pluginkit

pluginkit(8)                 System Manager's Manual                pluginkit(8)

NAME
     pluginkit – plugin plug-in extension pluginkit

SYNOPSIS
     pluginkit -m [-ADv] [-p -protocol] [-i -identifier] [key=value] [...]

     pluginkit [-ar] [-v] [file ...]

     pluginkit -e election [-p -protocol] [-i -identifier] [key=value] [...]

DESCRIPTION
     pluginkit manages the PlugInKit subsystem for the current user. It can
     query the plug-in database and make limited interventions for debugging and
     development.

     A list of flags and their descriptions:

     -A, --all-versions
              Matches find all versions of a given plug-in known to the system.
              By default, only the latest (highest) version is returned.

     -a       Explicitly adds plugins at the file location(s) given, even if
              they are not normally eligible for automatic discovery.  Note that
              database clean-ups may eventually remove them in that case.

     -e election
              Perform a matching operation (see -m) and apply the given user
              election setting to all matching plug-ins.  Elections can be
              "use", "ignore", and "default". Elections are applied to all plug-
              ins with given identifier.

     -D, --duplicates
              Matches find all physical instances of a given plug-in known to
              the system, even multiple copies with the same version.

     -i, --identifier identifier
              Specifies a plug-in identifier to match, a short-hand for
              NSExtensionIdentifier=identifier.

     -m --match
              Requests pluginkit to scan all registered plug-ins for those
              matching the given search criteria (see DISCOVERY MATCHING below).
              All matching plug-ins are returned, one per line. Add the -v
              option to get more detailed output. This is exactly reproducing
              the functionality of PlugInKit discovery, except that no host-
              specific restrictions are imposed. The -A and -D options affect
              the outcome.

     -p --protocol protocol
              Specifies a plug-in protocol to  match, a short-hand for
              NSExtensionPointName=protocol.

     -r       Explicitly removes plugins at the file location(s) given. Note
              that automatic discovery procedures may add them back if they are
              still present.

     --raw    Present replies from the management daemon (pkd) in raw XML form.
              This is primarily useful for debugging and for reporting full
              state in bug reports.

     -v       Asks for more verbose operation. For matching requests, more
              detail is printed about each matched plug-in.  This option can be
              given more than once.


DISCOVERY MATCHING
     During plug-in discovery, PlugInKit matches plug-ins against match criteria
     and delivers matching plug-ins.  Only plug-ins that match all given
     criteria are eligible. Criteria are expressed as "key" (must be present) or
     "key=value" (key must be present and have the given value). The -i and -p
     arguments are shorthands for the conventional identifier and protocol
     matching keys.  All matching plug-ins are reduced according to the -A and
     -D options given. With -D, all eligible plug-ins are returned. With -A, the
     last-registered (by timestamp) instance of each version is returned. By
     default, only the last instance of the highest version is returned. Note
     that this reduction is applied after matching.

EXPLICIT CHANGES
     The -a and -r options make changes to the system's plug-in registry. The
     registry is designed to operate automatically, and will update on its own
     as applications are installed, removed, and discovered. The options
     available through pluginkit are intended only for limited manipulation
     during plug-in development and for certain maintenance tasks.  They cannot
     make permanent alterations of the automatic registry state.

SEE ALSO
     pkd(8), launchd(8)

HISTORY
     The pluginkit command first appeared in OS X 10.9.

Darwin                               1/22/14                              Darwin