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Publish and Install

Up until now, we've been testing our plugin only locally. We've verified that all metrics are registered and values are updated as expected.
In this section, we'll publish the plugin and install it to MoBro to ensure everything works as intended.

Preparations​

To install the plugin on MoBro, we need to publish it and pack it as a .zip file.
Before we proceed, let's make some necessary updates to our .csproj file:

  • Versioning: Every plugin must be versioned, so let's set the version to 0.0.1.
  • Dynamic Loading: Enable EnableDynamicLoading to allow MoBro to load the assembly and instantiate the plugin.
  • Executable Settings: Set UseAppHost and SelfContained to false since we don't require an .exe file.
  • Configuration JSON: Ensure the mobro_plugin_config.json file is copied to the publish directory, as MoBro needs it.

Here’s how the updated .csproj file looks:

Plugin.Example/Plugin.Example.csproj

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
        <VersionPrefix>0.0.1</VersionPrefix>
        <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
        <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
        <EnableDynamicLoading>true</EnableDynamicLoading>
        <UseAppHost>false</UseAppHost>
        <SelfContained>false</SelfContained>
        <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
        <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    </PropertyGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <Content Include="mobro_plugin_config.json">
            <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
            <CopyToPublishDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToPublishDirectory>
        </Content>
    </ItemGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="MoBro.Plugin.SDK" Version="1.0.1" PrivateAssets="all"/>
    </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Publishing the Plugin as a .zip File​

Using the MoBro Plugin CLI​

The easiest way to publish the plugin is through the MoBro Plugin CLI. Run the publish command from within the project directory:

mobro publish .

After running the command, you'll notice a new file added to the folder structure:

Plugin.Example
├── bin
├── obj
├── example_plugin_0.0.1.zip
├── Plugin.cs
├── Plugin.Example.csproj
└── Program.cs

That's it! We've created a .zip file for our plugin, which is just 4 KB in size.

Manual Method​

info

This section explains how to publish the plugin without the CLI. You may skip this if you've already used the CLI.

If you prefer not to use the CLI, run the following command from the project directory:

dotnet publish --framework net8.0 --runtime win-x64 --self-contained false --configuration Release -p:DebugType=None -p:DebugSymbols=false -p:GenerateRuntimeConfigurationFiles=false --output ExamplePlugin_v1 .

The above command should create a new folder named ExamplePlugin_v1:

Plugin.Example
├── bin
├── obj 
├── ExamplePlugin_v1
|   ├── mobro_plugin_config.json
|   ├── Plugin.Example.deps.json
|   └── Plugin.Example.dll
├── Plugin.cs
├── Plugin.Example.csproj
└── Program.cs

Ensure that the .dll file's name matches the one defined under assembly in mobro_plugin_config.json.

Now, compress everything into a .zip file:

& "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" a -tzip "ExamplePlugin_v1.zip" ".\ExamplePlugin_v1\*"
rm -r .\ExamplePlugin_v1

Don’t have 7-Zip? You can manually compress the folder instead.

Installing the Plugin​

With the plugin published, we can proceed to install it in MoBro.
Note: MoBro must be installed and running on your PC.

Using the MoBro CLI​

To install the plugin, all it takes is returning to the CLI and running:

mobro install .\example_plugin_0.0.1.zip
tip

For quick testing, you can skip the publish step and install the plugin directly from the project directory:

mobro install .

Using MoBro REST API​

info

This section explains how to install the plugin without the CLI. You may skip it if you've already installed using the CLI.

Install the plugin using the MoBro REST API by sending a POST request to localhost:42069/api/plugins with the following data in the form-data body:

  • Unique plugin name: As defined in mobro_plugin_config.json.
  • .zip file: The published plugin file.

Here’s how it looks in Postman:
Postman

Verify in MoBro​

Open MoBro, and you should see a new unknown plugin listed, named "Example Plugin":
Running plugin

Navigate to its settings, where the "Update Frequency" configuration we set earlier will be available:
Settings

Finally, open the Metric Explorer to verify that our metrics are being updated:
Metric explorer

Metric Types and Units​

Since we used metric types provided by the SDK (CoreMetricType.Usage and CoreMetricType.Data), the metrics are displayed with appropriate units.
For instance, memory data (provided in bytes) is automatically converted to a higher unit like MB.
No need for additional configurations—just provide the value!

Learn more under Reference: Metrics.