Skip to main content

Plugins

The Stellar CLI supports plugins in a very simple way. All you need is an executable (it doesn't have to be a binary) in your PATH that starts with stellar- and the CLI will automatically detect and load it.

You can also install plugins that are made available publicly. One example is rs-stellar-strkey; you can install it using Rust's cargo:

cargo install --locked stellar-strkey --features cli

That will install the stellar-strkey binary in your ~/.cargo/bin directory. For the purpose of this example, we'll assume that directory is already on your $PATH.

Security Warning

Be careful! Plugins have the same access to your system as the Stellar CLI itself. Only install plugins from sources you trust.

Listing Available Plugins​

To list available plugins on your system, use the command stellar plugins --list:

$ stellar plugins --list
Installed Plugins:
    strkey

Creating a New Plugin​

As mentioned, before, plugins just need to be an executable available in your PATH that start with stellar-. Start by creating a new file named stellar-hello. This example shows how to create a plugin using bash, so you need a system that supports it (Unix-based, or Windows' WSL).

touch ~/.bin/stellar-hello

Add the following content to the file:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

echo "hello from stellar plugin"

Now, make the file executable with chmod:

chmod +x ~/.bin/stellar-hello

If everything is set up properly (i.e. the ~/.bin is in your PATH and ~/.bin/stellar-hello is executable), you should be able to find it:

$ stellar plugins --list
Installed Plugins:
    hello
    strkey

Finally, you can execute it by calling stellar hello:

$ stellar hello
hello from stellar plugin
tip

If you're using GitHub to host your plugin's repository, consider adding a stellar-cli-plugin repository topic. This way, your plugin will be listed by stellar plugin search.

When you run a command and no built-in command is found, the Stellar CLI falls back to searching for a plugin. This happens even for subcommands. For instance, let's say you're creating a new plugin to generate Ruby bindings for your contract; you can have something like stellar-contract-bindings-ruby, and users could execute stellar contract bindings ruby rather than the dasherized version.

Troubleshooting​

If Stellar CLI can't find your plugin, make sure you clear all items above:

  • Ensure the file starts with stellar-
  • Verify it's executable (chmod +x)
  • Check that its location is in your PATH
  • Restart your terminal or reload your shell configuration