Manifest

This page covers reskate-plugin.json, the file that makes a mod a plugin, and the one field of the mod’s manifest.json that plugins use. Neither needs a permission; the manifest is where you ask for them.

reskate-plugin.json

Put reskate-plugin.json at the top of the mod folder, beside manifest.json. ReSkate reads it when it loads the plugin, and again each time the plugin reloads.

{
    "api": 1,
    "entry": "plugin/main.lua",
    "side": "client",
    "permissions": ["console", "storage", "net.http"],
    "domains": ["api.example.com"]
}

The file must be a JSON object, at most 64 KB, nested at most 8 deep. ReSkate ignores fields it does not know.

`api`

integer

required

The plugin API version the plugin was written for. This ReSkate has API 1. It must be a whole number, 1 or more, and no newer than the ReSkate running it.

Your code reads the running ReSkate’s version as reskate.api_version.

`entry`

string

required

The Luau file to run when the plugin loads, as a path inside the mod folder, such as "plugin/main.lua". It must end in .lua or .luau.

The path follows these rules:

/ between folders, never \.
Inside the mod folder: not starting with /, no .., . or empty segments, and no : (no drive letters or streams).
Printable ASCII only, at most 260 characters.
No segment ending in a dot or a space.

The entry’s folder is where require looks for modules: with "plugin/main.lua", require("rules") loads plugin/rules.luau or plugin/rules.lua. The entry file itself can be at most 1 MB.

`side`

string

default:"client"

Where the plugin runs: "client", "server" or "both".

"client": on each player’s game.
"server": as the session’s authority, on a lobby host’s game and on a dedicated server.
"both": in both places, as two copies. Each copy reads reskate.side to know which it is.

A plugin is listed as not loaded where it does not run. On a player’s game a server plugin shows as not loaded (it is a server plugin). See client and server copies.

`permissions`

string[]

default:"[]"

The permissions the plugin uses, by name, such as ["console", "overlay"].

Every name must be one of the 42 on permissions. A name listed twice counts once. With no permissions, a plugin has the base set: logging, events such as tick, timers, its own files, JSON, and the functions and events plugins share. The log names the permissions a plugin loaded with:

Plugin speedo loaded (console, overlay, skater.read).

Ask only for what you use. Players see the list in the log, and a call into an area you did not ask for raises an error that names the permission it needs.

`domains`

string[]

The host names reskate.http.request may reach, such as ["api.example.com"]. At most 16. Needs the net.http permission.

Each entry is a bare host name:

letters, digits, . and -, at most 253 characters, with at least one dot;
not starting or ending with a dot, and no ..;
no scheme, port, path or *.

ReSkate lowercases each name. A request goes only to a host listed here, exactly: example.com does not cover api.example.com.

Errors

When the manifest breaks a rule, the plugin does not load. The log says why, and so does plugin list (as the plugin’s reason):

Plugin speedo was not loaded: "side" must be "client", "server" or "both"

Message	Cause
`reskate-plugin.json is larger than 64 KB`	The file is over 64 KB.
`reskate-plugin.json is not valid JSON: <detail>`	The file does not parse, or nests deeper than 8.
`reskate-plugin.json must hold a JSON object`	The top level is not `{ ... }`.
`reskate-plugin.json needs "api": the API version it was written for (1)`	`api` is missing or not a whole number.
`"api" must be 1 or more`	`api` is 0 or less.
`written for plugin API <n>, and this ReSkate has API 1: update ReSkate`	`api` is newer than this ReSkate.
`reskate-plugin.json needs "entry": the Lua file to run, such as "plugin/main.lua"`	`entry` is missing or not a string.
`"entry" must be a path inside the mod folder, with / between folders and no ..`	`entry` breaks a path rule.
`"entry" must be a .lua or .luau file`	`entry` ends in something else.
`"side" must be "client", "server" or "both"`	`side` is another value, or not a string.
`"permissions" must be a list of names`	`permissions` is not a list, or holds something other than strings.
`unknown permission "<name>": check the spelling, or update ReSkate`	A name is not one of the 42.
`"domains" must be a list of at most 16 host names`	`domains` is not a list, or has more than 16 entries.
`"domains" must be a list of host names`	An entry is not a string.
`"<entry>" is not a host name for "domains" (such as api.example.com: no scheme, port, path or *)`	An entry breaks a host name rule.
`"domains" is for web requests: add the "net.http" permission too`	`domains` lists hosts without `net.http`.

Problems with the entry file itself come after the manifest passed. The plugin stops, and its reason starts with the entry’s path: plugin/main.lua not found, plugin/main.lua is larger than 1 MB, a syntax error, or plugin/main.lua raised an error as it ran (the error itself is in the log line before).

manifest.json and the plugin’s channel

manifest.json is the mod’s own description, as Thunderstore packages carry it. ReSkate’s plugin host reads one field of it: name.

{
    "name": "Speedo",
    "version_number": "1.0.0",
    "website_url": "",
    "description": "Shows your speed in the top left of the screen.",
    "dependencies": []
}

string

The plugin’s channel: the name its messages go under. When manifest.json has no name, or it is empty, the mod’s folder name is used.

The channel ties the copies of one plugin together across games:

reskate.net.send delivers only to the same channel on other games, compared without case. Two players can name the folder differently, and their copies still hear each other.
Other plugins can find yours by its channel or by its folder name, without case, in reskate.require_plugin and reskate.on_plugin.

Two different plugins with the same name share a channel and hear each other’s messages. Pick a name that is yours, such as the one you publish under on Thunderstore.

Get started

Core API

Interface

The skater and the world

Multiplayer

Game

Guides

reskate-plugin.json

`api`

`entry`

`side`

`permissions`

`domains`

Errors

manifest.json and the plugin’s channel

​reskate-plugin.json

​api

​entry

​side

​permissions

​domains

​Errors

​manifest.json and the plugin’s channel

reskate-plugin.json

`api`

`entry`

`side`

`permissions`

`domains`

Errors

manifest.json and the plugin’s channel