Plugins divided into main and renderer processes.

Dispatcher now sends params to plugins; notifying about plugin load
errors; allowing local plugin paths not to end with a slash.

package.json

@@ -26,13 +26,16 @@
     "drag-drop": "^2.12.1",
     "es6-error": "^4.0.0",
     "fn-getter": "^1.0.0",
+    "gaze": "^1.1.2",
     "iso-639-1": "^1.2.1",
     "languagedetect": "^1.1.1",
     "location-history": "^1.0.0",
     "material-ui": "^0.17.0",
     "mkdirp": "^0.5.1",
+    "ms": "^0.7.2",
     "musicmetadata": "^2.0.2",
     "network-address": "^1.1.0",
+    "node-notifier": "^5.0.2",
     "parse-torrent": "^5.7.3",
     "prettier-bytes": "^1.0.1",
     "react": "^15.4.2",
@@ -41,6 +44,7 @@
     "rimraf": "^2.5.2",
     "run-parallel": "^1.1.6",
     "semver": "^5.1.0",
+    "shell-env": "^0.3.0",
     "simple-concat": "^1.0.0",
     "simple-get": "^2.0.0",
     "srt-to-vtt": "^1.1.1",

src/config.js

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 const appConfig = require('application-config')('WebTorrent')
+const fs = require('fs')
 const path = require('path')
 const electron = require('electron')
 const arch = require('arch')
+const gaze = require('gaze')
 
 const APP_NAME = 'WebTorrent'
 const APP_TEAM = 'WebTorrent, LLC'
@@ -17,7 +19,7 @@ const IS_PORTABLE = isPortable()
 const UI_HEADER_HEIGHT = 38
 const UI_TORRENT_HEIGHT = 100
 
-module.exports = {
+const exports = module.exports = {
   ANNOUNCEMENT_URL: 'https://webtorrent.io/desktop/announcement',
   AUTO_UPDATE_URL: 'https://webtorrent.io/desktop/update',
   CRASH_REPORT_URL: 'https://webtorrent.io/desktop/crash-report',
@@ -102,6 +104,62 @@ module.exports = {
   UI_TORRENT_HEIGHT: UI_TORRENT_HEIGHT
 }
 
+const configFile = appConfig.filePath
+let config = getConfig()
+const watchers = []
+
+function updateConfig () {
+  config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(configFile))
+}
+
+function watch () {
+  gaze(configFile, function (err) {
+    if (err) {
+      throw err
+    }
+    this.on('changed', () => {
+      try {
+        updateConfig()
+        console.log('WebTorrent configuration reloaded!')
+        watchers.forEach(fn => fn())
+      } catch (err) {
+        // TODO: display notification
+        console.log(`An error occurred loading your configuration (${configFile}): ${err.message}`)
+      }
+    })
+    this.on('error', () => {
+      // Ignore file watching errors
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+// start watching for config changes
+watch()
+
+exports.subscribe = function (fn) {
+  watchers.push(fn)
+  return () => {
+    watchers.splice(watchers.indexOf(fn), 1)
+  }
+}
+
+function getPlugins () {
+  return config.plugins || {}
+}
+exports.getPlugins = getPlugins
+
+exports.getConfigPath = getConfigPath
+exports.getConfig = getConfig
+
+function getConfig () {
+  const config = {}
+  try {
+    return require(configFile)
+  } catch (e) {
+    return config
+  }
+}
+
 function getConfigPath () {
   if (IS_PORTABLE) {
     return PORTABLE_PATH
@@ -145,8 +203,6 @@ function isPortable () {
     return false
   }
 
-  const fs = require('fs')
-
   try {
     // This line throws if the "Portable Settings" folder does not exist, and does
     // nothing otherwise.

src/main/index.js

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ const log = require('./log')
 const menu = require('./menu')
 const State = require('../renderer/lib/state')
 const windows = require('./windows')
+const Plugins = require('./plugins')
+const plugins = new Plugins()
 
 let shouldQuit = false
 let argv = sliceArgv(process.argv)
@@ -72,10 +74,17 @@ function init () {
     if (err) throw err
 
     isReady = true
+    const state = results.state
 
-    windows.main.init(results.state, {hidden: hidden})
-    windows.webtorrent.init()
-    menu.init()
+    // init new plugins then notify user
+    plugins.subscribe(() => {
+      // update menu and windows
+      // passing thru new plugin decorators
+      initApp(state)
+    })
+
+    plugins.init(state)
+    initApp(state)
 
