Building Logseq Plugins

When to Use This Skill

This skill auto-invokes when:

User wants to create a Logseq plugin
Questions about the Logseq Plugin API
Working with logseq.Editor, logseq.DB, logseq.App namespaces
Slash command registration
Plugin settings schema definition
DB vs MD version compatibility for plugins
User mentions "logseq plugin", "logseq extension", "@logseq/libs"

You are an expert in Logseq plugin development, with special focus on DB-version compatibility.

Plugin Architecture Overview

Logseq plugins run in sandboxed iframes and communicate with the main app via the Plugin API.

Plugin Structure

my-logseq-plugin/
├── package.json          # Plugin manifest
├── index.html            # Entry point
├── index.js              # Main logic (or TypeScript)
├── icon.png              # Plugin icon (optional)
└── README.md             # Documentation

package.json Manifest

{
  "name": "logseq-my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.html",
  "logseq": {
    "id": "my-plugin-id",
    "title": "My Plugin",
    "icon": "./icon.png",
    "description": "Plugin description"
  }
}

Plugin API Basics

Initialization

import '@logseq/libs'

async function main() {
  console.log('Plugin loaded')

  // Register commands, settings, etc.
  logseq.Editor.registerSlashCommand('My Command', async () => {
    // Command logic
  })
}

logseq.ready(main).catch(console.error)

Key API Namespaces

Namespace	Purpose
`logseq.Editor`	Block/page manipulation
`logseq.DB`	Database queries
`logseq.App`	App-level operations
`logseq.UI`	UI components
`logseq.Settings`	Plugin settings

DB-Version Specific APIs

Working with Properties

// Get block with properties (DB version)
const block = await logseq.Editor.getBlock(blockUuid, {
  includeChildren: true
})

// Properties are structured differently in DB version
// Access via block.properties object
const author = block.properties?.author

// Set property value
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(blockUuid, 'author', 'John Doe')

Working with Classes/Tags

// Get blocks with a specific tag/class
const books = await logseq.DB.datascriptQuery(`
  [:find (pull ?b [*])
   :where
   [?b :block/tags ?t]
   [?t :block/title "Book"]]
`)

// Add tag to block
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(blockUuid, 'tags', ['Book', 'Fiction'])

Enhanced Block Properties APIs (2024+)

// New APIs for DB version
await logseq.Editor.getBlockProperties(blockUuid)
await logseq.Editor.setBlockProperties(blockUuid, {
  author: 'Jane Doe',
  rating: 5,
  published: '2024-01-15'
})

Datalog Queries in Plugins

Basic Query

const results = await logseq.DB.datascriptQuery(`
  [:find ?title
   :where
   [?p :block/title ?title]
   [?p :block/tags ?t]
   [?t :db/ident :logseq.class/Page]]
`)

Query with Parameters

const results = await logseq.DB.datascriptQuery(`
  [:find (pull ?b [*])
   :in $ ?tag-name
   :where
   [?b :block/tags ?t]
   [?t :block/title ?tag-name]]
`, ['Book'])

DB vs MD Query Differences

// MD version - file-based queries
const mdQuery = `
  [:find ?content
   :where
   [?b :block/content ?content]
   [?b :block/page ?p]
   [?p :block/name "my-page"]]
`

// DB version - entity-based queries
const dbQuery = `
  [:find ?title
   :where
   [?b :block/title ?title]
   [?b :block/tags ?t]
   [?t :block/title "My Tag"]]
`

UI Components

Slash Commands

logseq.Editor.registerSlashCommand('Insert Book Template', async () => {
  await logseq.Editor.insertAtEditingCursor(`
- [[New Book]] #Book
  author::
  rating::
  status:: To Read
`)
})

Block Context Menu

logseq.Editor.registerBlockContextMenuItem('Convert to Task', async (e) => {
  const block = await logseq.Editor.getBlock(e.uuid)
  await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(e.uuid, 'tags', ['Task'])
  await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(e.uuid, 'status', 'Todo')
})

Settings Schema

logseq.useSettingsSchema([
  {
    key: 'apiKey',
    type: 'string',
    title: 'API Key',
    description: 'Your API key for the service',
    default: ''
  },
  {
    key: 'enableFeature',
    type: 'boolean',
    title: 'Enable Feature',
    default: true
  },
  {
    key: 'theme',
    type: 'enum',
    title: 'Theme',
    enumChoices: ['light', 'dark', 'auto'],
    default: 'auto'
  }
])

DB-Version Compatibility Checklist

When building plugins for DB version:

Use :block/title instead of :block/content for page names
Handle structured properties (not just strings)
Support typed property values (numbers, dates, checkboxes)
Use tag-based queries instead of namespace queries
Test with both DB and MD graphs if supporting both
Handle the unified node model (pages ≈ blocks)
Use new block properties APIs when available

Common Patterns

Feature Detection

async function isDBGraph() {
  // Check if current graph is DB-based
  const graph = await logseq.App.getCurrentGraph()
  return graph?.name?.includes('db-') || graph?.type === 'db'
}

async function main() {
  const isDB = await isDBGraph()
  if (isDB) {
    // DB-specific initialization
  } else {
    // MD-specific initialization
  }
}

Property Type Handling

function formatPropertyValue(value, type) {
  switch (type) {
    case 'date':
      return new Date(value).toISOString().split('T')[0]
    case 'number':
      return Number(value)
    case 'checkbox':
      return Boolean(value)
    case 'node':
      return `[[${value}]]`
    default:
      return String(value)
  }
}

Development Workflow

Setup: Clone logseq-plugin-template or start fresh
Develop: Use npm run dev for hot reload
Test: Load unpacked plugin in Logseq
Build: npm run build for production
Publish: Submit to Logseq Marketplace

Loading Development Plugin

Logseq > Settings > Advanced > Developer Mode: ON
Logseq > Plugins > Load unpacked plugin > Select folder

building-logseq-plugins