NativeScript - Plugins

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The npm package is used for adding native functionality. Using this package, we can install or search or delete any plugins. This section explains about plugins in detail.

Commands

add − It is used to install plugin.

update − Updates specified plugin and modify its dependencies.

remove − Removes the plugin.

build − It is used to build plugin for iOS or android projects.

create − Creates a plugin for your project.

Adding Plugin

Below syntax is used to add a new plugin −

tns plugin add <plugin-name>

For example, if you want to add nativescript-barcodescanner, you can use the following code −

tns plugin add nativescript-barcodescanner

You could see the following response −

+ nativescript-barcodescanner@3.4.1 
added 1 package from 1 contributor and audited 11704 packages in 8.76s

You can also use npm module to add the above plugin −

npm install nativescript-barcodescanner

Now, NativeScript CLI downloads the plugin from npm and add inside your node_modules folder.

If you want to add the plugin directly to your package.json and resolve all the dependency issues, you can use the below command instead of the previous one −

npm i nativescript-barcodescanner

If you want to install a developer dependencies during development, use the below code −

npm i tns-platform-declarations --save-dev

Here,

tns-platform-declarations is a developer dependency required only for intelliSense during the development process.

Importing Plugins

Now, we have installed nativescript-barcodescanner plugin. Let us add inside your project using the below command −

const maps = require("nativescript-barcodescanner"); 
maps.requestPermissions();

Updating Plugins

This method is used to update a specified plugin so it uninstalls previous one and installs new version and modify its dependencies. It is defined below −

tns plugin update <Plugin name version>

Removing Plugin

If you want remove the plugin, if not required, you can use the below syntax −

tns plugin remove <plugin-name>

For example, if you want to remove the above installed nativescript-google-maps-sdk, then use the below command −

tns plugin remove nativescript-barcodescanner

You could see the following response −

Successfully removed plugin nativescript-barcodescanner

Building Plugins

It is used to build the plugin’s Android-specific project files located in platforms/android. Let us build the nativescript-barcodescanner pugin using the below command −

tns plugin build nativescript-barcodescanner

Creating Plugins

NativeScript plugins are simple JavaScript modules. It is defined inside your application src\package.json file. This module is used to create a new project for NativeScript plugin development. It is defined below −

tns plugin create <Plugin Repository Name> [--path <Directory>]
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