HomeAgent/assets/docs/en/PLUGIN_DEV.md

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HomeAgent Plugin Development Guide

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Overview

All external interaction capabilities of HomeAgent comes from plugins. Plugins interact with the kernel through PluginSDK (Go API).

SDK Repository: Plugin development tools, template code, and example plugins are hosted in the homeagent-sdk repository.

git clone https://gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/homeagent-sdk.git
cd homeagent-sdk

Each plugin implements a three-method interface:

type Plugin interface {
    Name() string
    Start(sdk *PluginSDK) error
    Stop() error
}

Three Development Methods

Method	Use Case	Complexity
Dynamic .so/.dll plugin (recommended)	Independently distributed third-party plugins	Medium, generated using plugindev toolchain
Built-in plugin	Released with HomeAgent	Simple, requires merging into main repo
Lua script plugin	Lightweight rapid prototyping	Simple, generated using plugindev init --lua

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1. Quick Start: Using the plugindev Toolchain

plugindev is the unified plugin development toolchain provided in the SDK repository, supporting both Go and Lua plugin types.

Installation

cd homeagent-sdk/tools/plugindev
go build -o plugindev
# Add plugindev to PATH or use directly

SDK Version Management

plugindev sdk manages local SDK versions:

plugindev sdk list       # list installed SDK versions
plugindev sdk current    # show current SDK version
plugindev sdk latest     # show latest available version
plugindev sdk install v0.7.1  # install a specific version
plugindev sdk use v0.7.1      # switch to a version
plugindev sdk path       # show current SDK path

SDK is stored at ~/.homeagent/plugindev/sdk/<version>/; plugindev init reads the current SDK version for go.mod.

Creating a Go Plugin

plugindev init myplugin
cd myplugin
# Edit plugin code
vim plugin.go
# Build and package
plugindev build
# Output: dist/myplugin_linux_amd64.hmap (or windows_amd64)

Creating a Lua Plugin

plugindev init myluaplugin --lua
cd myluaplugin
# Edit plugin code
vim main.lua
# Local test
lua main.lua
# Build and package
plugindev build
# Output: dist/myluaplugin_lua.hmap

Template Project Structure

Go plugin:

myplugin/
├── plg.json       — Plugin metadata (name, version, entry, target platforms)
├── plugin.go      — Plugin implementation (Plugin interface + NewPlugin export)
├── go.mod         — Go module definition
├── README.md      — Documentation
└── thirdpart/     — Optional external source code directory

C ABI bridge files (z_bridge_gen.go + z_entry.c) are auto-generated at build time.

Lua plugin:

myluaplugin/
├── plg.json       — Plugin metadata (entry: "main.lua", targets: "lua")
├── main.lua       — Plugin implementation (Lua version of Plugin interface)
├── sdk.lua        — SDK mock layer (supports `lua main.lua` standalone testing)
└── README.md      — Documentation

Build & Package

plugindev build automatically handles compilation and packaging:

cd myplugin
plugindev build

Execution process:

1. Reads plg.json targets field to determine target platforms
2. Auto-generates C ABI bridge code (z_bridge_gen.go + z_entry.c)
3. Go plugin: Runs go build -buildmode=c-shared (produces .so / .dylib / .dll)
4. Lua plugin: Packages source code directly, no compilation needed
5. Generates plugin.json output manifest
6. Packages as .hmap distribution (zip format, containing plugin.json + binary)

plg.json (project config) vs plugin.json (output manifest)

File	Purpose	Key fields
plg.json	Project metadata, maintained by developer	targets — build targets (e.g. "linux/amd64,windows/amd64")
plugin.json	Build artifact manifest, auto-generated	entry — entry filename; platforms — declared platforms

Each target produces a separate .hmap; binary name by platform:

Platform	Binary
Linux	plugin.so
macOS	plugin.dylib
Windows	plugin.dll

Multi-platform bundle: --bundle

plugindev build --bundle

Builds linux/amd64 + darwin/amd64 + windows/amd64 in one pass, producing a single .hmap with all platform binaries. The output manifest includes a platforms field. The kernel auto-selects the correct binary during installation.

