Distributing a QGIS plugin means placing the collection of files on a server as a ZIP
file, with a special configuration file, in order to allow the QGIS plugin manager to locate and install the plugin. The QGIS project has an official repository, but third-party repositories are also permitted. The official repository is very strict regarding how the plugin is uploaded. So, for this recipe, we'll set up a simple third-party repository for a sample plugin and test it with the QGIS plugin manager to avoid polluting the main QGIS repository with a test project.
In order to complete this recipe, you'll need a sample plugin and a web-accessible directory. You'll also need a zip
tool such as the free 7-zip program (http://www.7-zip.org/download.html). You can use the MyPlugin example from the Creating a QGIS plugin recipe as the plugin to distribute. For a web directory, you can use a Google Code repository, GitHub repository, or an other online directory you can access. Code repositories work well because they are a good place to store a plugin that you are developing.
In the following steps, we will package our plugin, create a server configuration file for it, and place it on a server to create a QGIS plugin repository:
First, zip up the plugin directory to create a
.ZIP
file.Rename the
.ZIP
file to contain the plugin's version number:Myplugin.0.1.0.zip
Upload this file to a publicly accessible web directory.
Upload the
icon.png
file from your plugin directory to the web directory.Next, customize a
plugins.xml
metadata file for your plugin. Most of the data you need can be found in themetatdata.txt
file in your plugin directory. The following example provides some guidance:<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'UTF-8'?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="" ?> <plugins> <pyqgis_plugin name="My Plugin" version="0.1.0" plugin_id="227"> <description> <![CDATA[Demonstration of a QGIS Plugin]]> </description> <about></about> <version>0.1.0</version> <qgis_minimum_version>1.8.0</qgis_minimum_version> <qgis_maximum_version>2.9.9</qgis_maximum_version> <homepage> <![CDATA[https://code.google.com/p/geospatialpython]]> </homepage> <file_name>MyPlugin.0.1.0.zip</file_name> <icon> http://geospatialpython.googlecode.com/svn/icon_227.png </icon> <author_name><![CDATA[Joel Lawhead]]></author_name> <download_url> http://geospatialpython.googlecode.com/svn/MyPlugin.0.1.0.zip </download_url> <uploaded_by><![CDATA[jll]]></uploaded_by> <create_date>2014-05-16T15:31:19.824333</create_date> <update_date>2014-07-15T15:31:19.824333</update_date> <experimental>True</experimental> <deprecated>False</deprecated> <tracker> <![CDATA[http://code.google.com/p/geospatialpython/issues]]> </tracker> <repository> <![CDATA[https://geospatialpython.googlecode.com/svn/]]> </repository> <tags> <![CDATA[development,debugging,tools]]></tags> <downloads>0</downloads> <average_vote>0</average_vote> <rating_votes>0</rating_votes> </pyqgis_plugin> </plugins>
Upload the
plugins.xml
file to your web directory.Now, start QGIS and launch the plugins manager by going to the Plugins menu and selecting Manage and Install Plugins….
In the Settings tab of the plugins settings dialog, scroll down and click on the Add… button.
Give the plugin a name and then add the complete URL to your
plugins.xml
in the URL field.Click on the OK button.
To make things easier, disable the other repositories by selecting the repository name, clicking on the Edit button, and unchecking the Enable checkbox.
Click on the OK button.
Click on the Not Installed tab.
Your test plugin should be the only plugin listed, so select it from the list.
Click on the Install Plugin button in the bottom-right corner of the window.
Click on the Close button.
Go to the Plugins menu and select your plugin to ensure that it works.