     // To keep app startup fast, some code is delayed.
     setTimeout(delayedInit, config.DELAYED_INIT)
@@ -88,6 +97,26 @@ function init () {
     })
   }
 
+  function initApp (state) {
+    // decorate app
+    plugins.onApp(app)
+
+    // init decorate menu
+    menu.init((tpl) => plugins.decorateMenu(tpl))
+
+    // init and decorate window
+    windows.main.init(
+      state,
+      {hidden: hidden},
+      (options) => plugins.decorateWindow(options)
+    )
+    windows.webtorrent.init((options) => plugins.decorateWindow(options))
+    plugins.onWindow([
+      windows.main.win,
+      windows.webtorrent.win
+    ])
+  }
+
   app.on('open-file', onOpen)
   app.on('open-url', onOpen)
 

src/main/menu.js

@@ -17,8 +17,11 @@ const windows = require('./windows')
 
 let menu = null
 
-function init () {
-  menu = electron.Menu.buildFromTemplate(getMenuTemplate())
+function init (decorate) {
+  let template = getMenuTemplate()
+  if (decorate) template = decorate(template)
+
+  menu = electron.Menu.buildFromTemplate(template)
   electron.Menu.setApplicationMenu(menu)
 }
 

src/main/plugins.js

@@ -0,0 +1,424 @@
+const {exec} = require('child_process')
+const {resolve, basename} = require('path')
+const {writeFileSync} = require('fs')
+const State = require('../renderer/lib/state')
+const notifier = require('node-notifier')
+const {app} = require('electron')
+
+const {sync: mkdirpSync} = require('mkdirp')
+const ms = require('ms')
+const shellEnv = require('shell-env')
+const crypto = require('crypto')
+
+const config = require('../config')
+
+module.exports = class Plugins {
+  constructor () {
+    // modules path
+    this.path = resolve(config.getConfigPath(), 'plugins')
+    log('Path: ', this.path)
+    this.availableExtensions = new Set([
+      'onApp', 'onWindow', 'decorateMenu', 'decorateWindow', 'decorateConfig'
+    ])
+
+    this.forceUpdate = false
+    this.updating = false
+    this.watchers = []
+  }
+
+  init (state) {
+    this.state = state
+
+    // initialize state
+    this.state.saved = Object.assign(this.state.saved || {})
+
+    // init plugin directories if not present
+    mkdirpSync(this.path)
+
+    // caches
+    this.plugins = config.getPlugins()
+    this.paths = this.getPaths(this.plugins)
+    this.id = this.getId(this.plugins)
+    this.modules = this.requirePlugins()
+
+    // we listen on configuration updates to trigger
+    // plugin installation
+    config.subscribe(() => {
+      const plugins = config.getPlugins()
+      if (plugins !== this.plugins) {
+        const id = this.getId(plugins)
+        if (this.id !== id) {
+          this.alert('Installing plugins...')
+          log('UPDATING...')
+          this.id = id
+          this.plugins = plugins
+          this.paths = this.getPaths(this.plugins)
+          this.updatePlugins()
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    // schedule the initial plugins update
+    // a bit after the user launches the app
+    // to prevent slowness
+    if (this.needsUpdate()) {
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        this.updatePlugins()
+      }, 5000)
+      log('Installation scheduled')
+    }
+
+    // update plugins every 5 hours
+    setInterval(() => {
+      this.updatePlugins()
+    }, ms('5h'))
+  }
+
+  on (action, params) {
+    log(`ON ${action}:`, params)
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      const actionName = this.capitalizeFirstLetter(action)
+      const methodName = `on${actionName}`
+      if (typeof plugin[methodName] === 'function') {
+        plugin[methodName](params)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  capitalizeFirstLetter (string) {
+    return string.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + string.slice(1)
+  }
+
+  didPluginsChange () {
+    return this.state.saved.installedPlugins !== this.id
+  }
+
+  hasPlugins () {
+    return !this.isEmptyObject(this.plugins)
+  }
+
+  isFirstInstall () {
+    return (!this.state.saved.installedPlugins && this.hasPlugins())
+  }
+
+  needsUpdate () {
+    return (this.didPluginsChange() || this.isFirstInstall())
+  }
+
+  getId (plugins) {
+    const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256')
+    hash.update(JSON.stringify(plugins))
+    return hash.digest('hex')
+  }
+
