SE Dev Plugin Skill

Plugin development for Space Engineers version 1.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Commands run in UNIX shell. Use bash syntax. On Windows this is BusyBox; on Linux use native shell.

Examples:

• ✅ test -f file.txt && echo exists
• ✅ ls -la | head -10
• ❌ if exist file.txt (echo exists) - Will NOT work

Actions:

• prepare: Run one-time preparation (Prepare.bat on Windows, prepare.sh on Linux)
• bash: Run UNIX shell commands via busybox
• search: Search plugin code using search_plugins.py

Routing Decision

Check these patterns in order - first match wins:

Priority	Pattern	Example	Route
1	Empty or bare invocation	se-dev-plugin	Show help
2	Prepare keywords	se-dev-plugin prepare, se-dev-plugin setup, se-dev-plugin init	prepare
3	Bash/shell keywords	se-dev-plugin bash, se-dev-plugin grep, se-dev-plugin cat	bash
4	Search keywords	se-dev-plugin search, se-dev-plugin find class, se-dev-plugin lookup	search

Getting Started

⚠️ CRITICAL: Before running ANY commands, read CommandExecution.md to avoid common mistakes that cause command failures.

If Prepare.DONE file missing in this folder, you MUST run one-time preparation steps first. See prepare action.

Essential Documentation

• CommandExecution.md - ⚠️ READ THIS FIRST - Windows command execution details; on Linux keep bash syntax and use prepare.sh

Plugin Development Documentation

Read appropriate documents for further details:

• Plugin.md Plugin development (shared skills for both client and server)
• ClientPlugin.md Client plugin development (relevant on client side)
• ServerPlugin.md Server plugin development (relevant on server side)
• Guide.md Use this to answer questions about plugin development process in general.
• Publicizer.md How to use Krafs publicizer to access internal, protected or private members in original game code (optional).
• OtherPluginsAsExamples.md How to look into source code of other plugins as examples.

Harmony Patching Documentation

Progressive documentation for Harmony patching (start with basics, then read advanced topics as needed):

1. Patching.md - Start here: patch types, prefix/postfix basics, common patterns
2. PatchInjections.md - Special parameters: __instance, __result, ___fields, __state
3. AccessTools.md - Reflection utilities to find methods, fields, and types
4. TranspilerPatching.md - IL-level patching for complex modifications
5. PatchingSpecialCases.md - Finalizers, reverse patches, auxiliary methods, priority
6. PreloaderPatching.md - Pre-JIT patching (Mono.Cecil, client only)

Targets: Client and Server

Plugins target one or both of:

• Client — runs inside game client, loaded by Pulsar, released on PluginHub.
• Server — runs inside dedicated server, loaded by Magnetar, released on MagnetarHub. Server plugins declare their configuration through Magnetar's PluginSdk; use se-dev-plugin-sdk skill for that. Admins configure server plugins remotely via Quasar, the Magnetar control plane.

A client-only plugin uses client plugin template. A plugin that also needs server side companion (or is server-only) uses server plugin template, which has ClientPlugin target, ServerPlugin target and Shared project. See ServerPlugin.md.

Plugin Distribution

Client plugins released exclusively on PluginHub. All client plugins must be open source, since they are compiled on player's machine from GitHub source revision identified by its PluginHub registration. Plugins are reviewed for safety and security on submission, but only on best effort basis, without any legal guarantees. Plugins run native code and can do anything.

Use se-dev-game-code skill to search game's decompiled code. Need this to understand how game's internals work and how to interface with it and patch it properly.

References

• Pulsar Plugin loader for Space Engineers game client
• Pulsar Installer Installer for Pulsar on Windows
• PluginHub Public plugin registry for Pulsar
• Magnetar Plugin loader for Space Engineers dedicated server
• MagnetarHub Public plugin registry for Magnetar

Plugin Code Search

Search source code of plugins from PluginHub for examples and patterns:

# List available plugins
uv run list_plugins.py
uv run list_plugins.py --search "camera"

# Download plugin's source code (use EXACT name from list)
uv run download_plugin_source.py "Tool Switcher"

# Index downloaded plugins (automatic after download)
uv run index_plugins.py

# Search plugin code
uv run search_plugins.py class declaration Plugin
uv run search_plugins.py method signature Patch

# Count results before viewing (useful for large result sets)
uv run search_plugins.py class usage Plugin --count

# Limit number of results
uv run search_plugins.py class usage IPlugin --limit 20

PluginHub contains descriptions of all available plugins. Download sources for plugins that may help with your task, then index and search them.

See search action for complete documentation.

Action References

Follow detailed instructions in:

• prepare action - One-time preparation
• bash action - Run UNIX shell commands via busybox
• search action - Search plugin code for examples

Remarks

Original source of this skill: https://github.com/viktor-ferenczi/se-dev-skills