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Plugins

Drumee is designed to be extended through plugins. A plugin is an independent Node.js package that adds new backend services to a Drumee instance without modifying the core server-team codebase.

"Add tailored plugins to meet your own requirements. No need to develop boilerplates like identity management - extend while reusing the same infrastructure."

Plugins follow the same ACL + service architecture as built-in modules. Once registered on an endpoint, a plugin's services are callable through the standard service routing convention, scoped to that endpoint.

Plugin vs Core Service​

Core servicePlugin
Locationserver-team/service//srv/drumee/runtime/plugins/server/<user>/<plugin>/
Service URL/-/svc/module.method/-/<endpoint>/svc/module.method
DeploymentPart of the main serverRegistered independently per endpoint
Hot-reloadServer restart requiredAcl.loadPlugins(true) on signal

Plugin Structure​

A plugin is a Node.js package with the same structure as any Drumee service module:

my-plugin/
  acl/
    mymodule.json       # ACL configuration for the plugin's services
  service/
    private/
      mymodule.js       # Service implementation
  index.js              # Plugin entry point
  package.json

The package.json must include the following scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "register-plugin": "drumee-server-plugin add",
    "remove-plugin":   "drumee-server-plugin remove",
    "dev":             "drumee-server-devel",
    "deploy":          "drumee-server-deploy"
  }
}

Development Workflow​

1. Configure the sync target​

Create .dev-tools.rc/devel.sh in your plugin directory. This file must not be committed — add .dev-tools.rc/ to your .gitignore.

user=<your-username>
export DEST_HOST=drumee.in
export DEST_USER=$user
export DEST_DIR=/srv/drumee/runtime/plugins/server/$user/<plugin-name>
export ENDPOINT=$user

2. Sync to the server​

From your plugin directory:

npm run dev

This syncs the local files to DEST_DIR on the target server.

3. Register the plugin on the server​

SSH into the server and register:

ssh drumee.in
cd /srv/drumee/runtime/plugins/server/<user>/<plugin-name>
sudo npm run register-plugin -- --endpoint=<user>

4. Start the endpoint services​

sudo drumee start <user>
sudo drumee start <user>/service

5. Verify in the frontend​

Reload the browser, open the developer console, and check for the plugin module:

SERVICE.<module-name>
// Should display the registered service methods as functions

If the module appears, the plugin is correctly registered and running.

Plugin Service URL​

Plugin services are scoped to their endpoint, so the URL differs from core services:

# Core service
https://hostname/-/svc/module.method

# Plugin service
https://hostname/-/<endpoint>/svc/module.method

Managing Plugins​

Remove a plugin​

cd /srv/drumee/runtime/plugins/server/<user>/<plugin-name>
sudo npm run remove-plugin -- --endpoint=<user>

View logs​

sudo drumee log <user>/service

Restart a plugin service​

sudo drumee restart <user>/service

How the Server Loads Plugins​

The service runner (service.js) calls Acl.loadPlugins() at startup to discover and register all installed plugins. On receiving a reload signal, it calls Acl.loadPlugins(true) to hot-reload plugins without restarting the full server process.

// From service.js
await Acl.loadPlugins();

configs.handleSignals(async () => {
  await Acl.loadPlugins(true);
});

This means plugin updates can be applied without a full service restart by sending the appropriate signal to the process.

See Also​