+  updatePlugins (forceUpdate = false) {
+    this.forceUpdate = forceUpdate
+    if (this.updating) {
+      // TODO
+      // return notify('Plugin update in progress')
+    }
+    this.updating = true
+    this.syncPackageJSON()
+    this.installPackages((err) => this.loadPlugins(err))
+  }
+
+  loadPlugins (err, localOnly = false) {
+    this.updating = false
+
+    // handle errors first
+    if (err) {
+      console.error(err.stack)
+      if (/not a recognized/.test(err.message) || /command not found/.test(err.message)) {
+        this.alert(
+          'Error updating plugins: We could not find the "npm" command. Make sure it\'s in $PATH'
+        )
+        return
+      }
+
+      this.alert(`Error updating plugins: Check '${this.path}/npm-debug.log' for more information.`)
+      return
+    }
+
+    // update state with latest plugins
+    this.state.saved.plugins = this.plugins
+
+    // cache modules
+    this.modules = this.requirePlugins()
+
+    // clear require cache
+    this.clearCache()
+
+    // we're done with local plugins
+    if (localOnly) return
+
+    // OK, no errors
+    // flag successful plugin update
+    this.state.saved.installedPlugins = this.id
+
+    // check if package based plugins were updated
+    const loaded = this.modules.length
+    const total = this.paths.plugins.length
+    const pluginVersions = JSON.stringify(this.getPluginVersions())
+    const changed = this.state.saved.installedPluginVersions !== pluginVersions && loaded === total
+    this.state.saved.installedPluginVersions = pluginVersions
+
+    // notify watchers
+    if (this.forceUpdate || changed) {
+      this.watchers.forEach(fn => fn(err, {forceUpdate: this.forceUpdate}))
+      this.alert('Installation completed')
+      log('Installation completed')
+    }
+
+    // save state
+    State.save(this.state)
+  }
+
+  getPluginVersions () {
+    const paths_ = this.paths.plugins
+    return paths_.map(path => {
+      let version = null
+      try {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-dynamic-require
+        version = require(resolve(path, 'package.json')).version
+      } catch (err) { }
+      return [
+        basename(path),
+        version
+      ]
+    })
+  }
+
+  clearCache () {
+    // trigger unload hooks
+    this.modules.forEach(mod => {
+      if (mod.onUnload) {
+        mod.onUnload(app)
+      }
+    })
+
+    // clear require cache
+    for (const entry in require.cache) {
+      if (entry.indexOf(this.path) === 0) {
+        delete require.cache[entry]
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  isEmptyObject (obj) {
+    return (Object.keys(obj).length === 0)
+  }
+
+  syncPackageJSON () {
+    const dependencies = this.toDependencies(this.plugins)
+    const pkg = {
+      name: 'webtorrent-plugins',
+      description: 'Auto-generated from WebTorrent config.',
+      private: true,
+      version: '0.0.1',
+      repository: 'feross/webtorrent-desktop',
+      license: 'MIT',
+      homepage: 'https://webtorrent.io',
+      dependencies
+    }
+
+    const file = resolve(this.path, 'package.json')
+    try {
+      writeFileSync(file, JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 2))
+      return true
+    } catch (err) {
+      this.alert(`An error occurred writing to ${file}`)
+    }
+  }
+
+  alert (message) {
+    notifier.notify({
+      title: 'WebTorrent Plugins',
+      // icon: config.icon, // TODO: save icon in webtorrent local folder and set config.icon
+      message: message
+    })
+  }
+
+  isLocalPath (string) {
+    // matches unix and windows local paths
+    return string.match(/^(\/|[a-z]:\/)/i)
+  }
+
+  toDependencies (plugins) {
+    const obj = {}
+    const pluginNames = Object.keys(plugins)
+
+    pluginNames.forEach(name => {
+      let url = plugins[name]
+      if (this.isLocalPath(url)) return
+      obj[name] = url
+    })
+    return obj
+  }
+
+  installPackages (fn) {
+    const {shell = '', npmRegistry} = config
+
+    shellEnv(shell).then(env => {
+      if (npmRegistry) {
+        env.NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY = npmRegistry
+      }
+      /* eslint-disable camelcase  */
+      env.npm_config_runtime = 'electron'
+      env.npm_config_target = process.versions.electron
+      env.npm_config_disturl = 'https://atom.io/download/atom-shell'
