Tabby Plugins

Discover, install, and develop plugins for Tabby terminal.

Installing Plugins

Plugins are installed through the Tabby Settings UI:

•Open Settings (Ctrl+,)
•Navigate to Plugins
•Search for the plugin
•Click Install

Plugins can also be configured in config.yaml:

yaml

plugins:
  - name: "tabby-docker"
    version: "latest"
  - name: "tabby-save-output"
    version: "latest"

Popular Plugins

Connection & Session

Plugin	Description
tabby-docker	Connect to Docker containers
tabby-quick-cmds	Send commands to multiple tabs simultaneously
tabby-save-output	Record terminal output to file
tabby-workspace-manager	Save and restore workspace layouts

Appearance & UI

Plugin	Description
tabby-background	Custom background images
tabby-highlight	Keyword highlighting in terminal output
tabby-title-control	Customize tab titles

Integration

Plugin	Description
tabby-sftp-tab	SFTP file browser tab
tabby-sync-config	Sync config via Gist or Gitee
tabby-search-in-browser	Search selected text in browser
tabby-mcp-server	Model Context Protocol AI integration

Plugin Development

Tabby plugins are npm packages built with Angular and TypeScript.

Plugin Structure

code

tabby-my-plugin/
├── package.json        # npm manifest with tabby keywords
├── tsconfig.json       # TypeScript configuration
├── webpack.config.js   # Webpack build configuration
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts        # Module entry point
│   ├── components/     # Angular components
│   └── services/       # Angular services
└── README.md

package.json

json

{
  "name": "tabby-my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My Tabby plugin",
  "keywords": ["tabby-plugin"],
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "webpack --mode production",
    "dev": "webpack --mode development --watch"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "tabby-core": "*",
    "tabby-terminal": "*"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@angular/core": "^17.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "webpack": "^5.0.0"
  }
}

Required: The tabby-plugin keyword is needed for plugin discovery.

Module Entry Point

typescript

// src/index.ts
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';

@NgModule({
  imports: [CommonModule],
  declarations: [],
  providers: [],
})
export default class MyPluginModule {
  // Plugin initialization
}

Adding Tab Types

typescript

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { TabRecoveryProvider, NewTabParameters } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyTabRecoveryProvider extends TabRecoveryProvider {
  async recover(token: any): Promise<NewTabParameters | null> {
    // Recover tab state after restart
    return null;
  }
}

@NgModule({
  providers: [
    { provide: TabRecoveryProvider, useClass: MyTabRecoveryProvider, multi: true },
  ],
})
export default class MyPluginModule {}

Adding Settings

typescript

import { ConfigProvider, Platform } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyConfigProvider extends ConfigProvider {
  defaults = {
    myPlugin: {
      enabled: true,
      option1: 'default',
    },
  };

  platformDefaults = {
    [Platform.Windows]: {},
    [Platform.macOS]: {},
    [Platform.Linux]: {},
  };
}

Adding Terminal Decorators

typescript

import { TerminalDecorator, BaseTerminalTabComponent } from 'tabby-terminal';

@Injectable()
export class MyTerminalDecorator extends TerminalDecorator {
  attach(tab: BaseTerminalTabComponent): void {
    // Subscribe to terminal events
    tab.sessionChanged$.subscribe(() => {
      // React to session changes
    });

    tab.output$.subscribe(data => {
      // Process terminal output
    });
  }

  detach(tab: BaseTerminalTabComponent): void {
    // Cleanup
  }
}

Adding Hotkeys

typescript

import { HotkeyProvider, HotkeyDescription } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyHotkeyProvider extends HotkeyProvider {
  hotkeys: HotkeyDescription[] = [
    {
      id: 'my-plugin:action',
      name: 'My Plugin Action',
    },
  ];
}

Plugin API Core Concepts

Concept	Description
`TabRecoveryProvider`	Restore tab state after restart
`ConfigProvider`	Define default configuration
`TerminalDecorator`	Hook into terminal events
`HotkeyProvider`	Register custom hotkeys
`ToolbarButtonProvider`	Add toolbar buttons
`ProfileProvider`	Add new profile types
`SettingsTabProvider`	Add settings UI sections

Local Development

•Clone the Tabby repository
•Create your plugin in a separate directory
•Link it: npm link in plugin dir, npm link tabby-my-plugin in Tabby
•Build: npm run build or npm run dev for watch mode
•Restart Tabby to load changes

Publishing

•Ensure tabby-plugin keyword in package.json
•Build: npm run build
•Publish to npm: npm publish
•Plugin appears in Tabby Settings > Plugins search

Plugin API Documentation

Full API reference: https://docs.tabby.sh/

Best Practices

•Use peerDependencies for tabby-core and tabby-terminal
•Handle errors gracefully - Don't crash the terminal
•Clean up on unload - Unsubscribe from observables
•Test across platforms - Windows, macOS, Linux
•Support configuration - Use ConfigProvider for user settings
•Follow Angular patterns - Dependency injection, modules, services