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The NativePHP Mobile plugin system allows you to extend your app with native functionality through reusable packages. Plugins can add bridge functions, permissions, native dependencies, and platform-specific code.

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How Plugins Work

Plugins are discovered automatically from your Composer dependencies by scanning for packages with type nativephp-plugin. For security, plugins must be explicitly registered in your NativeServiceProvider to be loaded.

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Plugin Discovery

The plugin registry scans vendor/composer/installed.json for packages with:
  • Type: nativephp-plugin
  • A nativephp.json manifest file
  • Registered in your NativeServiceProvider
use Native\Mobile\Plugins\PluginRegistry;

$registry = PluginRegistry::getInstance();

// Get all registered plugins
$plugins = $registry->all();

// Get all installed plugins (including unregistered)
$allInstalled = $registry->allInstalled();

// Get plugins that are installed but not registered
$unregistered = $registry->unregistered();

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Security Model

Plugins must be explicitly allowed in your NativeServiceProvider to prevent transitive dependencies from auto-registering potentially malicious code: 
namespace App\Providers;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;

class NativeServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    /**
     * Return an array of allowed plugin service provider classes.
     */
    public function plugins(): array
    {
        return [
            \NativePHP\Haptics\HapticsServiceProvider::class,
            \NativePHP\Biometrics\BiometricsServiceProvider::class,
            // Add more plugins here
        ];
    }
}
If the NativeServiceProvider doesn’t exist or the plugins() method is missing, all plugins are blocked by default for security.

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Installing Plugins

1

Install via Composer

composer require nativephp/plugin-haptics
2

Publish NativeServiceProvider (if not already published)

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=nativephp-provider
3

Register the plugin

Add the plugin’s service provider to the plugins() method in app/Providers/NativeServiceProvider.php:
public function plugins(): array
{
    return [
        \NativePHP\Haptics\HapticsServiceProvider::class,
    ];
}
4

Rebuild your app

php artisan native:install --force
php artisan native:run

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Plugin Commands

NativePHP provides several commands for managing plugins:

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List Plugins

View all installed and registered plugins: 
php artisan native:plugin:list
This shows:
  • Plugin name and version
  • Registration status
  • Bridge functions
  • Platform support (iOS/Android)
  • Permissions required

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Register Plugin

Quickly register a plugin without manually editing NativeServiceProvider: 
php artisan native:plugin:register nativephp/plugin-haptics

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Validate Plugin

Check if a plugin’s manifest and structure are valid: 
php artisan native:plugin:validate packages/vendor/plugin-name

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Uninstall Plugin

Remove a plugin from your app: 
php artisan native:plugin:uninstall nativephp/plugin-haptics
This removes the plugin from both Composer and your NativeServiceProvider.

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Refresh Plugin Cache

Clear the plugin discovery cache: 
php artisan native:plugin:refresh

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What Plugins Can Do

Plugins can add:
  • Bridge Functions: Native code callable from PHP/JavaScript
  • Permissions: Android permissions and iOS Info.plist entries
  • Dependencies: CocoaPods, Swift Packages, Gradle dependencies
  • Native Code: Kotlin (Android) and Swift (iOS) source files
  • Events: Laravel events dispatched from native code
  • Assets: ML models, fonts, images, and other resources
  • Lifecycle Hooks: Commands that run during the build process

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Plugin Structure

plugin-haptics/
├── composer.json          # Package definition
├── nativephp.json        # Plugin manifest
├── src/
│   ├── HapticsServiceProvider.php
│   ├── Haptics.php       # Main implementation
│   ├── Facades/
│   │   └── Haptics.php   # Facade
│   ├── Events/
│   │   └── HapticFeedbackCompleted.php
│   └── Commands/
│       └── CopyAssetsCommand.php
├── resources/
│   ├── android/
│   │   └── HapticsFunctions.kt
│   ├── ios/
│   │   └── HapticsFunctions.swift
│   └── js/
│       └── haptics.js
└── tests/
    └── PluginTest.php

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Detecting Conflicts

The plugin registry can detect conflicts between registered plugins: 
use Native\Mobile\Plugins\PluginRegistry;

$registry = PluginRegistry::getInstance();
$conflicts = $registry->detectConflicts();

foreach ($conflicts as $conflict) {
    echo "Conflict: {$conflict['type']} '{$conflict['value']}'\n";
    echo "Between plugins: " . implode(', ', $conflict['plugins']) . "\n";
}
Conflicts are detected for:
  • Namespace collisions: Two plugins using the same namespace
  • Function collisions: Two plugins registering the same bridge function name

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Plugin Registry API

The PluginRegistry provides methods for querying plugins: 
use Native\Mobile\Plugins\PluginRegistry;

$registry = PluginRegistry::getInstance();

// Check if a plugin is registered
$registry->isRegistered('nativephp/plugin-haptics');

// Find a specific plugin
$plugin = $registry->find('nativephp/plugin-haptics');

// Check if plugin exists
$registry->has('nativephp/plugin-haptics');

// Count registered plugins
$count = $registry->count();

// Get all bridge functions
$functions = $registry->bridgeFunctions();

// Get all Android permissions
$permissions = $registry->androidPermissions();

// Get all iOS Info.plist entries
$infoPlist = $registry->iosInfoPlist();

// Get plugins with Android native code
$androidPlugins = $registry->withAndroidCode();

// Get plugins with iOS native code
$iosPlugins = $registry->withIosCode();

// Get plugins with events
$eventPlugins = $registry->withEvents();

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Next Steps

Creating Custom Plugins

Learn how to build your own NativePHP plugins

Plugin Manifest

Understand the nativephp.json format

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