Output in dist/ directory:

dist/
├── myplugin_linux_amd64.hmap      # Single platform: Linux
├── myplugin_windows_amd64.hmap    # Single platform: Windows
├── myplugin_darwin_amd64.hmap     # Single platform: macOS
├── myplugin_bundle.hmap           # Multi-platform bundle
└── myplugin_lua.hmap              # Lua plugin

Deployment

Install via PluginMgr HTTP API (three methods):

# 1. Install from URL (auto-cleanup)
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9876/plugins \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/myplugin.hmap"}'

# 2. Install from local path (keeps source file)
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9876/plugins \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"path": "/path/to/myplugin.hmap"}'

# 3. Upload binary directly
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9876/plugins \
  --data-binary @dist/myplugin.hmap

Reload plugins via /api/v1/plugins/reload or restart the kernel to activate.

Or upload via WebUI plugin management page.

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2. Go Plugin Development in Detail

Plugin Interface

package main

import "gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/homeagent-sdk/sdk"

type Plugin struct {
    name string
    sdk  *sdk.PluginSDK
}

func (p *Plugin) Name() string { return p.name }

func (p *Plugin) Start(s *sdk.PluginSDK) error {
    p.sdk = s
    // Register config items, tools, stage hooks, etc.
    return nil
}

func (p *Plugin) Stop() error {
    // Clean up resources
    return nil
}

// NewPluginFactory creates plugin instance (called by main.go or Windows bridge)
func NewPluginFactory(name string, config map[string]interface{}) (sdk.Plugin, error) {
    return &Plugin{name: name}, nil
}

Entry Point

plugindev init generates plugin.go with the NewPlugin export function directly, which is the entry point when the kernel loads the plugin:

func NewPlugin(name string, config map[string]interface{}) (sdk.Plugin, error) {
    return &Plugin{name: name}, nil
}

At build time, plugindev build auto-generates C ABI bridge code (z_bridge_gen.go + z_entry.c), shared by both Windows DLL and Linux/macOS .so builds. No manual bridge code needed.

PluginSDK Core API

Tool Registration — Make your capabilities callable by LLM

s.RegisterTool("weather_query", sdk.ToolDef{
    Name:        "weather_query",
    Description: "Query weather for a specified city",
    NoMemory:    false,                            // false=output participates in memory, true=skip
    // Cleaner:  func(output string) string {     // Optional: clean output before vector/jieba/distill
    //     return extractJSON(output, "content")
    // },
    Parameters: map[string]interface{}{
        "type": "object",
        "properties": map[string]interface{}{
            "city": map[string]interface{}{
                "type":        "string",
                "description": "City name, e.g. Beijing",
            },
        },
        "required": []string{"city"},
    },
}, func(args map[string]interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
    city, _ := args["city"].(string)
    return map[string]interface{}{
        "city":    city,
        "temp":    25,
        "weather": "Sunny",
    }, nil
})

NoMemory and Cleaner

NoMemory and Cleaner are optional fields on ToolDef that control how tool output participates in the memory computation layer (vectorization, jieba tokenization, distillation):

• NoMemory (default false): When true, the tool's output is excluded from all memory computation (vector, tokenization, distillation), but the original text is preserved in Context and Document. LLM attention is unaffected. Use cases: cmd_run (unpredictable noise in command output), pure operation tools like file upload/delete.

• Cleaner (optional): A function func(output string) string. When set, the tool output is filtered through this function before participating in vectorization/jieba/distillation. Typical use: stripping SQL prefixes, extracting a content field from JSON. The original output is never modified — Cleaner only affects the computation layer input.

Decision matrix:

Tool output → valuable for LLM attention?
  ├── No  → NoMemory=true (output preserved, skipped in computation)
  └── Yes → Contains cleanable noise?
       ├── Yes → Cleaner filters before computation
       └── No  → Normal memory, no extra handling

Note

: Cleaner is a Go func type (json:"-"), cannot cross C ABI boundaries. Not available for Lua plugins or remote plugins.

