Install a built-in plugin

Tilecast plugins add optional features that ship with Tilecast. They are not downloaded from a third-party plugin store. Only an Owner or Administrator can install or remove a plugin.

The Forms, Countdown Bar, and Emergency Alerts listings include an icon and screenshots of their configuration and display output. Select a screenshot to view it larger. These images ship with Tilecast and need no external image service. See the plugin artwork contract.

Install a plugin

1. In Studio, open Operations > Plugins.
2. Select Explore and choose a plugin to open its page.
3. Read the requirements and what the plugin can do, then select Install.
4. Open the plugin’s page from the installed list and configure its instances.

Tilecast shows installed plugins and their setup state. Some plugins need a compatible Player or network connection. For example, Emergency Alerts needs the server to reach the National Weather Service. A listed requirement is guidance; installation itself does not confirm that a device meets it.

The built-in catalog includes:

Plugin	What it adds	Important limit
Countdown Bar	A timed bar over normal playback.	Target Players must support plugin bars.
Emergency Alerts US	Automatic response to matching National Weather Service alerts.	Covers U.S. alerts and needs outbound server access to the NWS service.
Forms	Submission and approval workflows whose approved records can feed Widgets.	Forms are managed from their plugin page, not from the Data Sources library.

Marketplace listings

Explore shows every plugin as a card: built-in plugins, marketplace listings, and packages you added from GitHub. Each card shows the plugin’s icon, name, who builds it, a short description, where it comes from, and whether it is installed, has an update, or does not support this release of Tilecast. Select a card to open the plugin’s page. When the Marketplace has featured listings, they lead the page in a carousel. Searching or choosing a category or source hides the carousel so the results stay in focus.

Explore also shows marketplace listings next to the built-in plugins. Each listing names its publisher and version, states which Tilecast releases it supports, and links to its source repository. The Tilecast project reviews every listing before it appears; a listing is not a security review of the package.

Only an Owner or Administrator can install a listing, from its page, after reading what it adds and which releases it supports. Installed listings appear under Extension packages on the Installed tab. If a refresh fails, Studio says so and keeps showing the last available catalog. An Owner or Administrator can fetch the catalog again from the notice.

See the marketplace contract for the catalog format and caching behavior.

Custom repositories

An Owner or Administrator can add a package from any public GitHub repository with Add from GitHub on the Explore page. Studio looks up the repository’s latest published release and shows a review before anything installs: the package identity and version, what it contains, the server capabilities it requests (network hosts, background jobs, storage, Studio interface), the pinned artifact digest, and the release provenance that verified it. Installing binds the repository to the package, so update checks re-resolve that same repository.

Custom entries are operator-chosen, not curated. Tilecast verifies the release provenance before installing, but adding a repository is still a trust decision: read the review and only install repositories you trust.

A plugin’s page

Every entry in Explore opens the same page, whether it is built in, from the Marketplace, or a custom package. The top shows the plugin’s icon, name, and who builds it (by Acme Signage, or by Tilecast for built-in plugins). A publisher name links to the publisher’s website for a built-in plugin, and to the package’s repository for Marketplace and custom packages. A few badges say where it comes from, up to two categories, and whether an update is available. Featured appears only in Explore. The main action, such as Install or Review & install, is at the top right on a wide screen. On a phone or tablet it sits in the Package status card directly below the heading.

Below the heading the page covers:

• Screenshots from the plugin’s listing, when it has any. Both built-in plugins and Marketplace listings can provide them. Swipe or use the arrows to browse, and select a screenshot to see it larger. The larger view shows which screenshot you are on (for example 2 of 4) and has Previous and Next buttons; the left and right arrow keys work too, and Esc closes it. Nothing advances on its own, and the section is left out when a listing has no screenshots.
• About, a longer description of the plugin. It appears only when the plugin or Marketplace listing provides a longer description than the short one at the top of the page, so the same text never shows twice.
• What this plugin adds, such as Widgets and Data Sources, named by what they are rather than by file path.
• Permissions & behavior, which says in plain words whether the plugin connects to the network (and to which hosts), stores its own data on the server, runs background jobs, or adds its own settings interface. A plugin with none of these says so.
• Requirements, only when a plugin has requirements beyond the Tilecast release. A plugin that needs a newer release shows a notice at the top of the page and a disabled action instead.