+      /* eslint-enable camelcase  */
+      // Shell-specific installation commands
+      const installCommands = {
+        fish: 'npm prune; and npm install --production',
+        posix: 'npm prune && npm install --production'
+      }
+      // determine the shell we're running in
+      const whichShell = shell.match(/fish/) ? 'fish' : 'posix'
+
+      // Use the install command that is appropriate for our shell
+      exec(installCommands[whichShell], {
+        cwd: this.path
+      }, err => {
+        if (err) return fn(err)
+        fn(null)
+      })
+    }).catch(fn)
+  }
+
+  subscribe (fn) {
+    this.watchers.push(fn)
+    return () => {
+      this.watchers.splice(this.watchers.indexOf(fn), 1)
+    }
+  }
+
+  getPaths (plugins) {
+    const pluginNames = Object.keys(plugins)
+
+    return {
+      plugins: pluginNames.map(name => {
+        let url = plugins[name]
+
+        // plugin is already on a local folder
+        // directly load it from its current location
+        if (this.isLocalPath(url)) return url
+
+        // plugin will be installed with npm install from a remote url
+        return resolve(this.path, 'node_modules', name.split('#')[0])
+      })
+    }
+  }
+
+  requirePlugins () {
+    const {plugins} = this.paths
+    let installNeeded = false
+
+    const load = (path) => {
+      if (!path.match(/\/$/)) {
+        path += '/'
+      }
+
+      const mainPath = `${path}main.js`
+
+      try {
+        const Plugin = require(mainPath) // eslint-disable import/no-dynamic-require
+        const plugin = new Plugin()
+
+        const exposed = plugin && Object.keys(plugin).some(key => this.availableExtensions.has(key))
+        if (!exposed) return
+
+        // populate the name for internal errors here
+        plugin._name = basename(mainPath)
+
+        return plugin
+      } catch (err) {
+        log('Require plugins ERROR:', err)
+        this.alert(`Error loading plugin: ${mainPath}`)
+        // plugin not installed
+        // node_modules removed? did a manual plugin uninstall?
+        // try installing and then loading if successfull
+        installNeeded = true
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Plugin installation happens on the MAIN process.
+    // If plugins haven't finished installing, wait for them.
+    if (installNeeded) {
+      log('Plugins install needed, wait...')
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        this.requirePlugins()
+      }, 3000)
+    }
+    return plugins.map(load).filter(v => Boolean(v))
+  }
+
+  onApp (app) {
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      if (plugin.onApp) {
+        plugin.onApp(app)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  onWindow (win) {
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      if (plugin.onWindow) {
+        plugin.onWindow(win)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  // decorates the base object by calling plugin[key]
+  // for all the available plugins
+  decorateObject (base, key) {
+    let decorated = base
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      if (plugin[key]) {
+        const res = plugin[key](decorated)
+        if (res && typeof res === 'object') {
+          decorated = res
+        } else {
+          this.alert(`Plugin error: "${plugin._name}": invalid return type for \`${key}\``)
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    return decorated
+  }
+
+  decorateMenu (tpl) {
+    return this.decorateObject(tpl, 'decorateMenu')
+  }
+
+  decorateWindow (options) {
+    return this.decorateObject(options, 'decorateWindow')
+  }
+
+  getDecoratedEnv (baseEnv) {
+    return this.decorateObject(baseEnv, 'decorateEnv')
+  }
+
+  getDecoratedConfig () {
+    const baseConfig = config.getConfig()
+    return this.decorateObject(baseConfig, 'decorateConfig')
+  }
+
+  getDecoratedBrowserOptions (defaults) {
+    return this.decorateObject(defaults, 'decorateBrowserOptions')
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Logs passed arguments to console using a prefix.
+ *
+ */
+function log () {
+  const prefix = '[ PLUGINS.Main ]-->'
+  const args = [prefix]
+
+  for (var i = 0; i < arguments.length; ++i) {
+    args.push(arguments[i])
+  }
+
+  console.log.apply(console, args)
+}