Stage Hooks — Intervene in message processing flow

7 stages:

Stage	Timing	Purpose
on_input	Message just arrived at Agent	Blacklist, rate-limit, short-circuit
pre_action	About to call LLM	Inject context
post_action	LLM returned results	Modify output/tool list
before_toolcall	Before tool execution	Audit, reject, modify params
after_toolcall	After tool execution	Desensitize, rewrite results
before_output	Before output	Format adaptation, leak cleanup
after_output	After output	Statistics/logging

// Global: receive all stage events
s.RegisterStage(sdk.StagePreAction, func(ctx *sdk.StageContext) error {
	ctx.Lock()
	ctx.ContextMsgs = append(ctx.ContextMsgs, map[string]interface{}{
		"role":    "system",
		"content": "Injected context content",
	})
	ctx.Unlock()
	return nil
})

// Own tools only: only before_toolcall/after_toolcall for this plugin's tools
s.RegisterStage(sdk.StageBeforeToolcall, myHandler, sdk.StageScopeOwnTools)

Configuration Management

// Register config definition
s.Settings().RegisterDef(sdk.ConfigDef{
    Key:         "plugin.myplugin.api_key",
    Default:     "",
    Type:        "string",
    DisplayName: "API Key",
    Description: "API key",
    Category:    "myplugin",
})

// Read/write config
val, err := s.Settings().Get("api_key")
s.Settings().Set("api_key", "new-value")

// Read core config
s.Settings().GetCore("llm.model")

// Read other plugin's config
s.Settings().GetPlugin("other_plugin", "some_key")

Input Delivery

// Normal delivery (processed in order)
s.InjectText(source, channel, text string)

// Interrupt delivery (can interrupt current LLM processing)
s.InjectInterruptText(source, channel, text string)

// No memory recording
s.InjectTextNoMemory(source, channel, text string)

Event Subscription

import "gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/homeagent-sdk/sdk"

unsub := s.Events().Subscribe(sdk.EventToolCall, func(evt *sdk.Event) {
    log.Printf("Tool was called: %v", evt.Payload)
})
defer unsub()

Capability Access

// Graph Memory (entity-relation store)
entities, relations, err := s.Memory().Recall([]string{"keyword"}, 2)

// Document Memory (vector store)
docs := s.DocMemory().Query("query text", 3)

// Knowledge
results, err := s.Knowledge().Search("query", 5)

// LLM source management
s.LLM().ListSources() // returns []string
s.LLM().SetSource("deepseek")

Event Subscription (built-in plugins)

// Subscribe to system events, returns unsubscribe function
unsub := s.Subscribe("tool_call", func(evt *events.Event) {
    log.Printf("Tool was called: %v", evt.Payload)
})
defer unsub()

// Publish event
s.Publish(&events.Event{
    Type:    "custom_event",
    Payload: map[string]interface{}{"key": "value"},
})

IO Channel Management (built-in plugins)

// Register a channel (bind device driver), dev must implement the agentIO.Device interface:
//   Name() string
//   Type() DeviceType
//   Description() string
//   Tools() []ToolDef
//   Execute(tool string, args map[string]interface{}) (interface{}, error)
//   Start() error
//   Stop() error
//   OutputCapabilities() OutputCapability
s.RegisterChannel("mydevice", deviceImpl)

// Unregister a channel
s.UnregisterChannel("mydevice")

// List all channels
channels := s.ListChannels()

Input Delivery (built-in plugins)

// Queued delivery (processed in order)
s.InjectInput(source, channel, eventType string, payload map[string]interface{})

// Synchronous delivery (waits for response)
resp := s.InjectInputSync(source, channel, eventType string, payload map[string]interface{})

// Interrupt delivery (can preempt current LLM processing)
s.InjectInterrupt(source, channel, eventType string, payload map[string]interface{})

// Synchronous text shortcuts
resp := s.InjectTextSync(source, channel, text string)
resp := s.InjectTextSyncNoMemory(source, channel, text string)

// Get output channel
outputCh := s.OutputChan()

Note

: Subscribe, Publish, RegisterChannel, UnregisterChannel, ListChannels, InjectInput, InjectInputSync, InjectInterrupt, InjectTextSync, InjectTextSyncNoMemory, OutputChan are only available in built-in plugins (internal/sdk package). External dynamic plugins should use the public APIs: InjectText, InjectInterruptText, InjectTextNoMemory.

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3. Lua Plugin Development in Detail

Lua plugins are suitable for lightweight rapid prototyping, requiring no Go compilation environment. Changes take effect after kernel restart.

