matryer / matryer/xbar

feature request: first class support for binary plugins

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Description

Hi,

Thank you for reviving this project.

I am a Scala developer and I would like to develop plugins for xbar.

I am currently successfully able to write Scala/Java compiled plugins using Swiftbar.

In order to accomplish the same in xbar, I need two things

  1. Ability to add metadata to a binary file
  2. Plugin path (full path, including plugin file name) as env variable

These two things will enable developers to compile a binary plugin file which simply outputs texts. Using any programming language. These compiled plugins don't require bash or any other shell and can be directly invoked.

Currently, Swiftbar is using xattr mechanism to read metadata from binary plugins. And it provides SWIFTBAR_PLUGIN_PATH env variable.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read SwiftBar's linked documentation on metadata for binary plugins and compare its xattr approach with xbar's plugin behavior. Identify where xbar can expose binary metadata and the full plugin path, then verify that compiled plugins can be invoked directly without a shell and receive the requested environment variable.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java, macos, scala
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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