AI Plugin Development Quick Start

AI plugin development is an AI-assisted plugin development capability provided by NocoBase -- you can describe your requirements in natural language, and AI will automatically generate complete frontend and backend code, including collections, APIs, frontend blocks, permissions, and i18n. It offers a more modern and efficient plugin development experience.

The AI plugin development capability is powered by the nocobase-plugin-development Skill. If you have already initialized via the NocoBase CLI (nb init), this Skill is automatically installed.

Quick Start

If you have already installed the NocoBase CLI, you can skip this step.

One-Click AI Installation

Copy the following prompt to your AI assistant (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Trae, etc.) to automatically complete the installation and configuration:

Help me install NocoBase CLI: https://docs.nocobase.com/en/ai/ai-quick-start.md

Manual Installation

npm install -g @nocobase/cli@beta
mkdir my-nocobase && cd my-nocobase
nb init --ui

Your browser will automatically open the visual configuration page, guiding you through installing NocoBase Skills, configuring the database, and starting the application. For detailed steps, refer to the Quick Start.

Note
  • NocoBase is migrating from client (v1) to client-v2, and client-v2 is still under development. The client code generated by AI development is based on client-v2 and can only be used under the /v2/ path. It is available for early access and experimentation, but is not recommended for production use.
  • AI-generated code may not be 100% correct. We recommend reviewing it before enabling. If you encounter issues at runtime, send the error message to AI and let it investigate and fix -- it usually takes just a few rounds of conversation to resolve.
  • We recommend using GPT or Claude series models for development, as they produce the best results. Other models can also work, but generation quality may vary.

From One Sentence to a Complete Plugin

After installation, you can directly tell AI in natural language what plugin you want to develop. Here are a few real-world scenarios to give you a feel for the capabilities of AI plugin development.

Build a Watermark Plugin with One Sentence

With a single prompt, AI can help you generate a complete watermark plugin -- including frontend rendering logic, tamper detection, backend settings storage API, and a plugin settings page.

Help me use nocobase-plugin-development skill to develop a NocoBase watermark plugin.
Requirements: overlay a semi-transparent watermark on the page showing the currently logged-in username to prevent data leaks via screenshots.
Periodically check if the watermark DOM has been removed and regenerate it if so.
Support configuring watermark text, opacity, and font size in the plugin settings page.
The plugin name is @my-project/plugin-watermark

Throughout the process, you only need to describe your requirements and make decisions -- AI handles the rest. Want to see the full process? -> Tutorial: Building a Watermark Plugin

Build a Custom Field Component with One Sentence

Want to display an integer field as star ratings? Tell AI the display effect you want, and it will generate a custom FieldModel to replace the default field rendering component.

Help me use nocobase-plugin-development skill to develop a NocoBase plugin called @my-scope/plugin-rating.
Create a custom field display component (FieldModel) that renders integer type fields as star icons,
supporting 1-5 ratings. Clicking a star should directly modify the rating value and save it to the database.

Rating component display effect

To learn more about available capabilities, see Supported Capabilities.

What AI Can Do for You

I want to...AI can help you
Create a new pluginGenerate a complete scaffold, including frontend and backend directory structure
Define collectionsGenerate Collection definitions, supporting all field types and relationships
Build a custom blockGenerate BlockModel + settings panel + register it in the "Add Block" menu
Build a custom fieldGenerate FieldModel + bind it to a field interface
Add a custom action buttonGenerate ActionModel + popup/drawer/confirmation dialog
Build a plugin settings pageGenerate frontend form + backend API + storage
Write a custom APIGenerate Resource Action + route registration + ACL configuration
Configure permissionsGenerate ACL rules to control access by role
Support multiple languagesAutomatically generate Chinese and English language packs
Write a migration scriptGenerate Migration, supporting DDL and data migration

Detailed descriptions and sample prompts for each capability -> Supported Capabilities