Manifest (plugin.json)

Every plugin folder has a plugin.json at its root. This is the JavaScript example's:

{
  "id": "hellojs",
  "name": "Hello (JavaScript example)",
  "description": "A minimal JavaScript plugin: a counter variable, a settings page, one action and a status item.",
  "author": "Deccoyi",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/Deccoyi/macro-grid-plugin/tree/main/HelloJs",
  "version": "0.1.2",
  "minMacroGrid": "1.0.0",
  "sdkVersion": "^0.4.0",
  "minServerVersion": "0.3.2",
  "entry": "index.js",
  "kind": "js",
  "permissions": ["variables", "actions"]
}

Fields

Field	Required	Meaning
id	yes	Unique, stable id. Used in the folder name, in action types and variable names, and for approvals. The server refuses a second plugin with the same id.
name	yes	Display name in the Plugins window.
version	yes	The plugin's own semantic version, independent of the server's.
minMacroGrid	yes	The oldest Macro Grid the plugin runs on, as MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH such as 1.3.0. It is a minimum, not an exact match: the plugin runs on every Macro Grid from that version up to, but not including, the next MAJOR — an older server (say 1.2.1 written but the server is 1.1.1) does not run it. Macro Grid and the plugin SDK share one version, so use the SDK version you build against, or an older one if you use nothing newer. A server that does not fit lists the plugin as Incompatible and does not load it. Was called macroGrid up to Macro Grid 1.2.x; that name still works, read only when minMacroGrid is absent, and stays readable for at least one MAJOR after the rename.
macroGrid	no	Legacy: the earlier name of minMacroGrid, same meaning and format. Read only when minMacroGrid is missing. A plugin that must still run on Macro Grid up to 1.2.x (which reads only this name) writes both, with the same value.
sdkVersion	no	Legacy, from before Macro Grid 1.0.0. Read only when neither minMacroGrid nor macroGrid is present: ^0.4.x then counts as minMacroGrid: 1.0.0, older ranges are incompatible. Keep it next to minMacroGrid only if the plugin must still load on servers older than 1.0.0.
minServerVersion	no	Legacy, the same as sdkVersion. Macro Grid 1.0.0 and newer ignore it.
entry	yes	JavaScript: the script (usually index.js). For an official C# plugin: the entry DLL's file name.
kind	yes	"js" for every plugin except the official ones. "csharp" is used only by the official plugins, and the server loads such a plugin only when it carries the official signature (signature.json and signature.sig); a plugin that claims "csharp" without it is shown as Not allowed.
defaultLanguage	no	The language the plugin's own texts are written in, such as "en" (the default). Translations come from locales/<language>.json next to plugin.json; a missing language or text falls back to the text as written.
permissions	no	JavaScript only: the permissions the script needs (see Permissions).
description	no	A one-line summary shown in Discover and the Store. Additive; older hosts ignore it.
author	no	The plugin's author, shown next to description. Additive.
homepage	no	A URL to the plugin's page or source, shown as a link. Additive.

JSON schema

The manifest maps to the PluginManifest record in the SDK (property names are camelCase in the file). A schema you can use in an editor:

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["id", "name", "version", "minMacroGrid", "entry", "kind"],
  "properties": {
    "id": { "type": "string" },
    "name": { "type": "string" },
    "version": { "type": "string" },
    "minMacroGrid": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+$" },
    "macroGrid": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+$" },
    "sdkVersion": { "type": "string" },
    "minServerVersion": { "type": "string" },
    "entry": { "type": "string" },
    "kind": { "enum": ["csharp", "js"] },
    "defaultLanguage": { "type": "string" },
    "permissions": { "type": ["array", "null"], "items": { "type": "string" } },
    "description": { "type": "string" },
    "author": { "type": "string" },
    "homepage": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "additionalProperties": true
}

The server does not read this schema; it is provided for convenience and is derived from the SDK's PluginManifest.

Example

A JavaScript plugin:

{
  "id": "hellojs",
  "name": "Hello (JavaScript example)",
  "description": "A minimal JavaScript plugin: a counter variable, a settings page, one action and a status item.",
  "author": "Deccoyi",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/Deccoyi/macro-grid-plugin/tree/main/HelloJs",
  "version": "0.1.2",
  "minMacroGrid": "1.0.0",
  "sdkVersion": "^0.4.0",
  "minServerVersion": "0.3.2",
  "entry": "index.js",
  "kind": "js",
  "permissions": ["variables", "actions"]
}

See Compatibility for what counts as a breaking change.