new-plugin

Create New Kibana Plugin

CRITICAL: Plugin Location

Kibana plugins MUST be created inside the Kibana repository in the plugins/ directory. They cannot be developed outside the Kibana repo — the build tools require access to Kibana's scripts.

kibana/                    <- Kibana repository root
├── plugins/               <- YOUR PLUGINS GO HERE
│   └── my_plugin/         <- Your plugin
├── scripts/               <- Build scripts (plugin-helpers)
├── src/
└── package.json

Recommended: Use Kibana's Built-in Generator

For the most reliable setup, use Kibana's official generator:

cd /path/to/kibana
node scripts/generate_plugin my_plugin_name

This creates a properly configured plugin with all necessary files.

Manual Creation (if generator unavailable)

Ask the user for:

1. Plugin ID (snake_case, e.g., my_awesome_plugin)
2. Display name (human-readable, e.g., "My Awesome Plugin")
3. Description (one sentence)
4. Plugin type: Server-side, Browser-side, or Both
5. Include app in navigation? (yes/no)

Generated Structure

kibana/plugins/{plugin_id}/
├── kibana.jsonc              # Plugin manifest (Kibana 8.x uses .jsonc)
├── package.json              # NPM package (REQUIRED - specific format)
├── tsconfig.json             # TypeScript config
├── common/
│   └── index.ts
├── public/                   # Browser-side (if selected)
│   ├── index.ts
│   ├── plugin.ts
│   └── types.ts
└── server/                   # Server-side (if selected)
    ├── index.ts
    ├── plugin.ts
    ├── types.ts
    └── routes/
        └── index.ts

package.json Template (REQUIRED - EXACT FORMAT)

For Kibana 8.x+ — use this minimal format:

{
  "name": "{plugin_id}",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "private": true
}

That's it! Modern Kibana 8.x plugins:

• Use kibana.jsonc for all plugin metadata
• Don't need scripts in package.json — run everything from Kibana root
• Should NOT have "main", "kibana", or build scripts