The sidebar holds two cards. Package status leads with the current state, such as Update available with 1.3.0 → 1.4.0, then the action that follows, then version and compatibility details. About this package shows the publisher, license, source, and links to the repository, documentation, and issue tracker. Built-in plugins say they are included with Tilecast and download nothing. Custom packages say they are not curated by the Marketplace. A collapsed Technical details section keeps the package ID, digest, registry, signer, and exact file paths for anyone who needs them.

A Marketplace package does not list what it adds or what it can do until you review it, because Tilecast reads that from the published package. Select Review & install to see it before anything installs. On a wide screen the review opens in a dialog; on a phone it opens as a sheet from the bottom. Cancel and Install plugin stay in view while you scroll.

Package capabilities are requests, not blanket host access. A server runtime that needs outbound network access declares the HTTPS hostnames it needs, and install or update review shows those hosts before activation. Storage, background jobs, Studio interface access, and Tilecast service grants are likewise bounded capabilities. An update can change those requests, which is why Review update calls out permission changes before you install the new version.

A capability in the package manifest is a request, not a self-granted permission. Server network access is limited to the HTTPS hostnames the package declares and Tilecast exposes to that package. The package does not receive the Tilecast Server’s general network access or Player credentials. Storage, background jobs, and Studio interfaces are separate requested capabilities and are shown in the same review.

Manage installed packages

Open an installed marketplace or custom package from Extension packages to manage it:

• Package status shows what to do about updates. With no update known, Check for updates looks for one. When an update is available, the main action is Review update; select it to see the version change, what the update adds or removes, any permissions that change, and how the release was verified. A new network host or background job is therefore visible before you activate the update; updating is not an automatic permission expansion. Update to 1.3.0 installs that exact version. After a check that finds nothing newer, the card says Up to date, and Check again is there if you want to look again.
• Plugin settings appears for a package that ships its own settings interface. It runs isolated from the Studio page and grows to fit its content, up to a limit; taller content scrolls inside it.
• Background jobs lists each scheduled job with its schedule, last result, and next run. A failed job shows a warning, how many times in a row it failed, and a short error.

Recovery and removal are at the bottom of the page, apart from everyday actions:

• Package management has Restore previous version, which returns to the last activation when one exists, after you confirm.
• Danger zone has Remove package, which deletes the installation and its contributions after confirmation. A custom repository binding survives, so the package can be reinstalled from Explore.

See the package contract for the manifest format, provenance rules, and lifecycle behavior.

Removing a plugin is blocked while its instances or other plugin-owned resources remain. Remove those through the plugin’s own page first. Removal does not delete those resources.

The same holds for extension packages: installing one adds its Widgets and Data Sources to the Studio libraries under the package name, and removing it is refused while any of those remain in use. Updating or restoring a version is refused only when the target version drops a Widget or Data Source that your content still uses, so content stays safe when the target version keeps the same contributions. The refusal names what still uses the package, so delete those Widgets and Data Sources first, then retry.

External Widgets preview inside an isolated frame in the Widget editor and Layout zones, using the same Widget contract as built-in previews. The package code never runs in the Studio page itself. See the sandbox design for the isolation boundary and measurements.

You can also list, install, and remove plugins with tilecast plugin in the command-line interface. Some installed plugins add their own CLI commands and MCP tools.

See Configure Emergency Alerts for coverage, matching rules, display modes, and poll health.

Plugin changes during playback

Edge, Windows, and Android Players update plugin surfaces without restarting the presentation when the manifest changes only plugin state. The current playlist item and synchronized playback continue. If delivery fails, the Player retries and keeps the previous committed manifest.

Changes to content, Layouts, Widgets, playback timing, or required resources still use the normal presentation activation path. See the Player protocol for the exact refresh conditions.

Plugin guides

• Countdown Bar for timed overlays, targeting, priority, and urgency.
• Emergency Alerts for NWS monitoring and response rules.
• Forms for data collection and approval workflows.

Two earlier plugins are retired. Brand Bug / Watermark and Noise Meter explain what happens to an installation that still has them.