ReferencesDesktop PluginsOverview

Desktop Plugins

Biosimulant Desktop supports a plugin system that lets developers extend the desktop app with new capabilities. Plugins are standalone packages distributed through the Biosimulant plugin registry (or installed locally) and have zero compile-time coupling with the desktop app.

Plugins can:

  • Add sidebar items and full-page views to the desktop app
  • Contribute panels to the lab detail sidebar
  • Provide agent or tool capabilities via a JSON-RPC sidecar process
  • Declare permissions and request user approval at runtime

Plugins are runtime-installable packages. The desktop app discovers and renders plugin UI contributions dynamically based on the plugin’s kind. It never imports plugin-specific code at build time.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Biosimulant Desktop (Tauri)                     │
│                                                 │
│  ┌───────────┐    JSON-RPC     ┌─────────────┐  │
│  │ Plugin    │◄───(stdio)────►│ Plugin      │  │
│  │ Host      │                │ Process     │  │
│  │ (Rust)    │                │ (your code) │  │
│  └───────────┘                └─────────────┘  │
│       │                                         │
│       ▼                                         │
│  ┌───────────┐                                  │
│  │ React UI  │  Renders generic views based     │
│  │ (dynamic) │  on plugin kind + contributions  │
│  └───────────┘                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The desktop app manages plugin lifecycles: installation, permissions, process spawning, and UI rendering. Your plugin is a standalone process that communicates with the host over stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC 2.0.

Plugin Kinds

KindDescriptionUI Support
agent_providerAI agent that can run sessions, send turns, and handle approvalsFull-page view, lab sidepanel, sidebar icon
tool_providerUtility tool that provides capabilities via JSON-RPC methodsSettings section, sidebar icon (if contributed)

Quick Links

Workflow Summary

  1. Create a plugin.json manifest and your entrypoint script
  2. Implement the JSON-RPC protocol (at minimum plugin/health and plugin/shutdown)
  3. Package into a .bsiplugin archive using the build script
  4. Install locally in the desktop app for testing, or upload to the registry for distribution
  5. Users discover your plugin in the marketplace and install it
Raw CommandsPlugin Manifest