Get Started with the Extensibility API
Introduction
This document helps you set up a basic development environment for building extensions. Additionally, you can find links here to additional tutorials that help familiarize you to the extensibility API topics.
Development Setup
The recommended development environment is Visual Studio 2022 running on Windows. This documentation is centered on this setup. (You can also use other IDEs and other .NET compatible programming languages like F#).
Install the latest Studio Pro version from the Mendix Marketplace.
Using Extensions API via a Hosted NuGet Package
You can start extension development by simply including the Mendix.StudioPro.ExtensionsAPI
NuGet package to your project by searching for Mendix.Studio.ExtensionsAPI in NuGet.
Depending on your local environment setup, you possibly need to manually add a NuGet package to your solution. You can add a package source to Visual Studio via the menu: Tools > Options > NuGet Package Manager > Package Sources
Importing Extensions API via a NuGet Package Hosted on a Local Repository
Another option to start extension development is to import a locally hosted Mendix.StudioPro.ExtensionsAPI
NuGet package into your project.
To create a local NuGet repository that will let you host and use NuGet packages shared with you, follow the procedure below:
- Go to Tools > Options > NuGet Package Manager > Package Sources.
- Press the green plus sign and specify a local folder, instead of a network location.
- Drop the package into the local folder.
- Refresh the NuGet manager to see the package alongside the other packages.
Extensions Development Setup
Extensions load from within your mendix application and will only be loaded while the app is open.
If you specify the --enable-extension-development
flag you can debug your extension by placing it into a new subfolder within your app directory. The format of the folder must be <Mendix app folder>\extensions\<your extension name>
where all extensions that you want to load must exist inside the <Mendix app folder>\extensions
subfolder.
Studio Pro will load your extension, only if it complies with the following rules:
-
Your extension needs to provide a manifest.json file.
-
This manifest file must contain a list of entry points for your extension. For example:
{ "mx_extensions": [ "MyExtension.dll" ] }