the moment, an extension is essentially just a JavaScript file, and the same outcomes can be achieved through various mechanisms, including shell scripts.

Given that flexibility, I am hesitant to introduce additional UI complexity for something that is ultimately file-based.

More recently, I have been exploring whether certain experiences could be handled through AI agents instead. I shared an early example of this idea as a SKILL here: https://github.com/MarkEdit-app/MarkEdit-skill

That said, the discussion around UI-driven workflows versus AI-assisted approaches is still quite open and somewhat controversial.

[willhbr]

Ah yes, you would need a little more structure for the plugins (at least a metadata file with a name+version).

I'm not sure I follow with how this would be replaced with AI, are you imagining that instead of downloading the code to a specific folder yourself, you'd simply ask an AI to do that for you? Or are you thinking that AI would just write a plugin on the fly?

I still think there's benefit to defining more structure, as that could have the added benefit of giving a bit more control over what an AI does.

[cyanzhong]

The agent skill provides capability to install an extension via name (if it's under MarkEdit-app) or url.

I will keep this open for now, as I don't have a concrete plan for this:

structure for the plugins (at least a metadata file with a name+version)

[lamchau]

For those who want an interim solution, I ended up writing a python3 helper script until we have a long-term idea of what that might be. Since this is under design consideration as a design and mostly a quality-of-life for myself, felt it didn't warrant a PR. However, ergonomically would be useful for users today.

It's curses based (no dependencies), installs and has discoverability based on the current structure within "MarkEdit-app" organization/project.

PS: @cyanzhong Awesome work btw - love this project! Also just noticed we're colleagues 👋

[cyanzhong]

Nice work!