Plugin Structure

-- main.lua
local plugin = {
  name = "myluaplugin"
}

function plugin.start(sdk)
  sdk.log("info", "myluaplugin starting...")

  sdk.register_tool("myluaplugin_hello", {
    description = "A hello world tool",
    parameters = {
      type = "object",
      properties = {}
    }
  }, function(args)
    return { content = "Hello from myluaplugin plugin!" }
  end)

  sdk.log("info", "myluaplugin started")
end

function plugin.stop()
  sdk.log("info", "myluaplugin stopped")
end

return plugin

SDK Mock Layer

sdk.lua provides a pure Lua SDK mock implementation, supporting lua main.lua standalone testing:

lua main.lua
# Output:
# [lua-plugin] info: myluaplugin starting...
# [lua-plugin] register_tool: myluaplugin_hello
# [lua-plugin] info: myluaplugin started

When running inside the kernel, sdk.* global variables are injected by the Go layer, and all functions marked with -- !impl are replaced with real implementations.

Lua SDK API

Function	Description
sdk.log(level, msg)	Log output
sdk.register_tool(name, def, handler)	Register tool
sdk.register_stage(stage, handler)	Register stage hook
sdk.register_api(name)	Register API
sdk.get_setting(key)	Read config
sdk.set_setting(key, value)	Write config
sdk.inject_text(source, channel, text)	Deliver text message
sdk.inject_interrupt(source, channel, text)	Interrupt delivery
sdk.json.encode(val)	JSON encode
sdk.json.decode(str)	JSON decode
sdk.http.get(url)	HTTP GET request (-- !impl)
sdk.http.post(url, body, content_type)	HTTP POST request (-- !impl)

Note

: Lua plugin's sdk.register_stage callback currently only receives raw_message, user_id, phase fields. The functionality is limited. For complex stage handling logic, use Go plugins.

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4. Built-in Plugins

Built-in plugins use init() self-registration, compiled into the kernel, no separate deployment needed.

Directory Structure

internal/plugins/yourplugin/
    plugin.go       — Plugin main file

Minimal Plugin Example

package yourplugin

import (
    "gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/HomeAgent/internal/plugin"
    sdk "gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/HomeAgent/internal/sdk"
)

func init() {
    plugin.RegisterFactory("yourplugin", func(name string, config map[string]interface{}) (sdk.Plugin, error) {
        return New(name), nil
    })
}

type Plugin struct {
    name string
}

func New(name string) *Plugin {
    return &Plugin{name: name}
}

func (p *Plugin) Name() string { return p.name }

func (p *Plugin) Start(s *sdk.PluginSDK) error {
    // Initialize plugin here: start goroutines, register tools, subscribe events, etc.
    return nil
}

func (p *Plugin) Stop() error {
    // Clean up resources
    return nil
}

Register with Kernel

Add blank import in internal/plugins/all.go:

package plugins

import (
    _ "gitcode.com/JianFeeeee/HomeAgent/internal/plugins/yourplugin"
    // ... other plugins
)

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5. Best Practices

1. Start() is non-blocking — start long tasks in goroutines, don't block Start
2. Stop() cleans up resources — close connections, stop goroutines, cancel subscriptions
3. Unique tool names — use plugin name prefix to avoid conflicts
4. When handler returns error, LLM will receive it and may retry
5. Use InjectInterruptText for interrupts, InjectText for normal delivery
6. Use Settings().Get/Set for config, don't hardcode
7. External Go plugins compile independently, not tied to kernel version; only built-in plugins need recompilation with kernel

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6. Example Plugin Reference

SDK Repository Examples (homeagent-sdk/example/)

Example	Type	Features
memo	Go	Memo management, PreAction injection + timed interrupt dual reminder
files	Go	File system operations, 4 write modes, sandbox isolation
browser	Go	Web search + HTTP fetch (SSRF) + Chromium render (merged from web/webfetch)
bili	Go	Bilibili video download (yt-dlp)
qq	Go	NapCat OneBot integration, 17 tools
editdoc	Go	Office document editing and format conversion
a2a	Go	Agent-to-Agent protocol
ocr	Go	Offline text recognition (Tesseract)
sanitizer	Go	Output sanitizer filter

Built-in Plugins

Plugin	Location	Features
Timer	internal/plugins/timer/	Simplest complete example, registers one tool + interrupt feedback
CLI	internal/plugins/cli/	Unix socket listener + synchronous request-response
WebUI	internal/plugins/webui/	HTTP service + dependency injection

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Want to understand the project goals? See OVERVIEW.md. Want to understand the architecture? See ARCHITECTURE.md. SDK repository and development tools? See homeagent-sdk.