Plug-ins

Plug-ins add a variety of capabilities and functionalities to Glyphs. They can be grouped into the following types:

• Reporter plug-ins (file name suffix .glyphsReporter) draw additional information in Edit View and are controllable with a Show … menu item at the bottom of the View menu.

• Filter plug-ins (.glyphsFilter) process glyph layers. They are accessible from the Filter menu. Some can be run using the Filter custom parameter (see Filters as Custom Parameters).

• Palette plug-ins (.glyphsPalette) add entries to the Palette (Window → Palette, Cmd-Shift-P). See Palette for details.

• File Format plug-ins (.glyphsFileFormat) add support for opening and exporting additional file formats.

• Tool plug-ins (.glyphsTool) add additional tools to the toolbar. These tools extend Edit View with new features.

• General plug-ins (.glyphsPlugin) add functionality not covered by one of the above types.

Installing Plug-ins

Install plug-ins from the Plugin Manager with a single click. Plug-ins are loaded when Glyphs launches, so Glyphs needs to be relaunched for newly installed plug-ins to be loaded. Some plug-ins require specific modules to be installed; install these from the Modules tab in the Plugin Manager.

Manually install a plug-in by dragging and dropping it onto the Glyphs app icon in the Dock. Installed plugins are moved to the Plugins folder. The Plugins folder is located next to the Scripts folder. Do not manually move plug-ins to the Plugins folder since that interferes with the security system of the Mac.

Uninstall a plug-in by deleting it from the Plugins folder.

Creating Plug-ins

Plug-ins are written in Python or Objective-C using the Glyphs SDK. The Glyphs SDK (Software Development Kit) is an open-source set of templates for creating Glyphs plug-ins. The templates are available for both Python and Objective-C.

The Writing Plug-ins tutorial introduces the basic concepts of plug-in development. See the Glyphs Python API documentation and Glyphs Objective-C API documentation for a complete reference. If any questions arise, feel free to ask on the Glyphs forum or contact the Glyphs team directly.

The Glyphs SDK also offers methods for interoperating with Glyphs from an external application. In addition to the SDK, Glyphs supports the Open Scripting Architecture, allowing for automation via AppleScript or JavaScript.