Create your own pantograph plugin

cd ~/new/folder/

pantograph new_plugin [plugin_name]
  • pantograph creates the directory structure that's needed to be a valid Ruby gem
  • Edit the lib/pantograph/plugin/[plugin_name]/actions/[plugin_name].rb and implement your action
  • Easily test the plugin locally by running pantograph add_plugin in your project's directory and specifying the local path when asked for it

New plugin for existing gem

If you already have an existing gem you want to provide a pantograph plugin for, you'll still have to create a new Ruby gem. The reason for that is the way plugins are imported.

All you have to do if you have an existing gem:

  • Navigate to your gem
  • pantograph new_plugin [plugin_name]
  • Inside the newly created folder, edit the pantograph-plugin-[plugin_name].gemspec and add your gem as a dependency. It is recommended to also specify a version number requirement

Publishing your plugin

RubyGems

The recommended way to publish your plugin is to publish it on RubyGems.org. Follow the steps below to publish your plugin.

  1. Create an account at RubyGems.org
  2. Publish your plugin to a GitHub repo
  3. Update the pantograph-plugin-[plugin_name].gemspec file so that the spec.homepage points to your github repo.
  4. Publish the first release of your plugin:
bundle install
rake install
rake release

Now all your users can run pantograph add_plugin [plugin_name] to install and use your plugin.

GitHub

If for some reason you don't want to use RubyGems, you can also make your plugin available on GitHub. Your users then need to add the following to the Pluginfile

gem 'pantograph-plugin-[plugin_name]', git: 'https://github.com/[user]/[plugin_name]'

Advanced

Multiple actions in one plugin

Let's assume you work on a pantograph plugin for project management software. You could call it pantograph-plugin-pm and it may contain any number of actions and helpers, just add them to your actions folder. Make sure to mention the available actions in your plugin's README.md.