Spree Dashboard Plugins — packaging & distribution

A dashboard plugin is an npm package whose entry module calls defineDashboardPlugin({...}) at import time. It uses exactly the same registries as in-app customization (nav, settingsNav, routes, slots, tables, formFields, customFieldComponents — see spree-dashboard). What changes is packaging: peer deps, discovery, file routes, publishing.

Don't reach for a plugin by default. For your own store, put the code in apps/dashboard/src/plugins.ts. Package it only when several stores/projects will install it (open-source integration, agency rollout, commercial add-on). Promoting in-app code to a plugin later is mostly a copy.

The dashboard is a Developer Preview (@spree/dashboard-* at 1.0.0-beta.x) — expect to track releases closely.

Scaffold

npx @spree/cli plugin new reviews \
  --npm-scope @acme --ruby-name spree_reviews --module-name Reviews \
  --author "Ada Lovelace" --author-email ada@example.com --license MIT
# -y / --yes     accept defaults for anything not passed (author/email from git config)
# --no-install   skip pnpm install        --force   overwrite a non-empty directory
# --no-dashboard / --no-engine  reserved for when engine scaffolding lands (--no-dashboard leaves nothing to scaffold today)