Getting Started: Building a custom plagin for OJS

This tutorial will walk you through the process of creating a generic plugin called the “Tutorial Example Plugin.” This plugin will be made for OJS, but the same steps can be used to make an OMP or OPS plugin.

Create a directory for the plugin at plugins/generic/tutorialExample and create the following files in that directory. The directory name must be letters and numbers. No spaces, -, or _ characters are allowed. Below is the directory structure.

ojs
│
├─┬ plugins
│ │
│ └─┬ generic
│   │
│   └─┬ tutorialExample
│     ├── TutorialExamplePlugin.php
│     └── version.xml

TutorialExamplePlugin.php

A class that registers and runs the plugin is required for each plugin. The file and class name must match the directory name, capitalize the first letter, and add the phrase Plugin at the end. So the directory tutorialExample would require a class named TutorialExamplePlugin in a file named TutorialExamplePlugin.php.

<?php
namespace APP\plugins\generic\tutorialExample;

use PKP\plugins\GenericPlugin;

class TutorialExamplePlugin extends GenericPlugin
{
    public function register($category, $path, $mainContextId = NULL)
    {
        // Register the plugin even when it is not enabled
        $success = parent::register($category, $path);

        if ($success && $this->getEnabled()) {
            // Do something when the plugin is enabled
        }

        return $success;
    }

    /**
     * Provide a name for this plugin
     *
     * The name will appear in the Plugin Gallery where editors can
     * install, enable and disable plugins.
     */
    public function getDisplayName()
    {
        return 'Tutorial Example';
    }

    /**
     * Provide a description for this plugin
     *
     * The description will appear in the Plugin Gallery where editors can
     * install, enable and disable plugins.
     */
    public function getDescription()
    {
        return 'This plugin is an example created for a tutorial on how to create a plugin.';
    }
}

version.xml

The version.xml provides information required to load the plugin. The<application> must match the directory name. The <type> must be the plugin’s category. Go to Settings > Website > Plugins and try to enable and disable your plugin.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE version SYSTEM "../../../lib/pkp/dtd/pluginVersion.dtd">
<version>
    <application>tutorialExample</application>
    <type>plugins.generic</type>
    <release>1.0.0.0</release>
    <date>2023-05-15</date>
</version>

Working example available on GitHub : https://github.com/geoamins/ojs_tools/blob/main/tutorialExample-main.zip

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