Plugin System Overview

StudioBrain’s plugin system lets you extend the application with custom UI panels, backend routes, entity tabs, creative tools, and AI integrations. Plugins are distributed through the Plugin Marketplace and run in a sandboxed environment that protects your data while giving plugins the access they need.

What Plugins Can Do

Plugins hook into StudioBrain at multiple levels:

Extension Point	Description	Example
Sidebar panels	Custom UI rendered in the entity editor sidebar	Relationship graph, AI writing assistant
Entity tabs	Full-width tabs on entity pages	Version history, analytics dashboard
Standalone pages	Dedicated pages under `/plugins/{id}`	Kanban board, bulk export tool
Menu items	Entries in the Tools menu or context menus	”Export to PDF”, “Sync to Jira”
Backend routes	Custom REST API endpoints under `/api/plugins/{id}/`	Webhook receivers, external service bridges
Event handlers	React to entity lifecycle events	Auto-tag on create, validate on save
AI integrations	Use the AI generation service for content creation	Character backstory generator, description enhancer
Field widgets	Custom form inputs in the entity editor	Gradient picker, map coordinate selector

Plugin Runtimes

StudioBrain supports two plugin runtimes with different tradeoffs:

WASM (Recommended)

WebAssembly plugins run in a memory-safe sandbox on all platforms. This is the primary runtime for all new plugins and the only runtime allowed on StudioBrain Cloud.

Property	Details
Platforms	Cloud, Desktop, Core (self-hosted)
Sandboxing	Full memory isolation. No host access unless explicitly granted via capabilities.
Performance	Near-native. 5-20ms cold start.
Languages	Rust, Python (via componentize-py), TypeScript (via javy), C/C++, Go
Distribution	Single `.wasm` binary, no runtime dependencies

Python / Lua (Legacy)

Python and Lua plugins run natively on the host machine. They have full access to the filesystem and network unless restricted by the OS. These runtimes are available only on Desktop and Core (self-hosted) editions.

⚠️

Python and Lua plugins are considered unsafe because they execute outside the WASM sandbox. They cannot be distributed through the Community Marketplace and are not available on StudioBrain Cloud. New plugins should use WASM.

Property	Details
Platforms	Desktop, Core (self-hosted) only
Sandboxing	None. Runs as a native process with host-level access.
Performance	Interpreted. 100-500ms cold start.
Languages	Python 3.10+, Lua 5.4
Distribution	Requires Python/Lua runtime on the host machine

Where Plugins Appear

Plugins declare where their UI renders in the plugin.json manifest. The host application loads plugin panels into the appropriate slots:

+--------------------------------------------------+
|  Entity Editor                                    |
|                                                   |
|  +------------------+  +----------------------+   |
|  |  Main Content    |  |  Sidebar             |   |
|  |                  |  |                      |   |
|  |  [entity fields] |  |  [plugin panels]     |   |
|  |                  |  |  - AI Assistant       |   |
|  |                  |  |  - Relationships      |   |
|  +------------------+  +----------------------+   |
|                                                   |
|  Tabs: Overview | Relations | [Plugin Tabs...]    |
|  +----------------------------------------------+ |
|  |  [plugin tab content]                        | |
|  +----------------------------------------------+ |
+--------------------------------------------------+

Panel locations declared in plugin.json:

Location	Where it renders
`entity-sidebar`	Right sidebar of the entity editor
`entity-tab`	As a tab on the entity page
`entity-footer`	Below the main content area
`page`	As a standalone page accessible from navigation
`tools-menu`	As an entry in the Tools dropdown menu

Official vs Community Plugins

The Plugin Marketplace has two catalogs:

Official Plugins

Maintained by Biloxi Studios. Verified, tested against every release, and covered by StudioBrain support. Official plugins include creative tools (ComfyUI, Voice Forge), export plugins (PDF, Unity, Unreal), and integrations (Jira, Discord, Google Sheets).

Community Plugins

Created by third-party developers and submitted to the studiobrain-community-plugins repository. Community plugins must use the WASM runtime. They go through automated validation and optional manual review before appearing in the marketplace.

Community plugins are not covered by StudioBrain support. Review the plugin’s source code, permissions, and author reputation before installing.

Platform Compatibility

Not all plugins run on all platforms. The platforms field in plugin.json declares compatibility:

Platform	WASM Plugins	Python/Lua Plugins
Cloud (app.studiobrain.ai)	Yes	No
Desktop (Tauri app)	Yes	Yes (with consent dialog)
Core (self-hosted)	Yes	Yes (with consent dialog)

The marketplace filters plugins by your current platform automatically. Cloud users only see WASM plugins. Desktop and Core users see all compatible plugins.

Security Model

Plugins declare the capabilities they need in plugin.json. The host enforces these declarations at runtime:

Auto-granted capabilities (entity_read, asset_read, ai_generate) are safe and enabled by default.
Consent-required capabilities (entity_write, asset_write, http_request) show a permission dialog before the plugin can use them.
Platform-restricted capabilities (file_read, file_write) are blocked entirely on Cloud.

See the Permissions Reference for the complete capability matrix.

Next Steps

Using the Marketplace — Browse, install, and manage plugins
Getting Started — Scaffold and build your first plugin
Creating Plugins — Full plugin development guide
Permissions Reference — Capability system details
Host Functions API — WASM host function reference