Get Existing Plugins

This tutorial will walk through acquiring existing plugins from the Rxn Rover Plugin Catalog and installing the plugins so they are discoverable by Rxn Rover.

Note

For information on creating your own plugin, see Creating a New Plugin.

Where can I acquire plugins?

A list of existing first- and third-party plugins exists in the Rxn Rover Plugin Catalog. Browse the listings or use the search feature to find your desired plugins, and follow the acquisition instructions included with each plugin listing to download it.

Installing Plugins

You can install plugins for Rxn Rover in two main ways:

Install via VIPM (Recommended)

If the plugin(s) you are trying to install provides a .vip file, the easiest way to install plugin(s) is through the VI Package Manager (VIPM).

Download and install the .vip package as described in the plugin’s instructions. (Usually found in the release section of the plugin’s GitHub repository.)

Note

Be sure to double check you installed all required dependencies including: instrument drivers, external libraries, etc. These are often listed in the plugin’s documentation or README

Manual Installation

Typical manual installation of a plugin just requires moving the downloaded plugin to your <documents>/RxnRover/Plugins directory, where <documents> is your operating system’s Documents directory.

Download the plugin files (typically a folder containing source code and a plugin.conf file).
Move the plugin folder into the following directory:
```
<documents>/RxnRover/Plugins
```
Rxn Rover will automatically detect plugins located in this folder by reading their plugin.conf files.

Note

Each plugin, especially third-party plugins, may have additional or different installation instructions. Make sure you thoroughly read each plugin description!

Note

See Rxn Rover Plugin Directories for more information about the different locations Rxn Rover checks for plugins.