Plugins | Solace Agent Mesh

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# Plugins

## Plugins​

Plugins provide a mechanism to extend the functionality of Solace Agent Mesh in a modular, shareable, and reusable way. The current plugin ecosystem includes agents, gateways, and specialized integrations.

In one sentence

Plugins are modular Python packages that extend SAM's capabilities through agents, gateways, and specialized integrations.

Plugins are packaged as Python modules that can be installed using various package managers (`pip`, `uv`, `poetry`, `conda`). They integrate seamlessly with the A2A protocol and can provide:

- Agent Plugins: Specialized agents with domain-specific capabilities
- Gateway Plugins: New interface types for external system integration
- Custom Plugins: Custom integrations such as HR providers.

All plugin interactions (create, build, add) are managed through the SAM CLI.

info

Run `sam plugin --help` to see the list of available commands for plugins.

### Official Core Plugins​

Solace Agent Mesh comes with a set of official core plugins that can be used to extend the functionality of the system. You can find the repository of the official core plugins here 🔗.

For more information about how to use the official core plugins, see Use Plugins.

## Create a Plugin​

To get started, install the SAM CLI and run the following command:

    solace-agent-mesh plugin create <plugin-name>

Follow the prompts to create a new plugin. A plugin can be one of the following types:

- Agent Plugin: Contains custom agents that can be used in a Solace Agent Mesh project.
- Gateway Plugin: Contains custom gateways that can be used in a Solace Agent Mesh project.
- Custom Plugin: Contains custom integrations such as HR providers or other specialized functionality.

The Solace Agent Mesh (SAM) CLI creates a directory with the provided name and the following structure:

    plugin-name/
    ├─ config.yaml
    ├─ src/
    │  ├─ __init__.py
    │  ├─ [...Other type specific python files]
    ├─ .gitignore
    ├─ pyproject.toml
    ├─ README.md

- The `src` directory contains the python source code.
- The `config.yaml` file holds the configuration for the plugin, and how to be used in a SAM application.

Once the plugin is created, you can start customizing the config.yaml or the python files.

### Build the Plugin​

Building the plugin creates a Python wheel package that can be installed using `pip` or other package managers.

Python `build` package must be installed already since `sam plugin build` command uses `build` package, if not, run `pip install build`.

To build the plugin, run the following SAM CLI command:

    solace-agent-mesh plugin build

The plugin uses the standard `pyproject.toml` file to build the package.

### Share the Plugin​

To share the plugin, you can upload the wheel package to a package repository or share the wheel package directly, or any other valid way to share a `pyproject` project.

## Use a Plugin​

To use a plugin in your project, use the `plugin add` command, which performs two steps under-the-hood:

- Locates the plugin or installs the plugin package using a Python package manager (like `pip` or `uv`)
- Creates a component instance based on the plugin

    solace-agent-mesh plugin add <COMPONENT_NAME> --plugin <PLUGIN_NAME>

where:

`<COMPONENT_NAME>` is the name you choose for the component instance in your project.

`<PLUGIN_NAME>`, you can use:

- Name of the plugin as published to a package manager like `pypi`, for example `my-plugin`
- Name of the plugin that has been already installed into your Python environment.
- A local path to the plugin directory, for example `./my-plugin`
- A path to a wheel package, for example `./my-plugin/dist/my_plugin-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl`
- A URL to a git repository, for example `git+https://github.com/<USERNAME>/<REPOSITORY>`
  - If the plugin is in a subdirectory of the repository, you can specify the subdirectory using the `git+https://github.com/<USERNAME>/<REPOSITORY>#subdirectory=<PLUGIN_NAME>` syntax.

The CLI handles both steps automatically, or you can manage the plugin installation yourself using your preferred Python package manager.

tip

You can also customize the python package manager command used to install the plugin by setting the `SAM_PLUGIN_INSTALL_COMMAND` environment variable or passing the `--install-command` option to the `plugin add` command. For example, to use `uv` as the package manager, you can run:

    export SAM_PLUGIN_INSTALL_COMMAND="uv pip install {package}"

or

    solace-agent-mesh plugin add <COMPONENT_NAME> --plugin <PLUGIN_NAME> --install-command "uv pip install {package}"

This command adds the plugin instance configuration to your `configs` directory.

Depending on the plugin, you may need to update the newly added plugin configuration file. Follow the instructions provided by the plugin author for any specific configurations.

## Plugin Catalog Dashboard​

You can manage available plugins with the `plugin catalog` command, which launches a user-friendly interface.

    solace-agent-mesh plugin catalog