Guide Package Manager

Package Manager Guide

ARO includes a Git-based package manager for installing and managing plugins.

Installation Commands

Install a Plugin

aro add <git-url>[@ref]

Examples:

# Install from Git URL
aro add git@github.com:arolang/plugin-swift-hello.git

# Install specific version
aro add git@github.com:arolang/plugin-rust-csv.git@v1.0.0

# Install from branch
aro add git@github.com:arolang/plugin-python-markdown.git@main

Remove a Plugin

aro remove <plugin-name>

Example:

aro remove plugin-swift-hello

Plugin Management Commands

List Installed Plugins

aro plugins list

Update All Plugins

aro plugins update

Validate Plugins

Check that all installed plugins are valid and dependencies are satisfied:

aro plugins validate

Export Plugin Sources

Export plugin source URLs to .aro-sources file (useful for version control):

aro plugins export

Restore Plugins

Restore plugins from .aro-sources file:

aro plugins restore

Plugin Directory Structure

Plugins are installed in the Plugins/ directory:

MyApp/
├── main.aro
├── openapi.yaml
└── Plugins/
    ├── plugin-swift-hello/
    │   ├── plugin.yaml
    │   ├── Sources/
    │   └── features/
    └── plugin-rust-csv/
        ├── plugin.yaml
        ├── Cargo.toml
        └── src/

The plugin.yaml Manifest

Every plugin requires a plugin.yaml manifest:

name: my-plugin
version: 1.0.0
description: "Plugin description"
author: "Author Name"
license: MIT
aro-version: ">=0.1.0"

source:
  git: "git@github.com:user/my-plugin.git"
  ref: "main"

provides:
  - type: aro-files
    path: features/
  - type: swift-plugin
    path: Sources/

dependencies:
  other-plugin:
    git: "git@github.com:arolang/other-plugin.git"
    ref: "v1.0.0"

Required Fields

Field	Description
name	Plugin name (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
version	Semantic version (e.g., "1.0.0")
provides	List of components this plugin provides

Provide Types

Type	Description
aro-files	ARO feature set files
swift-plugin	Swift package
rust-plugin	Rust library (FFI)
c-plugin	C/C++ library (FFI)
cpp-plugin	C++ library (FFI)
python-plugin	Python module

Plugin Languages

ARO supports plugins in multiple languages:

ARO Files

Pure ARO feature sets that can be reused:

provides:
  - type: aro-files
    path: features/

Swift Plugins

Native Swift integration with the ARO runtime:

provides:
  - type: swift-plugin
    path: Sources/

build:
  swift:
    minimum-version: "6.2"

Rust Plugins

High-performance plugins via FFI:

provides:
  - type: rust-plugin
    path: src/
    build:
      cargo-target: release
      output: target/release/libplugin.dylib

C/C++ Plugins

System-level plugins via FFI:

provides:
  - type: c-plugin
    path: src/
    build:
      compiler: clang
      flags: ["-O2", "-fPIC", "-shared"]
      output: libplugin.dylib

Python Plugins

Access to Python's ecosystem:

provides:
  - type: python-plugin
    path: src/
    python:
      min-version: "3.9"
      requirements: requirements.txt

Plugin Dependencies

Plugins can depend on other plugins:

dependencies:
  string-helpers:
    git: "git@github.com:arolang/plugin-string-helpers.git"
    ref: "v1.0.0"

Dependencies are automatically resolved and installed in the correct order.

Example Plugins

The ARO team maintains example plugins:

Plugin	Language	Purpose
plugin-swift-hello	Swift	Greeting actions
plugin-rust-csv	Rust	CSV parsing
plugin-c-hash	C	Hash functions
plugin-python-markdown	Python	Markdown processing

Creating Your Own Plugin

See Guide: Creating Plugins for detailed instructions on creating plugins.

Related Topics

• Guide: Actions
• Guide: Services
• Action Developer Guide