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Getting Started with Movian Plugins

This guide will help you create your first Movian plugin and understand the basics of plugin development.

Prerequisites

Before you start developing plugins, make sure you have:

  • Movian installed on your system
  • Basic knowledge of JavaScript
  • A text editor or IDE
  • Understanding of JSON format

Plugin Basics

A Movian plugin is a JavaScript application that extends Movian's functionality. Plugins can:

  • Add new content sources
  • Provide search capabilities
  • Create custom UI pages
  • Integrate with external services
  • Add settings and configuration options

Your First Plugin

1. Create Plugin Directory

Create a new directory for your plugin:

my-first-plugin/
├── plugin.json
└── main.js

2. Create plugin.json

The plugin.json file is the manifest that describes your plugin:

{
  "id": "com.example.myfirstplugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "apiversion": 2,
  "title": "My First Plugin",
  "synopsis": "A simple example plugin",
  "description": "This is my first Movian plugin",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "homepage": "https://example.com",
  "type": "javascript",
  "file": "main.js"
}

Note: The "apiversion": 2 field is required for using modern API v2 modules.

3. Create main.js

The main JavaScript file contains your plugin logic:

// Import required modules
var service = require('movian/service');
var page = require('movian/page');

// Create service (adds to main menu)
// Note: Plugin is a global object, no need to require it
service.create("My First Plugin", "myfirstplugin:start", "video", true, 
  Plugin.path + "icon.png");

// Route handler
new page.Route("myfirstplugin:start", function(page) {
  page.type = "directory";
  page.contents = "items";
  page.metadata.title = "My First Plugin";

  page.appendItem("", "separator", {
    title: "Welcome to My First Plugin!"
  });

  page.appendItem("", "label", {
    title: "This is a simple example plugin"
  });

  page.loading = false;
});

4. Install Your Plugin

  1. Copy your plugin directory to Movian's plugin folder:
  2. Linux: ~/.hts/movian/plugins/
  3. Windows: %APPDATA%\Movian\plugins\

  4. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Movian/plugins/

  5. Restart Movian

  6. Your plugin should appear in the plugins list

Next Steps

Now that you've created your first plugin, explore these topics:

Common Tasks

Adding a Settings Page

var settings = require('movian/settings');

// Note: Plugin is a global object
var mySettings = new settings.globalSettings("My Plugin Settings", 
  Plugin.path + "icon.png", "My Plugin Configuration");

mySettings.createString("apikey", "API Key", "", function(v) {
  // Handle setting change
});

Making HTTP Requests

var http = require('movian/http');

var response = http.request("https://api.example.com/data", {
  method: "GET",
  headers: {
    "User-Agent": "Movian Plugin"
  }
});

var data = JSON.parse(response.toString());

Creating Pages

var page = require('movian/page');

new page.Route("myplugin:page:(.*)", function(page, id) {
  page.type = "directory";
  page.metadata.title = "Page " + id;

  // Add content to page
  page.appendItem("myplugin:item:" + id, "video", {
    title: "Video Item",
    icon: "http://example.com/icon.png"
  });

  page.loading = false;
});

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Appearing

  • Check that plugin.json is valid JSON
  • Verify the plugin ID is unique
  • Check Movian logs for errors

JavaScript Errors

  • Use console.log() for debugging
  • Check the Movian log file
  • Verify all required fields in plugin.json

API Not Working

  • Ensure you're using the correct API methods
  • Check API documentation for parameter requirements
  • Verify network connectivity for HTTP requests

Resources

See Also