Plugins
Contents
Plugins are custom code that Eleventy can import into a project from an external repository.
- Official Eleventy Plugins (look for the
@11ty/
prefix on npm) - Community Contributed Plugins
Adding a Plugin Jump to heading
Installation Jump to heading
We use the npm
command line tool (included with Node.js) to install plugins.
Looking for a plugin? Check out the official plugins or community-contributed plugins.
npm install @11ty/eleventy-plugin-rss --save
Add the plugin to Eleventy in your config file Jump to heading
Your config file is probably named .eleventy.js
.
const pluginRss = require("@11ty/eleventy-plugin-rss");
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(pluginRss);
};
Plugin Configuration Options Jump to heading
Use an optional second argument to addPlugin
to customize your plugin’s behavior. These options are specific to the plugin. Please consult the plugin’s documentation (e.g. the eleventy-plugin-syntaxhighlight
README) to learn what options are available to you.
const pluginSyntaxHighlight = require("@11ty/eleventy-plugin-syntaxhighlight");
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(pluginSyntaxHighlight, {
// only install the markdown highlighter
templateFormats: ["md"],
init: function ({ Prism }) {
// Add your own custom language to Prism!
},
});
};
Advanced Usage: Namespacing a plugin
It’s unlikely you’ll need this feature but you can namespace parts of your configuration using eleventyConfig.namespace
. This will add a string prefix to all filters, tags, helpers, shortcodes, collections, and transforms.
const pluginRss = require("@11ty/eleventy-plugin-rss");
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.namespace("myPrefix_", () => {
// the rssLastUpdatedDate filter is now myPrefix_rssLastUpdatedDate
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(pluginRss);
});
};
Creating a Plugin Jump to heading
A plugin primarily provides a “configuration function.” This function is called when Eleventy is first initialized, and operates similarly to a user’s configuration function (the same eleventyConfig
argument passed to the user’s .eleventy.js
file is passed here), in addition to any config passed by the user:
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig, pluginOptions) {
// Your plugin code goes here
};
Note that plugins run as a second stage after the user’s primary configuration file has executed (to have access to the return object values).
Advanced Usage: Custom Plugin Arguments
If you want to allow developers to use custom arguments provided by your plugin, you can export an object. Prefer using the above syntax unless you need this behavior. For an example of how this is used, see the syntax highlighting plugin
module.exports = {
initArguments: {},
configFunction: function (eleventyConfig, pluginOptions) {
// Your plugin code goes here
},
};
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(require("./fancy-plugin.js"), {
init: function (initArguments) {
// `this` is the eleventyConfig object
// initArguments will be the `myInitArguments` object from above
},
});
};
Feature Testing Jump to heading
If your plugin requires a specific feature in Eleventy, you should feature test it!
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig, pluginOptions) {
if(!("addTemplate" in eleventyConfig)) {
console.log( `[my-test-plugin] WARN Eleventy plugin compatibility: Virtual Templates are required for this plugin, please use Eleventy v3.0 or newer.` );
}
};
Version Checking Jump to heading
If feature testing is not available for your specific use case, you can add this code to your plugin configuration to show a warning if the plugin consumer does not have a compatible version of Eleventy:
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig, pluginOptions) {
try {
// Emit a warning message if the application is not using Eleventy 3.0 or newer (including prereleases).
eleventyConfig.versionCheck(">=3.0");
} catch(e) {
console.log( `[my-test-plugin] WARN Eleventy plugin compatibility: ${e.message}` );
}
};
- This uses the
semver
package and is compatible with advanced range syntax. - Upper bounding your version number is not recommended. Eleventy works very hard to maintain backwards compatibility between major versions. Please ensure your plugin code does the same!
- The
versionCheck
method has been available in Eleventy core since v0.3.2 (~2018).
Distributing a Plugin Jump to heading
If you’re distributing your plugin as a package, consider following these conventions. These are not hard requirements.
- Add
"eleventy-plugin"
to your package.json’skeywords
field. - Prefix your package name with
eleventy-plugin-
- Open a PR to add your plugin to our list of community plugins for publication on our community plugins directory.
Advanced: Execute a plugin immediately Pre-release only: v3.0.0-alpha.5 Jump to heading
Plugins (by default) execute in a second stage of configuration after the user’s configuration file has finished, in order to have access to the return object in the configuration callback.
You are unlikely to need this, but you can execute a plugin’s code immediately using the immediate
option.
module.exports = function (eleventyConfig, pluginOptions) {
console.log( "first" );
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(eleventyConfig => {
console.log("fourth");
});
eleventyConfig.addPlugin(eleventyConfig => {
console.log("second");
}, {
immediate: true
});
console.log("third");
};