[poc]lightweight plugin system to the Eclipse Che Dashboard

[olexii4]

What does this PR do?

Add lightweight plugin system to the Eclipse Che Dashboard.

It lets optional features be developed, versioned, and distributed
independently of the dashboard core, without forking the main repository.

The system has three parts:

1. packages/dashboard-plugins — shared type package and runtime registry
   (the "plugin SDK"). Published as @eclipse-che/dashboard-plugins.
2. Plugin bundles — independent source trees in a separate repository
   (olexii4/che-dashboard-plugins),
   released as ZIP archives on GitHub Releases.
3. Dashboard integration — a thin wiring layer (scripts/fetch-plugins.sh,
   scripts/prepare-plugins.sh, src/plugins/) that downloads and mounts
   plugins into the dashboard build.

---

packages/dashboard-plugins — the Plugin SDK

Purpose

Defines the TypeScript contracts (types, interfaces) that both the dashboard
core and plugin authors depend on. Also provides the runtime plugin registry
used by the frontend at startup.

No business logic lives here. The package exists purely to establish a
stable API surface between the dashboard and its plugins.

Package contents

packages/dashboard-plugins/
├── src/
│   ├── types.ts         # All plugin interfaces (FrontendPlugin, PluginSlots, …)
│   ├── registry.ts      # Runtime plugin registration and retrieval
│   ├── index.ts         # Public re-exports
│   └── frontend/
│       └── PluginSlot.tsx  # React slot component + slot getter functions

Type reference

PluginManifest

interface PluginManifest {
  id: string;          // unique plugin identifier
  name: string;
  version: string;
  description: string;
  enabled: boolean;    // if false, plugin is ignored at registration time
}

FrontendPlugin

interface FrontendPlugin {
  manifest: PluginManifest;
  reducerKey: string;          // key in the Redux root reducer
  reducer: Reducer;            // Redux reducer for plugin state
  bootstrap?: (store: Store) => Promise<void>;  // called once after store init
  slots: PluginSlots;
  workspaceHooks?: WorkspaceHooks;
}

PluginSlots — extension points

Slot	Type	Where rendered
workspaceCreation	ComponentType	Create Workspace page
workspaceDetailsOverview	ComponentType	Workspace Details — Overview tab
workspacesListColumn	ColumnDefinition	Workspaces list table — extra column
userPreferencesTab	TabDefinition	User Preferences — extra tab
factoryParams	FactoryParamExtension	Factory URL parameter parsing
navigationItems	NavigationItemDefinition[]	Sidebar navigation
loaderTabs	LoaderTabDefinition[]	Starting workspace — loader tabs

NavigationItemDefinition

interface NavigationItemDefinition {
  to: string;                               // route path, e.g. '/devfiles'
  label: string;                            // static label fallback
  labelSelector?: (state: unknown) => string; // dynamic label from Redux state
  insertAfter?: string;                     // to-path of the item to insert after
}

insertAfter controls ordering without the plugin knowing the full nav list.
Example: insertAfter: '/create-workspace' places "Devfiles" immediately after
"Create Workspace".

LoaderTabDefinition

interface LoaderTabDefinition {
  key: string;          // tab eventKey, e.g. 'DevWorkspace'
  title: string;        // tab label
  component: ComponentType<{ workspace: unknown; isActive: boolean }>;
  insertAfter?: string; // key of the tab to insert after
}

WorkspaceHooks

interface WorkspaceHooks {
  // Called when a workspace is created — lets a plugin inject DevWorkspace patches
  onWorkspaceCreate?: (workspace, factoryParams) => workspace;
  // Called when a workspace is started — lets a plugin block or mutate the start
  onWorkspaceStart?: (workspace) => workspace | null;
}

Registry API (used by the dashboard core)

// Register on startup (called from src/plugins/index.ts)
registerFrontendPlugin(plugin: FrontendPlugin): void

// Read at render time (called by Navigation, Loader, UserPreferences, etc.)
getRegisteredFrontendPlugins(): FrontendPlugin[]
getPluginNavigationItems(): NavigationItemDefinition[]
getPluginLoaderTabs(): LoaderTabDefinition[]
getPluginTabs(): TabDefinition[]       // User Preferences tabs
getPluginColumns(): ColumnDefinition[] // Workspaces list columns

---

Screenshot/screencast of this PR

What issues does this PR fix or reference?

Is it tested? How?

Release Notes

Docs PR

[che-bot]

Click here to review and test in web IDE:

[openshift-ci]

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[github-actions]

Docker image build succeeded: quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552 (linux/amd64, linux/arm64)

kubectl patch command

kubectl patch -n eclipse-che "checluster/eclipse-che" --type=json -p="[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/components/dashboard/deployment", "value": {containers: [{image: "quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552", name: che-dashboard}]}}]"

[github-actions]

Docker image build succeeded: quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552 (linux/amd64, linux/arm64)

kubectl patch command

kubectl patch -n eclipse-che "checluster/eclipse-che" --type=json -p="[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/components/dashboard/deployment", "value": {containers: [{image: "quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552", name: che-dashboard}]}}]"

[github-actions]

Docker image build succeeded: quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552 (linux/amd64, linux/arm64)

kubectl patch command

kubectl patch -n eclipse-che "checluster/eclipse-che" --type=json -p="[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/components/dashboard/deployment", "value": {containers: [{image: "quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552", name: che-dashboard}]}}]"

[github-actions]

Docker image build succeeded: quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552 (linux/amd64, linux/arm64)

kubectl patch command

kubectl patch -n eclipse-che "checluster/eclipse-che" --type=json -p="[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/components/dashboard/deployment", "value": {containers: [{image: "quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard:pr-1552", name: che-dashboard}]}}]"

[openshift-ci]

PR needs rebase.

Details

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