16. Developing Python Plugins

• 16.1. Structuring Python Plugins
  • 16.1.1. Getting started
  • 16.1.2. Writing plugin code
  • 16.1.3. Documenting plugins
  • 16.1.4. Translating plugins
  • 16.1.5. Sharing your plugin
  • 16.1.6. Tips and Tricks
• 16.2. Code Snippets
  • 16.2.1. How to call a method by a key shortcut
  • 16.2.2. How to reuse QGIS icons
  • 16.2.3. Interface for plugin in the options dialog
  • 16.2.4. Embed custom widgets for layers in the layer tree
• 16.3. IDE settings for writing and debugging plugins
  • 16.3.1. Useful plugins for writing Python plugins
  • 16.3.2. A note on configuring your IDE on Linux and Windows
  • 16.3.3. Debugging using Pyscripter IDE (Windows)
  • 16.3.4. Debugging using Eclipse and PyDev
  • 16.3.5. Debugging with PyCharm on Ubuntu with a compiled QGIS
  • 16.3.6. Debugging using PDB
• 16.4. Releasing your plugin
  • 16.4.1. Metadata and names
  • 16.4.2. Code and help
  • 16.4.3. Official Python plugin repository

It is possible to create plugins in the Python programming language. In comparison with classical plugins written in C++ these should be easier to write, understand, maintain and distribute due to the dynamic nature of the Python language.

Python plugins are listed together with C++ plugins in QGIS plugin manager. They are searched for in ~/(UserProfile)/python/plugins and these paths:

• UNIX/Mac: (qgis_prefix)/share/qgis/python/plugins

• Windows: (qgis_prefix)/python/plugins

For definitions of ~ and (UserProfile) see Core and External plugins.

Note

By setting QGIS_PLUGINPATH to an existing directory path, you can add this path to the list of paths that are searched for plugins.