Manifest

The manifest is a JSON file that provides information about a plugin such as author, description, icon and where to get the latest update from. It also tells Sketch how to run the plugin and how it integrates into the Plugins menu.

Example manifest

The example plugin below called Select Shapes defines three commands All, Circles and Rectangles which can be accessed from Plugins › Select Shape.

It also includes an appcast URL for Sketch to automatically check if a new version of the plugin is available.

{
  "name": "Select Shapes",
  "description": "Quickly select all or just specific shape types",
  "author": "Bob Ross",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/example/select-shapes",
  "version": "1.0",
  "identifier": "com.example.sketch.plugin.select-shapes",
  "appcast": "https://example.com/select-shapes-plugin-appcast.xml",
  "compatibleVersion": "52.1",
  "commands": [
    {
      "name": "All",
      "identifier": "all",
      "shortcut": "ctrl shift a",
      "script": "shared.js",
      "handler": "selectAll"
    },
    {
      "name": "Circles",
      "identifier": "circles",
      "script": "circles.js"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rectangles",
      "identifier": "rectangles",
      "script": "rectangles.js"
    }
  ],
  "menu": {
    "items": ["all", "circles", "rectangles"]
  }
}

Members

appcast

A URL to the plugin’s appcast file containing information about the available versions, including URLs to download specific versions. Sketch automatically checks this file for updates and notifies the user when there’s an update available.

author

Provides the name of the plugin author.

authorEmail

Specifies how to contact the plugin author by email. This is optional.

bundleVersion

Specifies the version of the plugin bundle’s metadata structure and file layout. This is optional, default 1. No other versions are currently supported.

compatibleVersion

Defines the minimum version of Sketch required to run the plugin. This string must be provided using semantic versioning.

"compatibleVersion": "52.1"

commands

An array of dictionaries defining all commands provided by the plugin.

"commands": [
  {
    "name": "All",
    "identifier": "all",
    "shortcut": "ctrl shift a",
    "script": "shared.js",
    "handler": "selectAll"
  }
]
Example handler definitions
// default handler
export default function(context) {
  console.log(context.selection)
}

// explicitly defined handler
export function selectAll(context) {
  console.log(context.document)
}
Member Description
identifier Defines a unique identifier of the command within the plugin bundle.
name Provides the name of the command which is used within the Plugins menu.
shortcut Provides a default keyboard shortcut for the command, e.g. ctrl shift t.
script Specifies the relative path within the plugin bundle’s Sketch folder to the script implementing the command.
handler Specifies the name of function to be called with the command. The function must accept a single context parameter, containing information such as the current document and selection. If unspecified the command is expected to be export default

description

Provides a general description of what the plugin does.

disableCocoaScriptPreprocessor

CocoaScript by default supports @import and bracket syntax, i.e. [obj hello: world]. If disabled by setting disableCocoaScriptPreprocessor to true this is no longer supported.

Note: To use ES6 syntax and build systems like skpm this must be set to true.

This value is optional, default false, set to true when using skpm.

homepage

Specifies a website address where users can find more information or provide feedback for the plugin. This is optional.

icon

The path to the plugin icon used within Sketch, e.g. within preferences. The icon must be provided as a PNG file at a resolution of 128x128px and located directly or in a subfolder within Contents/Resources of the plugin bundle.

identifier

Defines a unique identifier for the plugin. This value is a string using reverse-domain syntax.

"identifier": "com.example.sketch.plugin.select-shapes"

maxCompatibleVersion

Defines the maximum version of Sketch supported by the plugin. This string is optional and must be using semantic versioning if provided.

"compatibleVersion": "54"

name

Provides a human-readable name for the plugin when displayed to the user, e.g. within the Plugins menu or the list of installed plugins in the Sketch preferences.

scope

Specifies if the plugin can be run without an open Sketch document.

  • document: default, disables the plugin’s menu items when no document is open
  • application: enables the plugin menu and allow to run the plugin without an open document
"scope": "application"

suppliesData

Specifies if the plugin is a data supplier. If set to true a visual indicator is displayed with the plugin within the preference pane showing the list of all installed plugins.

version

The version of the plugin using semantic versioning.

"version": "1.0.1"

Provides information about the menu layout of the plugin. Sketch initializes the menu when loading the plugin.

{
  "menu": {
    "title": "Select Shapes",
    "items": [
      "selectAll",
      "-",
      {
        "title": "Select…",
        "items": ["circles", "rectangles"]
      }
    ]
  }
}
Member Description
isRoot Specifies that menu items are created directly within the Plugins menu in Sketch. By default Sketch creates a submenu for the plugin. This value is not supported for submenus.
items An array of menu items, supported values are command identifier, "-" separator and a dictionary defining a submenu
title Provides the human readable title used for the menu item. The value is ignored if the menu item also has isRoot set to true.
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