---
title: Plugin Configuration File - plugin.xml
---

The following is a sample plugin configuration file. This sample showcases and describes all elements that can be used in the `plugin.xml` file.

```xml
<!-- `url` specifies the URL of the plugin homepage (can be opened from "Plugins" settings dialog) -->
<idea-plugin url="https://www.jetbrains.com/idea">

  <!-- Plugin name. It should be short and descriptive but does 
       not have to be identical to the name of the JAR file. 
       Displayed in the "Plugins" settings dialog and the plugin repository Web interface. -->
  <name>VssIntegration</name>

  <!-- Unique identifier of the plugin. Should be FQN.
       Cannot be changed between the plugin versions.
       If not specified, assumed to be equal to <name>. This can have brittle results. -->
  <id>com.jetbrains.vssintegration</id>

  <!-- Description of the plugin. 
       Should be short and to the point.
       Start the description with a verb in present simple form such as 
       "integrates", "synchronizes", "adds support for" or "lets you view".
       Don’t use marketing adjectives like “simple”, “lightweight”, or “professional”.
       Don’t repeat the name of the plugin.
       For plugins that add language/platform/framework support, the description MUST specify 
       the version of the corresponding language/platform/framework.
       Don't mention the IDE compatibility. E.g. don't say "Adds support to IntelliJ IDEA for..."
       Displayed in the "Plugins" settings dialog and the plugin repository Web interface. -->
  <description>Integrates Volume Snapshot Service W10</description>

  <!-- Description of changes in the latest version of the plugin.
       Displayed in the "Plugins" settings dialog and the plugin repository Web interface.  -->
  <change-notes>Initial release of the plugin.</change-notes>

  <!-- Plugin version
       Recommended format is BRANCH.BUILD.FIX (MAJOR.MINOR.FIX)
       Displayed in the "Plugins" settings dialog and the plugin repository Web interface.  -->
   <version>1.0.0</version>

  <!-- The vendor of the plugin.
       The optional "url" attribute specifies the URL of the vendor homepage.
       The optional "email" attribute specifies the e-mail address of the vendor.
       Displayed in the "Plugins" settings dialog and the plugin repository Web interface. -->
   <vendor url="https://www.jetbrains.com" email="support@jetbrains.com">A Company Inc.</vendor>

  <!-- Mandatory dependencies on plugins or modules.
       The FQN module names in <depends> elements are used to determine IDE compatibility for the plugin.
       Include at least the module shown below to indicate compatibility with IntelliJ Platform-based products.
       Also include dependencies on other plugins as needed.
       See "Compatibility with Multiple Products" and "Plugin Dependencies" for more information.  -->
  <depends>com.intellij.modules.platform</depends>
  <depends>com.third.party.plugin</depends>

  <!-- Optional dependency on another plugin.
       If the plugin with the "com.MySecondPlugin" ID is installed, the contents of mysecondplugin.xml
       (the format of this file conforms to the format of plugin.xml) will be loaded. -->
  <depends optional="true" config-file="mysecondplugin.xml">com.MySecondPlugin</depends>

  <!-- Minimum and maximum build of IDE compatible with the plugin -->
  <idea-version since-build="183" until-build="183.*"/>

  <!-- Resource bundle (/messages/MyPluginBundle.properties) to be used
       with `key` attributes in extension points and implicit keys like
       `action.[pluginID].[ActionID].text` -->
  <resource-bundle>messages.MyPluginBundle</resource-bundle>

  <!-- Plugin's application components -->
  <application-components>
    <component>
      <!-- Component's interface class -->
      <interface-class>com.foo.Component1Interface</interface-class>

      <!-- Component's implementation class -->
      <implementation-class>com.foo.impl.Component1Impl</implementation-class>
    </component>
  </application-components>

  <!-- Plugin's project components -->
  <project-components>
    <component>
      <!-- Interface and implementation classes are the same -->
      <implementation-class>com.foo.Component2</implementation-class>

      <!-- If the "workspace" option is set "true", the component
           saves its state to the .iws file instead of the .ipr file.
           Note that the <option> element is used only if the component
           implements the JDOMExternalizable interface. Otherwise, the
           use of the <option> element takes no effect.  -->
      <option name="workspace" value="true" />

      <!-- If the "loadForDefaultProject" tag is present, the project component is instantiated also for the default project. -->
      <loadForDefaultProject/>
    </component>
  </project-components>

  <!-- Plugin's module components -->
  <module-components>
    <component>
      <implementation-class>com.foo.Component3</implementation-class>
    </component>
  </module-components>

  <!-- Actions -->
  <actions>
    <action id="VssIntegration.GarbageCollection" class="com.foo.impl.CollectGarbage" text="Collect _Garbage" description="Run garbage collector">
      <keyboard-shortcut first-keystroke="control alt G" second-keystroke="C" keymap="$default"/>
    </action>
  </actions>

  <!-- Extension points defined by the plugin.
       Extension points are registered by a plugin so that other
       plugins can provide this plugin with certain data. The
       "beanClass" attribute specifies the class the implementations
       of which can be used for the extension point. -->
  <extensionPoints>
    <extensionPoint name="testExtensionPoint" beanClass="com.foo.impl.MyExtensionBean"/>
  </extensionPoints>

  <!-- Extensions which the plugin adds to extension points
       defined by the IntelliJ Platform or by other plugins.
       The "defaultExtensionNs " attribute must be set to the
       ID of the plugin defining the extension point, or to 
       "com.intellij" if the extension point is defined by the
       IntelliJ Platform. The name of the tag within the <extensions>
       tag matches the name of the extension point, and the
       "implementation" class specifies the name of the class
       added to the extension point. -->
  <extensions xmlns="VssIntegration">
    <testExtensionPoint implementation="com.foo.impl.MyExtensionImpl"/>
  </extensions>
</idea-plugin>
```