Create a Plugin Base Class

The base class defines what your plugins can do. Put shared behavior here so each plugin doesn't have to implement it again.

Add PluginBase.cs to the SDK and pass your ExampleMetaData type to AbstractPlugin:

PluginBase.cs

csharp

using Serilog;
using ShadowPluginLoader.WinUI;
using ShadowPluginLoader.WinUI.Services;

namespace ShadowExample.Core.Plugins;

public abstract class PluginBase : AbstractPlugin<ExampleMetaData>
{
    protected PluginBase(ExampleMetaData meta, ILogger logger,
        PluginEventService pluginEventService)
        : base(meta, logger, pluginEventService)
    {
    }
}

The constructor passes plugin metadata, logging, and events to the base class. Each concrete plugin also needs a DisplayName property for its display name.

Members you'll use

Member	When to use it
`MetaData` / `Id`	Read the plugin's information and identifier
`Loaded()`	Set things up once the plugin has loaded
`protected Enabled()` / `Disabled()`	Start work when enabled and stop it when disabled
`IsEnabled`	Read or change the enabled state; changes are saved
`protected ResourceDictionaries`	Add resource dictionaries for the plugin
`PlanUpgrade` / `PlanRemove`	Represent upgrade and removal state

Loaded() is usually a good place for initialization. If you override Init(), call base.Init() so resource dictionaries still load. It runs early, before injected properties in your derived class are assigned.

To schedule an upgrade or removal, use the loader methods. Changing PlanUpgrade or PlanRemove alone won't schedule the operation.

Create a Plugin Base Class ​

Members you'll use ​

Create a Plugin Base Class

Members you'll use