I decided to install the teardrop plugin (thanks @Niluje, very nice) and didn’t know which directory to put it in. A search showed that on Linux it should go into ~/.config/kicad/scripting, or .kicad/scripting or .kicad_scripts. [SOLVED] External Plugins Directory Location for Ubuntu It’s different again for OS/X and Windows. Another factlet found by more searching of the forum is that if the plugin is a single script, it can be put in that directory, but if it’s a directory, then there should be a __init__.py.
Why does it have to be so hard for the end user? To broaden the usage of plugins is it possible to write a Python script that installs plugins in the appropriate directory for the platform the user is on, taking into account any configuration overrides? Python has the PIP tool. Various large applications have similar tools, like CPAN, CTAN, npm, etc. Is it possible eventually for a user to type:
kipip teardrops
and the tool (which could be a plugin too?) will fetch the plugin from its repository and put it in the right place?
The trouble with plugins already starts even before the “install” process.
You first have to find a plugin, and without knowing it’s name, or even knowing if there is a plugin for a certain task, it is a “user unfriendly” experience.
For Kicad there is:
which is fairly easy to find, but has a very short list (of hopefully high quality) plugins. (I do not really use them myself)
A general search on github gives 62 results: https://github.com/search?q=kicad+plugin
I very much like the way that plugins are installed in FreeCAD. If you just click on:
FreeCAD / Tools / Addon Manager, you get a list of some 80+ different plugins.
It’s also got a very short description and an URL, often(?) a github link.
I would like a more extensive descripitons of what a certain plugin is for, how it works, but these are often a single click away by opening the URL, so in this case:
I have not checked (yet), but it seems logical a request for something like this would already be on gitlab.
I’m glad you agree that the experience leaves a lot to be desired. Other installers offer a complete experience, either there is a website where the packages are categorised, or the librarian, e.g. the Arduino one, tells you what is available. These systems also can tell you what you have installed, what you can install, and what needs to be updated in the ones you have installed. So lots of room to improve.
