How to install a plugin

A plugin is a DSH bundle: a package with cordis.patch.yml that adds tools, services or interface elements to the harness. There are three ways to install it, and all of them end up with the same package.

Step-by-step screenshots live on every plugin page — the ready-to-paste address of the form github:org/repo#commit is there too.

1. Via the CLI

dsh plugin add github:extreme-russian-dsh-fandom/dsh-github-cli

dsh plugin add accepts a package name with a version, a git address, a tarball or an absolute path. The github:org/repo address installs the head of the default branch; to pin an exact revision, append #<commit>.

2. Via DSH Desktop

Plugins in the sidebar → Add plugin → paste the address → Install.

3. From the catalog

For plugins to show up under Discover, DSH has to know the index URL — it is a single file:

https://extreme-russian-dsh-fandom.github.io/dsh-index.json

The order:

  1. Settings → Experimental plugins → turn on Custom plugin indexes (expand the whole list, the feature sits inside it).
  2. Plugins → Discover:
    • no sources yet — Add index source;
    • a source already exists — the source list → Manage index sources….
  3. Paste the index address and press Add.

This path also gives you a compatibility check: DSH compares the plugin version against your harness version and refuses a plugin that is known to be incompatible.

The catalog is rebuilt once a day, so a brand-new release may not show up right away. The refresh button in Discover re-reads the index immediately.

Updating and removing

Install and remove plugins through the dsh plugin subcommands; the current list is in dsh plugin --help, because it changes between versions. Under the hood dsh plugin runs plain pnpm, so the profile directory stays an ordinary package.json plus pnpm-lock.yaml, and a broken installation can always be repaired by hand.

When it does not install

  • dsh: installation rejected — DSH rolled the installation back and restored package.json and pnpm-lock.yaml. The message usually names the cause; the full log is in the command output.
  • The plugin does not appear — check that it is enabled in the profile: installing and activating are two separate steps.
  • The catalog cannot be read — DSH expects an http(s) address without credentials or a # fragment. If the index returns 404, check the whole URL, including /dsh-index.json.