Building Plugins

Plugins can have any build process desired as long as it doesn't conflict with the packaging structure. That is to say, your source code can be anywhere as long as the /web folder contains static web content, and the /lib folder contains server files, etc.

However, many plugins do follow a similar build process, which is described here. (Note: For the following steps to work, you must have the package manager installed, npm. To use Zowe properly, you must have the rest of the prerequisites https://github.com/zowe/zlux-app-server#0-install-prerequisites)

Building web content (webClient)

1. Set the environment variable MVD_DESKTOP_DIR to point to the absolute path of /zlux-app-manager/virtual-desktop i.e.

export MVD_DESKTOP_DIR=/{your_path}/zowe/zlux-app-manager/virtual-desktop

2. Go to the plugin's directory. If the /webClient folder exists, go into it. If not, skip the following two steps and move onto the next section.
3. Run npm install to install the app dependencies. If npm install is not recognized, it is probably because you do not have npm installed in the terminal you are using.
4. Run npm run build to build the app code, which generates static content within the /web folder. Check for success (Note: Some warnings may appear. These are usually harmless and is only problematic if the build failed).

Building server content (nodeServer)

1. Go to the plugin's directory. If the /nodeServer folder exists, go into it. If not, skip the following two steps and move onto the next section.
2. Run npm install to install dependencies. Check for successful return code.
3. Run npm run build to build, which generates content within the /lib folder. Check for success.

Installing

Follow the steps described here to add your built plugin to the Zowe desktop.

Packaging

For more information how to properly package your own Zowe app, see the wiki here.