**IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template** is a repository that provides a pure boilerplate template to make it easier to create a new plugin project (check the [Creating a repository from a template][gh:template] article).
The main goal of this template is to speed up the setup phase of plugin development for both new and experienced developers by preconfiguring the project scaffold and CI, linking to the proper documentation pages, and keeping everything organized.
After using the template to create your blank project, the [Template Cleanup][file:template_cleanup.yml] workflow will be triggered to override or remove any template-specific configurations, such as the plugin name, current changelog, etc.
Once this is complete, the project is ready to be cloned to your local environment and opened with [IntelliJ IDEA][jb:download-ij].
For the last step, you have to manually review the configuration variables described in the [`gradle.properties`][file:gradle.properties] file and *optionally* move sources from the *com.github.username.repository* package to the one that works best for you.
The recommended method for plugin development involves using the [Gradle][gradle] setup with the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin] installed.
The `gradle-intellij-plugin` makes it possible to run the IDE with your plugin and publish your plugin to JetBrains Marketplace Repository.
- Integration with the [gradle-changelog-plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin], which automatically patches the change notes and description based on the `CHANGELOG.md` and `README.md` files.
For more details regarding Kotlin integration, please see [Kotlin for Plugin Developers][kotlin-for-plugin-developers] section in the IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK documentation.
The properties listed define the plugin itself or configure the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin] – check its documentation for more details.
Some values used for the Gradle configuration shouldn't be stored in files to avoid publishing them to the Version Control System.
To avoid that, environment variables are introduced, which can be provided within the *Run/Debug Configuration* within the IDE, or on the CI – like for GitHub: `⚙️ Settings > Secrets`.
Environment variables used by the current project are related to the [plugin signing](#plugin-signing) and [publishing](#publishing-the-plugin).
To configure GitHub secret environment variables, go to the `⚙️ Settings > Secrets` section of your project repository:
![Settings > Secrets][file:settings-secrets.png]
There's a `Publish Plugin` preconfigured *Run/Debug Configuration* available within the project, so you can also run the publishing flow from your local environment.
To provide all required secrets, go to the `Publish Plugin` settings and edit the `Environment variables` section:
In addition to the configuration files, the most crucial part is the `src` directory, which contains our implementation and the manifest for our plugin – [plugin.xml][file:plugin.xml].
The prepared template provides as little code as possible because it is impossible for a general scaffold to fulfill all the specific requirements for all types of plugins (language support, build tools, VCS related tools).
Therefore, the template contains only the following files:
To start with the actual implementation, you may check our [IntelliJ Platform SDK DevGuide][docs], which contains an introduction to the essential areas of the plugin development together with dedicated tutorials.
For those, who value example codes the most, there are also available [IntelliJ SDK Code Samples][gh:code-samples] and [IntelliJ Platform Explorer][jb:ipe] – a search tool for browsing Extension Points inside existing implementations of open-source IntelliJ Platform plugins.
Within the default project structure, there is a `.run` directory provided containing three predefined *Run/Debug configurations* that expose corresponding Gradle tasks:
| Run Verifications | Runs [`:runPluginVerifier`][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin-verifier-dsl] Gradle IntelliJ Plugin task to check the plugin compatibility against the specified IntelliJ IDEs. |
| Publish Plugin | Runs `signPlugin` and `publishPlugin` Gradle tasks. Check [Environment variables](#environment-variables) section for more details on how to configure it. |
Continuous integration depends on [GitHub Actions][gh:actions], a set of workflows that make it possible to automate your testing and release process.
Thanks to such automation, you can delegate the testing and verification phases to the Continuous Integration (CI) and instead focus on development (and writing more tests).
Keeping the project in good shape and having all the dependencies up-to-date requires time and effort, but it is possible to automate that process using [Dependabot][gh:dependabot].
Dependabot is a bot provided by GitHub for checking the build configuration files and reviewing any outdated or insecure dependencies of yours – in case if any update is available, it creates a new pull request providing [the proper change][gh:dependabot-pr].
There are many methods for handling the project's changelog.
The one used in the current template project is the [Keep a Changelog][keep-a-changelog] approach.
The [Gradle Changelog Plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin] takes care of propagating information provided within the [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md) to the [Gradle IntelliJ Plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin].
The only thing you have to take care of is writing down the actual changes in proper sections of the `[Unreleased]` section.
You start with an almost empty changelog:
```
# YourPlugin Changelog
## [Unreleased]
### Added
- Initial scaffold created from [IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template](https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template)
```
Now proceed with providing more entries to the `Added` group, or any other one that suits your change the most (see [How do I make a good changelog?][keep-a-changelog-how] for more details).
When releasing a plugin update, you don't have to care about bumping the `[Unreleased]` header to the upcoming version – it will be handled automatically on the Continuous Integration (CI) after you publish your plugin.
GitHub Actions will swap it and provide you an empty section for the next release so that you can proceed with your development:
```
# YourPlugin Changelog
## [Unreleased]
## [0.0.1]
### Added
- An awesome feature
- Initial scaffold created from [IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template](https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template)
### Fixed
- One annoying bug
```
To configure how the Changelog plugin behaves, i.e., to create headers with the release date, see [Gradle Changelog Plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin] README file.
The release process depends on the workflows already described above.
When your main branch receives a new pull request or a direct push, the [Build](.github/workflows/build.yml) workflow runs multiple tests on your plugin and prepares a draft release.
When you edit the draft and use the <kbd>Publish release</kbd> button, GitHub will tag your repository with the given version and add a new entry to the Releases tab.
Next, it will notify users that are *watching* the repository, and it will trigger the final [Release](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow.
Plugin Signing is a mechanism introduced in the 2021.2 release cycle to increase security in [JetBrains Marketplace](https://plugins.jetbrains.com) and all of our IntelliJ-based IDEs.
The current project provides a predefined plugin signing configuration that lets you sign and publish your plugin from the Continuous Integration (CI) and local environments.
All the configuration related to the signing should be provided using [environment variables](#environment-variables).
To find out how to generate signing certificates, check the [Plugin Signing][docs:plugin-signing] section in the IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK documentation.
Releasing a plugin to JetBrains Marketplace is a straightforward operation that uses the `publishPlugin` Gradle task provided by the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin].
In addition, the [Release](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow automates this process by running the task when a new release appears in the GitHub Releases section.
> **TIP**: Set a suffix to the plugin version to publish it in the custom repository channel, i.e. `v1.0.0-beta` will push your plugin to the `beta` [release channel][docs:release-channel].
The authorization process relies on the `PUBLISH_TOKEN` secret environment variable, which must be specified in the _Secrets_ section of the repository _Settings_.
> Before using the automated deployment process, it is necessary to manually create a new plugin in JetBrains Marketplace to specify options like the license, repository URL, etc.
Since the February 2021, GitHub Actions [support the skip CI feature][github-actions-skip-ci].
If the message contains one of the following strings: `[skip ci]`, `[ci skip]`, `[no ci]`, `[skip actions]`, or `[actions skip]`– workflows will not be triggered.
