Each plugin library must be in its own subdiretory of the /modules directory. Stellarium is looking for plugins in the /modules subdirectory of the user data directory or the installation data directory. This is why adding a new static plugin requires either asking the developers to add it to the main distribution, or creating and distributing a custom build.ĭynamic plugin libriaries need to be installed in a proper place in Stellarium's file tree to function. Static plugins require changes in the core code of Stellarium (the addition of Qt macros in several classes). This is the reason why the official plugins have been linked statically to the official release. This is used to release fixed versions of some 'official' plugins together with Stellarium's releases.Īs Stellarium's plugin interface has changed over time, plugins for different versions so far are not interchangeable. They become 'built-in', a part of Stellarium's binary files.

static plugins are linked statically at build-time.

This allows dynamic plugins to be distributed separately from Stellarium. dylib on Mac OS X) that are loaded at run-time (on start-up) by Stellarium.

dynamic plugins are stand-alone dynamic libraries (separate files with.

Plugins can be built and used in two different ways: We hope that the plugin system will allow third party developers to write extensions to Stellarium which might not otherwise be included in the core program, and that the system will allow for prototyping of new features before inclusion into the core. Unlike scripts, plugins must be compiled for a specific platform, and will typically only be compatible with a particular version of Stellarium. They are potentially more powerful than scripts, but are more difficult to write and maintain.

Stellarium mac