Intro to the Plugin Ecosystem
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General concepts > Plugins
Plugins
While DatoCMS already offers a very wide range of options and configurations, with plugins it is possible to take a leap forward and integrate market-leading third-party services with the DatoCMS platform, or build custom integrations tailored specifically to your business.
What can plugins do?
A better question is — what do you want to achieve with plugins? Using plugins, a huge variety of enhancements to the DatoCMS web app are possible, from small field editor improvements to deeply integrated full-page applications. The Plugin SDK makes customizing the web app effortless.
Some common use cases are:
Adding custom field editors to improve the editor experience;
Managing content versions for running A/B tests on structured content using personalization tools;
Customizing the default entry editor to suit your specific needs;
Seamlessly integrating DatoCMS with third-party software and services;
Managing and distributing Plugins
Private plugins
A private plugin is built by you for your specific organization's needs to optimize your organization's editorial experience. It is fully under your control and not accessible by other organizations. The total number of plugins and installations within your organization/environment is limited based on your DatoCMS plan.
Marketplace plugins
Marketplace plugins are built by our community and connect DatoCMS with other systems allowing you to assemble the stack of your choice. Everyone can (and is encouraged to) contribute with new plugins by releasing them as NPM packages.
More than 100 plugins are already available on the Marketplace, and can be installed free of charge without touching a single line of code. Installation is extremely simple, and can happen both programmatically or using the interface.
Installing Marketplace Plugins
To install a new plugin for your project, go to Configuration > Plugins and click on Add a new plugin.
This action will open the Plugin Marketplace directly within your DatoCMS backend, allowing you to browse all available community plugins. You can filter by categories such as Most Popular, Recently Released, or use the search bar to find plugins by keyword.
When you find a plugin you’d like to use, click on its card to open the details page. Here, you’ll see a description, metadata, and other relevant information about the plugin. Simply click the Install button to add it to your project.
Once installed, the modal will close, and the newly added plugin will appear in the Plugins list, ready for configuration.
If you're not sure what plugins you need and want some inspiration, we've also curated commonly used plugins under collections like Editor Favorites and Dev Favorites to make it simpler for you to pick and choose the greatest hits.
Creating new Plugins
To learn how to build new plugins, and maybe share them with the community, please visit our detailed guide or take a look at this video tutorial on how to start developing a plugin from scratch.
