Plugin System

The Zintrust Framework uses a "Zero-Config" plugin system to manage optional components like database adapters, authentication providers, and other features. This keeps the core framework lightweight and dependency-free while allowing you to easily add powerful capabilities when needed.

Overview

Plugins in Zintrust are more than just npm packages. They are templates that inject production-ready code directly into your project structure. This gives you full control over the implementation—you can modify the installed adapter code to fit your specific needs without fighting against a black-box library.

Managing Plugins

You can manage plugins using the zin plugin (or zin p) command.

Listing Available Plugins

To see what plugins are available for installation:

zin plugin list
# OR
zin p -l

Output example:

Available Plugins:
  adapter:postgres     - Available     Production-ready PostgreSQL database adapter
  adapter:sqlite       ✓ Installed     Production-ready SQLite database adapter

Installing a Plugin

To install a plugin, use the install command with the plugin ID or one of its aliases.

# Standard syntax
zin plugin install adapter:sqlite

# Short syntax
zin p -i a:sqlite

What happens during installation?

1. Dependencies: The CLI installs necessary npm packages (e.g., better-sqlite3, @types/better-sqlite3) into your package.json.
2. Code Generation: The CLI copies a pre-configured, production-ready TypeScript file (e.g., src/orm/adapters/SQLiteAdapter.ts) into your project.
3. Configuration: You are ready to go! The framework automatically detects the new adapter.

Uninstalling a Plugin

# Standard syntax
zin plugin uninstall adapter:sqlite

# Short syntax
zin p -u a:sqlite

Note: Currently, uninstalling does not automatically remove the generated code or npm dependencies to prevent accidental data loss. You will need to manually revert the file changes if desired.

Available Plugins

Database Adapters

Plugin ID	Aliases	Description	Dependencies
adapter:postgres	a:postgres, pg	PostgreSQL adapter using pg	pg, @types/pg
adapter:mysql	a:mysql, mysql	MySQL adapter using mysql2	mysql2
adapter:sqlite	a:sqlite, sqlite	SQLite adapter using better-sqlite3	better-sqlite3
adapter:mssql	a:mssql, mssql	SQL Server adapter using mssql	mssql

Features

Plugin ID	Aliases	Description	Dependencies
feature:auth	f:auth, auth	JWT & Bcrypt authentication helper	jsonwebtoken, bcrypt
feature:queue	f:queue, queue	Simple job queue interface	None

Creating Custom Plugins

(Coming Soon) Future versions of Zintrust will allow you to define your own local plugins to standardize components across your organization.