Plugin Configuration

All plugins must include a mobro_plugin_config.json file, which defines essential metadata for proper functionality.
This configuration file must be placed in the root directory of the plugin when publishing it as a .zip file.

note

If this file is missing, the plugin is considered invalid and cannot be installed in MoBro.

Fields

The following table describes the fields of the mobro_plugin_config.json file:

Field	Default	Restrictions	Description
name	-	Required Length: 3 - 32 Pattern: ^[\w-]+$	The globally unique identifier of the plugin. Not shown to users, see displayName.
displayName	name	Max length: 32	The human-readable name of the plugin shown to users.
author	Unknown	Max length: 32	The author's name.
description	-	Max length: 512	A short textual description of the plugin.
assembly	Plugin.dll	Max length: 128	The published .dll file to load.
localization	-	Max length: 128	The relative path to the folder containing localization files.
executionMode	AdminBackground	UserSession or AdminBackground	Determines the context in which the plugin process runs.
repository	-	Max length: 128	The optional URL of the plugin's source code repository.
homepage	-	Max length: 128	The optional URL of the plugin's homepage.
tags	[]	Max. 10 tags Max length: 32 per tag	Optional list of tags used when published to the marketplace.
settings	[]	-	The plugin's settings fields.
dependencies	[]	Max. 10 dependencies	The plugin's external dependencies.

Plugin Version

The version of a plugin is not defined in this file. It is taken from the plugin's project, e.g. the <VersionPrefix> in the .csproj file.

executionMode Field

The execution mode determines how and in which context MoBro starts the plugin's process:

	AdminBackground (default)	UserSession
Started by	The MoBro background service	The MoBro application, within the session of the logged-in user
Privileges	Administrative	Those of the logged-in user
Runs while MoBro is not open	Yes, depending on the 'Background Monitoring' setting in MoBro	No
Access to the user session	No	Yes
Typical use cases	Hardware sensors, system information, external APIs	Media playback, controlling desktop applications

Use the default AdminBackground mode unless the plugin needs access to the user session, e.g. because its metrics or actions interact with applications running on the user's desktop. Due to Windows permission restrictions, plugins running in AdminBackground mode can't access the user session.

dependencies Field

The dependencies field lets the plugin define external requirements, such as a third-party program that must be installed or running.

Field	Type	Restrictions	Description
name	string	Required Length: 1 - 64 Pattern: ^[\w-]+$	Unique identifier of the dependency.
label	string	Required Length: 1 - 128	Human-readable name of the dependency.
description	string	Max length: 256	A short textual description of the dependency.
link	string	Max length: 256	A URL to the dependency's homepage or download site.
version	string	Max length: 16	The specific version of the dependency required.
required	boolean	Default: false	Whether the plugin requires this dependency to work properly. See Required Dependencies.

mobro_plugin_config.json

{
  "name": "example_aida64",
  "displayName": "AIDA64 Example",
  "assembly": "Plugin.Example.dll",
  "dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "aida64",
      "label": "AIDA64",
      "description": "AIDA64 must be running with shared memory enabled",
      "link": "https://www.aida64.com",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}

At runtime, the plugin reports the current status of each dependency using IMoBroService.SetDependencyStatus.

Required Dependencies

Marking a dependency as required does not prevent the plugin from being started. MoBro starts the plugin as usual, but shows it as dependencies missing until the plugin reports the status DependencyStatus.Ok for every required dependency. While the plugin is in this state, its actions can't be invoked.

caution

A plugin declaring a required dependency must report its status, e.g. in Init() and whenever the status changes. Otherwise MoBro never considers the dependency available.

Example Configuration

Below is an example of a mobro_plugin_config.json file from the MoBroHardwareMonitor plugin.

This configuration demonstrates how to define the required fields, such as a unique plugin name, a custom assembly name, and the localization directory.
Settings have been omitted for brevity; refer to In-depth: Settings for more details.

Plugin.MoBroHardwareMonitor/mobro_plugin_config.json

{
  "name": "modbros_mobrohardwaremonitor",
  "displayName": "MoBro Hardware Monitor",
  "author": "ModBros",
  "description": "A basic hardware monitoring plugin covering the most basic metrics",
  "assembly": "Plugin.MoBroHardwareMonitor.dll",
  "localization": "Resources/Localization",
  "repository": "https://github.com/ModBros/mobro-plugin-mobrohardwaremonitor",
  "homepage": null,
  "tags": [
    "hardware", "system"
  ],
  "settings": []
}