How to distribute plugins?

[Timmmm]

I have written a custom plugin similar to MultiEditorImage, called MultiEditorVarints (it decodes a BLOB of varints). I put it next to the MultiEditorImage in the source, like this:

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/376842/105727689-3d304600-5f23-11eb-95ea-f64e686cff62.png)

I can build it and it runs fine. But I'd like to distribute it. It generates libMultiEditorVarints.dylib file, and I've tried copying that into the /Applications/SQLIteStudio.app/Contents/PlugIns directory of the current release version. However when I start that version it gives this error:

Data editor plugin '%1' not loaded, while it is defined for editing '%1' data type.

(I think there's a missing .arg() in there somewhere!)

If I go into the Plugins section of Preferences my plugin is not there. Should this work? Am I missing a step?

I'm also compiling my plugin from today's master, but copying it to the 3.2.1 release - would you expect that to break it? Is distributing plugins even supported?

Any help appreciated!

[pawelsalawa]

I think it might be related to dependency resolving.
When you put your plugin to the PlugIns directory, please go there within your terminal command line and type otool -L libMultiEditorVarints.dylib. You can compare it with result for any other plugin in this directory. Seeing anything unusual?

[pawelsalawa]

How about you try to run the app from command line with options: -d --debug-stdout and see if it prints anything useful.

[pawelsalawa]

I just noticed you're using master branch. It's a really bad idea right now. It's a mess, waiting for fix.

Best what you can do is to download source code package for 3.2.1 - it is available at Releases page: https://github.com/pawelsalawa/sqlitestudio/archive/3.2.1.zip

[Timmmm]

Ok I tried this again with the 3.3.2 release and it works now! I think the install name handling is still pretty janky. For some reason when you do make bundle it unfixes the install names in the plugins... or something. Hard to follow anyway.

Rather than compiling everything and fixing the install names afterwards it would be better to specify them during compilation. That would also mean you don't need to fix the plugin install names at all because they would inherit the right names in the first place.

E.g. in the macx section of coreSQLiteStudio.pro maybe try adding something like this:

    QMAKE_LFLAGS_SONAME = -Wl,-install_name,@rpath/$${TARGET}.$${QMAKE_EXTENSION_SHLIB}

Anyway thanks for doing the 3.3 release! Dark mode is great.

[pawelsalawa]

Are you sure you're compiling your plugin with the same Qt that SQLiteStudio is compiled with? Otherwise your plugin would refer to symbol addresses that do not exist in the Qt shipped with SQLiteStudio.

[pawelsalawa]

Oh, I just re-read your message and you said it worked this time. Good.

Regarding compliation flags - I would really rather not change anything. I spent tons of hours to get macosx boundle built properly and I don't to mess it up.