Plugin Tutorial Examples

Previous chapters introduced various capabilities including Plugin, Router, Component, Context, FlowEngine, etc. This chapter ties them together -- through several complete tutorial examples, demonstrating the entire process of building a plugin from creation to completion.

Each example corresponds to a runnable example plugin that you can view the source code of or run locally.

Example List

ExampleCapabilities InvolvedDifficulty
Building a Plugin Settings PagePlugin + Router + Component + Context + ServerBeginner
Building a Custom Display BlockPlugin + FlowEngine (BlockModel)Beginner
Building a Custom Field ComponentPlugin + FlowEngine (FieldModel)Beginner
Building a Custom Action ButtonPlugin + FlowEngine (ActionModel)Beginner
Building a Full-Stack Data Management PluginPlugin + FlowEngine (TableBlockModel + FieldModel + ActionModel) + ServerIntermediate

It's recommended to read them in order. The first example uses React components + a simple server API without involving FlowEngine; the middle three demonstrate FlowEngine's block, field, and action base classes respectively; the last one ties together the blocks, fields, and actions learned earlier, adds a server-side data table, and forms a complete full-stack plugin. If you're not sure whether to use React components or FlowModel, check Component vs FlowModel first.