RedEye Plugin Base Class API: Properties and Methods

Every RedEye plugin is a class that extends RedEye.PluginAPI.Plugin. Before Main() is called, the runtime calls InitPlugin() which resolves and assigns all service properties from the component manager. You never call InitPlugin() yourself — it happens automatically during plugin loading.

using RedEye.PluginAPI;

public class MyPlugin : Plugin {
    public override void Main() {
        // All service properties are ready here
        Logger.LogInformation("Plugin started: " + Name);
    }
}

Properties

Name

string

The plugin’s ID as declared in plugin.json. Set automatically by InitPlugin() before Main() runs. All ExportWidget and ExportFunction calls prefix the exported name with this value.

ComponentManager

The root component container. Use ComponentManager.GetComponent<T>() to retrieve any registered service by interface type. Prefer using the pre-injected service properties when available.

PluginManager

IPluginManager

Manages plugin loading and the registry of exported widgets and functions. Used internally by ExportWidget and ExportFunction. See IPluginManager API.

COMAPI

ICOMAPI

COM automation interface. Exposes shell functionality to COM-visible clients and scripting hosts.

Config

IConfig

Access to the loaded RWML configuration. Use Config.GetAppDirectory() to resolve paths relative to the RedEye installation, Config.GetRootNode() to traverse the full config tree, and Config.GetLayoutNode() to reach the UI layout root. See IConfig API.

ElevatedService

IElevatedService

Provides a communication channel to the elevated helper process. Use this to perform operations that require administrator privileges without running the entire shell elevated.

ExplorerIntegration

IExplorerIntegration

Integrates with Windows Explorer — for example, to suppress the default Explorer desktop and taskbar when RedEye is active.

ExpressionFunctions

IExpressionFunctions

The registry of built-in and plugin-exported expression functions. You can call existing functions programmatically or inspect what is registered. See Expression functions.

ExpressionParser

IExpressionParser

Evaluates RWML expression strings at runtime. Use this from plugin code when you need to evaluate a user-supplied expression outside of the normal widget attribute pipeline.

HotKeyManager

IHotKeyManager

Register global hotkeys and low-level keyboard handlers. Call HotKeyManager.RegisterHotKey(keys, callback) to bind a key combination, or HotKeyManager.RegisterKeyHandler(handler) for a raw key intercept callback. See IHotKeyManager.

LayoutLoader

ILayoutLoader

Parses and instantiates RWML layout files into live widget trees. Use this to load additional layout files from a plugin or to programmatically create widget subtrees.

Logger

ILogger

Structured logging service. Available log levels are Debug, Information, Warning, Error, and Fatal. Fatal-level messages indicate unrecoverable errors.

Logger.LogInformation("Widget registered");
Logger.LogError("Something went wrong: " + ex.Message);

MediaManager

IMediaManager

Controls system media playback. Exposes play, pause, next, and previous transport controls. See Media functions.

ResourceManager

IResourceManager

Temporary object store used to pass rich objects (such as event args) into the expression evaluation context. Objects are stored by a string ID and removed after use.

ScriptEngine

IScriptEngine

The runtime C# compiler used to compile plugins and inline <script> blocks. You can use this from a plugin to compile and execute additional C# code dynamically.

ShellEventListener

IShellEventListener

Receives shell window lifecycle events (create, destroy, minimize, restore, activate, deactivate). Register a handler with ShellEventListener.RegisterEventHandler(handler) to react to window changes in the taskbar or other UI components.

ShellEventListener.RegisterEventHandler((evt, state) => {
    if (evt == ShellWindowEvent.Create) {
        Logger.LogDebug("New window: " + state.Title);
    }
    return false; // return true to suppress further handling
});

ShellWindowManager

IShellWindowManager

Creates and manages RedEye shell windows (the WinForms windows that host widget layouts). Use ShellWindowManager.CreateWindow(config) to open additional windows from a plugin. See IShellWindow API.

SpecialFolderWrapper

ISpecialFolderWrapper

Resolves Windows special folder paths (Desktop, AppData, Documents, etc.) to absolute filesystem paths, accounting for the current user profile.

WindowManager

IWindowManager

Manages open application windows tracked by the shell. Provides access to window handles, titles, and icons used by taskbar-style components. See Window functions.

Methods

Main()

public virtual void Main()

The entry point for your plugin. Called once during startup, after all service properties have been injected. Override this method to register widgets and functions, subscribe to events, or perform any one-time setup. The default implementation does nothing.

ExportWidget<T>(string name)

protected void ExportWidget<T>(string name) where T : IShellWidget

Registers a widget type with the RWML renderer under the name <pluginId>.<name>. The type constraint requires T to implement IShellWidget.

name

string

required

The local widget name. The full registered name will be pluginId.name — for example, calling ExportWidget<ClockWidget>("clock") from a plugin with ID my-plugin registers the widget as my-plugin.clock.

public override void Main() {
    ExportWidget<ClockWidget>("clock");
    ExportWidget<WeatherWidget>("weather");
}

Users reference the widget in RWML as:

<my-plugin.clock x="0" y="0" width="80" height="30" />

ExportFunction(string name, Func<…> func)

protected void ExportFunction(
    string name,
    Func<IEnumerable<object>, IVariableStorage<string>, object> func
)

Registers an expression function under the name <pluginId>.<name>. The function receives the evaluated argument list and the current variable storage, and returns an object value.

name

string

required

The local function name. The full registered name is pluginId.name.

func

Func<IEnumerable<object>, IVariableStorage<string>, object>

required

The function implementation. The first parameter is the ordered list of evaluated arguments. The second is the variable storage context of the calling expression node.

ExportFunction("add", (args, vars) => {
    var a = int.Parse(args.ElementAt(0).ToString());
    var b = int.Parse(args.ElementAt(1).ToString());
    return (a + b).ToString();
});

See Exporting functions for detailed usage patterns.

Get Started

Configuration

Widgets

Plugin Development

RedEye Plugin Base Class API: Properties and Methods

Properties

Name

ComponentManager

PluginManager

COMAPI

Config

ElevatedService

ExplorerIntegration

ExpressionFunctions

ExpressionParser

HotKeyManager

LayoutLoader

Logger

MediaManager

ResourceManager

ScriptEngine

ShellEventListener

ShellWindowManager

SpecialFolderWrapper

WindowManager

Methods

Main()

ExportWidget<T>(string name)

ExportFunction(string name, Func<…> func)

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Configuration

Widgets

Plugin Development

Documentation Index

​Properties

​Name

​ComponentManager

​PluginManager

​COMAPI

​Config

​ElevatedService

​ExplorerIntegration

​ExpressionFunctions

​ExpressionParser

​HotKeyManager

​LayoutLoader

​Logger

​MediaManager

​ResourceManager

​ScriptEngine

​ShellEventListener

​ShellWindowManager

​SpecialFolderWrapper

​WindowManager

​Methods

​Main()

​ExportWidget<T>(string name)

​ExportFunction(string name, Func<…> func)

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Properties

Name

ComponentManager

PluginManager

COMAPI

Config

ElevatedService

ExplorerIntegration

ExpressionFunctions

ExpressionParser

HotKeyManager

LayoutLoader

Logger

MediaManager

ResourceManager

ScriptEngine

ShellEventListener

ShellWindowManager

SpecialFolderWrapper

WindowManager

Methods

Main()

ExportWidget<T>(string name)

ExportFunction(string name, Func<…> func)