Plugin Lifecycle & Dependencies

Learn how to set up your development environment and understand the full plugin lifecycle.

1. Dependencies (JitPack)

Xinbot is hosted on JitPack. Add the repository and dependency to your build file.

Maven

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>jitpack.io</id>
        <url>https://jitpack.io</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.github.huangdihd</groupId>
        <artifactId>xinbot</artifactId>
        <version>LATEST_VERSION</version> <!-- Replace LATEST_VERSION with the latest release version on GitHub -->
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

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2. Main Plugin Class

Every plugin must implement the xin.bbtt.mcbot.plugin.Plugin interface. Thanks to Java 8+ default methods, you only need to override the necessary lifecycle hooks.

📄 Source

The Plugin interface and the lifecycle/dependency loading logic (PluginManager, PluginClassLoader) all live in the plugin/ package.

package com.example.plugin;

import xin.bbtt.mcbot.plugin.Plugin;

public class MyPlugin implements Plugin {
    
    @Override
    public void onLoad() {
        // Triggered when the plugin file is identified and loaded into memory.
        // Best for: Loading configurations, initializing variables, or setting up early dependencies.
        // Note: The bot is not fully connected to the server yet.
        // Use getLogger() to get a SLF4J logger with your plugin's prefix.
        getLogger().info("Plugin is loading...");
    }

    @Override
    public void onEnable() {
        // Plugin is officially started and the bot is preparing to connect or is already connected.
        // Best for: Registering EventListeners, Commands, and starting background tasks.
        getLogger().info("Plugin enabled!");
    }

    @Override
    public void onDisable() {
        // Triggered before the plugin is disabled or the bot stops.
        // Best for: Saving data, unregistering listeners, canceling running tasks, and closing database connections.
    }

    @Override
    public void onUnload() {
        // Triggered when the plugin is completely unloaded from memory.
        // Best for: Final garbage collection and ultimate cleanup. Rarely needed for simple plugins.
    }
}

💡 Key Built-in Methods

• getName(): Defaults to the class name.
• getVersion(): Defaults to the version in the Jar manifest.
• getLogger(): Returns an SLF4J Logger. Highly recommended over System.out.

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3. Plugin Descriptor (plugin.yml)

Xinbot uses a plugin.yml file to discover plugins and manage their dependencies. Create a plugin.yml file in your resources folder (src/main/resources/plugin.yml):

💡 Tip: You can use our plugin.yml Generator to quickly create this file.

name: MyPlugin
main: com.example.plugin.MyPlugin
version: 1.0.0
# depend: [OtherPluginName]         # Optional: list of plugin names this plugin depends on
# softdepend: [OptionalPluginName]  # Optional: like depend, but the plugin still loads if missing
# type: PLUGIN                      # Optional: use META_PLUGIN for meta-plugins handling server logic

Supported Fields

• name: (Required) The name of your plugin.
• main: (Required) The fully qualified name of your main class.
• version: (Optional) The version of your plugin. Defaults to 1.0.0.
• depend: (Optional) A string or list of strings representing the names of plugins that must be loaded before this one.
• softdepend: (Optional) A string or list of strings naming optional dependencies (since 2.3.1). If a soft dependency is present, it is loaded first and its classes are visible to your plugin — exactly like depend. If it is missing, your plugin still loads normally (the console logs an info message about the missing soft dependency).
• type: (Optional) Defines the plugin type (PLUGIN or META_PLUGIN). Ordinary plugins should omit this or set it to PLUGIN.

💡 Runtime loading: Since 2.3.2, plugins loaded at runtime via pm load / pm reload get the same dependency classloader chain as plugins loaded at startup, so depend / softdepend classes are visible either way.

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4. Packaging & Testing

1. Use mvn package to build your project into a JAR file.
2. Place the generated JAR in the Xinbot plugin directory.
3. Start Xinbot. If you see [PluginManager] Loaded plugin ... in the console, your plugin is working!