src/main/windows/main.js

@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@ const config = require('../../config')
 const log = require('../log')
 const menu = require('../menu')
 
-function init (state, options) {
+function init (state, options, decorate) {
   if (main.win) {
     return main.win.show()
   }
 
   const initialBounds = Object.assign(config.WINDOW_INITIAL_BOUNDS, state.saved.bounds)
 
-  const win = main.win = new electron.BrowserWindow({
+  let windowOptions = {
     backgroundColor: '#282828',
     backgroundThrottling: false, // do not throttle animations/timers when page is background
     darkTheme: true, // Forces dark theme (GTK+3)
@@ -45,7 +45,10 @@ function init (state, options) {
     width: initialBounds.width,
     x: initialBounds.x,
     y: initialBounds.y
-  })
+  }
+  if (decorate) windowOptions = decorate(windowOptions)
+
+  const win = main.win = new electron.BrowserWindow(windowOptions)
 
   win.loadURL(config.WINDOW_MAIN)
 

src/main/windows/webtorrent.js

@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ const electron = require('electron')
 
 const config = require('../../config')
 
-function init () {
-  const win = webtorrent.win = new electron.BrowserWindow({
+function init (decorate) {
+  let options = {
     backgroundColor: '#1E1E1E',
     backgroundThrottling: false, // do not throttle animations/timers when page is background
     center: true,
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ function init () {
     title: 'webtorrent-hidden-window',
     useContentSize: true,
     width: 150
-  })
+  }
+  if (decorate) options = decorate(options)
+  const win = webtorrent.win = new electron.BrowserWindow(options)
 
   win.loadURL(config.WINDOW_WEBTORRENT)
 

src/renderer/main.js

@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ const telemetry = require('./lib/telemetry')
 const sound = require('./lib/sound')
 const TorrentPlayer = require('./lib/torrent-player')
 
+const Plugins = require('./plugins')
+const plugins = new Plugins()
+
 // Perf optimization: Needed immediately, so do not lazy load it below
 const TorrentListController = require('./controllers/torrent-list-controller')
 
@@ -114,6 +117,8 @@ function onState (err, _state) {
     })
   }
 
+  plugins.init({dispatch, state})
+
   // Add first page to location history
   state.location.go({
     url: 'home',
@@ -332,6 +337,7 @@ function dispatch (action, ...args) {
   }
 
   const handler = dispatchHandlers[action]
+  plugins.on(action, args)
   if (handler) handler(...args)
   else console.error('Missing dispatch handler: ' + action)
 

