KohaCon13: Koha and Plugins

by Joy Nelson on Oct 16, 2013

What are plugins? These are additions to Koha that will perform new ‘tricks’ to Koha that are not included in general functionality or functionality specific to our library. Plugins can also run reports that are too complex for the Reports module. Go to tools in Koha to run Tool plugins and the Report plugins can be found in the Reports module. Plugins can ‘live’ in both places at once! The Plugin listings will list the author and version constraints if any exist. Just in case they work with one version but not the next. You can view the configuration options and uninstall the plugins from the list of plugins. If a plugin stores data then the uninstall script will make allowances for it in some way, i.e. a backup, etc.

The system preferences are enabled through the use of the system preference and also the Koha configuration file. This prevents malicious use of the plugins. As with any download, TRUST YOUR SOURCE. Only install plugins from trusted sources. Kyle has written a few plugins and those are available to download on the ByWater website.

If you are interested in developing a plugin, contact Kyle. If you are at KohaCon13, then stick around for the Hackfest and he will be happy to show you!!!