Tabby Plugins

Discover, install, and develop plugins for Tabby terminal.

Installing Plugins

Plugins are installed through the Tabby Settings UI:

1. Open Settings (Ctrl+,)
2. Navigate to Plugins
3. Search for the plugin
4. Click Install

Plugins can also be configured in config.yaml:

plugins:
  - name: "tabby-docker"
    version: "latest"
  - name: "tabby-save-output"
    version: "latest"

Popular Plugins

Connection & Session

Plugin	Description
tabby-docker	Connect to Docker containers
tabby-quick-cmds	Send commands to multiple tabs simultaneously
tabby-save-output	Record terminal output to file
tabby-workspace-manager	Save and restore workspace layouts

Appearance & UI

Plugin	Description
tabby-background	Custom background images
tabby-highlight	Keyword highlighting in terminal output
tabby-title-control	Customize tab titles

Integration

Plugin	Description
tabby-sftp-tab	SFTP file browser tab
tabby-sync-config	Sync config via Gist or Gitee
tabby-search-in-browser	Search selected text in browser
tabby-mcp-server	Model Context Protocol AI integration

Plugin Development

Tabby plugins are npm packages built with Angular and TypeScript.

Plugin Structure

tabby-my-plugin/
├── package.json        # npm manifest with tabby keywords
├── tsconfig.json       # TypeScript configuration
├── webpack.config.js   # Webpack build configuration
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts        # Module entry point
│   ├── components/     # Angular components
│   └── services/       # Angular services
└── README.md

package.json

{
  "name": "tabby-my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My Tabby plugin",
  "keywords": ["tabby-plugin"],
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "webpack --mode production",
    "dev": "webpack --mode development --watch"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "tabby-core": "*",
    "tabby-terminal": "*"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@angular/core": "^17.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "webpack": "^5.0.0"
  }
}

Required: The tabby-plugin keyword is needed for plugin discovery.

Module Entry Point

// src/index.ts
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';

@NgModule({
  imports: [CommonModule],
  declarations: [],
  providers: [],
})
export default class MyPluginModule {
  // Plugin initialization
}

Adding Tab Types

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { TabRecoveryProvider, NewTabParameters } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyTabRecoveryProvider extends TabRecoveryProvider {
  async recover(token: any): Promise<NewTabParameters | null> {
    // Recover tab state after restart
    return null;
  }
}

@NgModule({
  providers: [
    { provide: TabRecoveryProvider, useClass: MyTabRecoveryProvider, multi: true },
  ],
})
export default class MyPluginModule {}

Adding Settings

import { ConfigProvider, Platform } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyConfigProvider extends ConfigProvider {
  defaults = {
    myPlugin: {
      enabled: true,
      option1: 'default',
    },
  };

  platformDefaults = {
    [Platform.Windows]: {},
    [Platform.macOS]: {},
    [Platform.Linux]: {},
  };
}

Adding Terminal Decorators

import { TerminalDecorator, BaseTerminalTabComponent } from 'tabby-terminal';

@Injectable()
export class MyTerminalDecorator extends TerminalDecorator {
  attach(tab: BaseTerminalTabComponent): void {
    // Subscribe to terminal events
    tab.sessionChanged$.subscribe(() => {
      // React to session changes
    });

    tab.output$.subscribe(data => {
      // Process terminal output
    });
  }

  detach(tab: BaseTerminalTabComponent): void {
    // Cleanup
  }
}

Adding Hotkeys

import { HotkeyProvider, HotkeyDescription } from 'tabby-core';

@Injectable()
export class MyHotkeyProvider extends HotkeyProvider {
  hotkeys: HotkeyDescription[] = [
    {
      id: 'my-plugin:action',
      name: 'My Plugin Action',
    },
  ];
}

Plugin API Core Concepts

Concept	Description
TabRecoveryProvider	Restore tab state after restart
ConfigProvider	Define default configuration
TerminalDecorator	Hook into terminal events
HotkeyProvider	Register custom hotkeys
ToolbarButtonProvider	Add toolbar buttons
ProfileProvider	Add new profile types
SettingsTabProvider	Add settings UI sections

Local Development

1. Clone the Tabby repository
2. Create your plugin in a separate directory
3. Link it: npm link in plugin dir, npm link tabby-my-plugin in Tabby
4. Build: npm run build or npm run dev for watch mode
5. Restart Tabby to load changes

Publishing

1. Ensure tabby-plugin keyword in package.json
2. Build: npm run build
3. Publish to npm: npm publish
4. Plugin appears in Tabby Settings > Plugins search

Plugin API Documentation

Full API reference: https://docs.tabby.sh/

Best Practices

1. Use peerDependencies for tabby-core and tabby-terminal
2. Handle errors gracefully - Don't crash the terminal
3. Clean up on unload - Unsubscribe from observables
4. Test across platforms - Windows, macOS, Linux
5. Support configuration - Use ConfigProvider for user settings
6. Follow Angular patterns - Dependency injection, modules, services