src/renderer/plugins.js

@@ -0,0 +1,287 @@
+const {resolve, basename} = require('path')
+const notifier = require('node-notifier')
+const crypto = require('crypto')
+
+const config = require('../config')
+
+module.exports = class Plugins {
+  constructor () {
+    // modules path
+    this.path = resolve(config.getConfigPath(), 'plugins')
+    log('Path: ', this.path)
+    this.availableExtensions = [
+      'onCheckForSubtitles'
+    ]
+
+    this.forceUpdate = false
+    this.updating = false
+    this.watchers = []
+    this.state = {}
+  }
+
+  init (params) {
+    this.state = params.state
+
+    // initialize state
+    this.state.saved = Object.assign(this.state.saved || {})
+
+    // caches
+    this.plugins = config.getPlugins()
+    this.paths = this.getPaths(this.plugins)
+    this.id = this.getId(this.plugins)
+    this.modules = this.requirePlugins()
+
+    // TODO: fire an event when plugins finish updating and listen to that.
+    // Listen to plugin changes on config.
+    // New plugins added, plugins removed or updated.
+    // The actual plugin update action will take place in the MAIN process.
+    config.subscribe(() => {
+      const plugins = config.getPlugins()
+      if (plugins !== this.plugins) {
+        const id = this.getId(plugins)
+        if (this.id !== id) {
+          log('UPDATING...')
+          this.id = id
+          this.plugins = plugins
+          this.paths = this.getPaths(this.plugins)
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    // Plugins will be updated on the MAIN process after 5s.
+    if (this.needsUpdate()) {
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        this.init(params)
+      }, 6000)
+      log('Plugins need update, init scheduled')
+      return
+    }
+
+    this.loadPlugins()
+    this.initPlugins(params)
+  }
+
+  initPlugins (params) {
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      if (plugin.init) {
+        plugin.init(params)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  on (action, params) {
+    log(`ON ${action}:`, params)
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      const actionName = this.capitalizeFirstLetter(action)
+      const methodName = `on${actionName}`
+      if (typeof plugin[methodName] === 'function') {
+        plugin[methodName](params)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  capitalizeFirstLetter (string) {
+    return string.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + string.slice(1)
+  }
+
+  didPluginsChange () {
+    return this.state.saved.installedPlugins !== this.id
+  }
+
+  hasPlugins () {
+    return !this.isEmptyObject(this.plugins)
+  }
+
+  isFirstInstall () {
+    return (!this.state.saved.installedPlugins && this.hasPlugins())
+  }
+
+  needsUpdate () {
+    return (this.didPluginsChange() || this.isFirstInstall())
+  }
+
+  getId (plugins) {
+    const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256')
+    hash.update(JSON.stringify(plugins))
+    return hash.digest('hex')
+  }
+
+  loadPlugins (err, localOnly = false) {
+    this.updating = false
+
+    // handle errors first
+    if (err) {
+      console.error(err.stack)
+      if (/not a recognized/.test(err.message) || /command not found/.test(err.message)) {
+        this.alert(
+          'Error updating plugins: We could not find the "npm" command. Make sure it\'s in $PATH'
+        )
+        return
+      }
+
+      this.alert(`Error updating plugins: Check '${this.path}/npm-debug.log' for more information.`)
+      return
+    }
+
+    // update state with latest plugins
+    this.state.saved.plugins = this.plugins
+
+    // cache modules
+    this.modules = this.requirePlugins()
+
+    // clear require cache
+    this.clearCache()
+  }
+
+  getPluginVersions () {
+    const paths_ = this.paths.plugins
+    return paths_.map(path => {
+      let version = null
+      try {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-dynamic-require
+        version = require(resolve(path, 'package.json')).version
+      } catch (err) { }
+      return [
+        basename(path),
+        version
+      ]
+    })
+  }
+
+  clearCache () {
+    // clear require cache
+    for (const entry in require.cache) {
+      if (entry.indexOf(this.path) === 0) {
+        delete require.cache[entry]
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  isEmptyObject (obj) {
+    return (Object.keys(obj).length === 0)
+  }
+
+  alert (message) {
+    notifier.notify({
+      title: 'WebTorrent Plugins',
+      // icon: config.icon, // TODO: save icon in webtorrent local folder and set config.icon
+      message: message
+    })
+  }
+
+  subscribe (fn) {
+    this.watchers.push(fn)
+    return () => {
+      this.watchers.splice(this.watchers.indexOf(fn), 1)
+    }
+  }
+
+  isLocalPath (string) {
+    // matches unix and windows local paths
+    return string.match(/^(\/|[a-z]:\/)/i)
+  }
+
+  getPaths (plugins) {
+    const pluginNames = Object.keys(plugins)
+
+    return {
+      plugins: pluginNames.map(name => {
+        let url = plugins[name]
+
+        // plugin is already on a local folder
+        // directly load it from its current location
+        if (this.isLocalPath(url)) return url
+
+        // plugin will be installed with npm install from a remote url
+        return resolve(this.path, 'node_modules', name.split('#')[0])
+      })
+    }
+  }
+
+  exposesSupportedApi (plugin) {
+    if (!plugin) return false
+
+    return this.availableExtensions.some((methodName) => {
+      return (typeof plugin[methodName] === 'function')
+    })
+  }
+
+  requirePlugins () {
+    const {plugins} = this.paths
+    let installNeeded = false
+
+    const load = (path) => {
+      if (!path.match(/\/$/)) {
+        path += '/'
+      }
+
+      const rendererPath = `${path}renderer.js`
+
+      try {
+        const Plugin = require(rendererPath) // eslint-disable import/no-dynamic-require
+        const plugin = new Plugin()
+
+        const exposed = this.exposesSupportedApi(plugin)
+        if (!exposed) {
+          log('Plugin not exposing any available extensions.', rendererPath, Object.keys(plugin))
+          return
+        }
+
+        // populate the name for internal errors here
+        plugin._name = basename(rendererPath)
+
+        return plugin
+      } catch (err) {
+        log('Require plugins ERROR:', err)
+        this.alert(`Error loading plugin: ${rendererPath}`)
+        // plugin not installed
+        // node_modules removed? did a manual plugin uninstall?
+        // try installing and then loading if successfull
+        installNeeded = true
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Plugin installation happens on the MAIN process.
+    // If plugins haven't finished installing, wait for them.
+    if (installNeeded) {
+      log('Plugins install needed, wait...')
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        this.requirePlugins()
+      }, 3000)
+    }
+    return plugins.map(load).filter(v => Boolean(v))
+  }
+
+  // decorates the base object by calling plugin[key]
+  // for all the available plugins
+  decorateObject (base, key) {
+    let decorated = base
+    this.modules.forEach(plugin => {
+      if (plugin[key]) {
+        const res = plugin[key](decorated)
+        if (res && typeof res === 'object') {
+          decorated = res
+        } else {
+          this.alert(`Plugin error: "${plugin._name}": invalid return type for \`${key}\``)
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    return decorated
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Logs passed arguments to console using a prefix.
+ *
+ */
+function log () {
+  const prefix = '[ PLUGINS.Renderer ]-->'
+  const args = [prefix]
+
+  for (var i = 0; i < arguments.length; ++i) {
+    args.push(arguments[i])
+  }
+
+  console.log.apply(console, args)
+}