saphid--frame-control/docs/frame-plugin-author.md

Write a plugin for Frame

There are two paths. Choose the one that matches your feature.

Frame Control extension

Use a Frame Control extension for a panel, status view, or guide that does not need to change the headset. Put extension.json and index.html in one folder under ~/.local/share/frame-control/extensions. The opt-in headset panel lists the folder and opens it in a sandboxed iframe. The version 1 bridge has only capabilities and read-only status. It cannot call Steam, change settings, or run privileged code. See the extension API and its example.

Decky plugin

Use a Decky plugin only if you need Decky's backend or Gamepad UI integration. Build an official-format ZIP with one top-level folder, plugin.json, and a frontend bundle in dist/index.js. A Python main.py backend is optional. Test on ARM64. If you ship an ELF helper, build it for AArch64 (ELF machine 183). Avoid root, sudo, Steam Deck TDP controls, fixed x86 binaries, and paths under /etc. Frame Control's managed loader is a normal user service; it blocks root plugins and x86 archives. Keep data under your plugin folder or the user's home directory, and provide a removal path.

The current Frame SteamVR shell does not expose Decky's Steam Deck Quick Access Menu. A backend Loaded log only proves backend startup. Test any frontend page, setting, notification, route, and controller input while wearing a Frame before describing it as working in VR. Until a QAM bridge is verified, a Frame Control extension is the simplest route for a self-contained read-only VR panel.

Frame Control now has an experimental Framey panel host for API v2 Decky frontend bundles and API v1 bundles that use Decky's modern frontend API initializer. It renders common settings controls in the separate SteamVR dashboard panel, but Steam library and store page patches remain unavailable. Wearer-visible use is not yet verified. The settings sample shows an official Decky JSX build, backend persistence, a toggle and a local toast. Framey offers only official-store-owned plugins in its VR panel. For persistent backend settings, use Decky's decky.decky_SETTINGS_DIR rather than assuming an environment variable or Steam Deck home path. Validate stored types when reading, write through a temporary file before replacing the old file, and give the panel a safe default if settings are missing or damaged. Removing a managed plugin leaves its Decky settings behind; document how users can reset data your plugin owns.

To test safely, use a separate Frame Control managed Decky install, verify the ZIP digest from the official store, install one plugin at a time, and inspect journalctl --user -u frame-control-decky.service. Remove only your own plugin folder when you finish. See the current compatibility table.

Framey Decky API compatibility

Framey hosts a plugin's frontend in an isolated iframe in the Frame Control SteamVR panel. The table describes the current implementation and its tests; none of these frontend controls has passed a worn-headset check yet.

Decky API or UI feature	Framey behavior	Verified in
definePlugin with content, titleView	Renders a React panel and optional title	Local browser with ProtonDB Badges; host unit test
API v1 manifest with the modern Decky API initializer	Attempts to render the plugin's panel; recognized legacy IIFE bundles also use the legacy bridge	Pinned Storage Cleaner 1.4.0 archive, fake Frame install/pack test, local Chromium with stub backend. Cleanup actions were not tested.
Legacy Decky IIFE frontend, with no API manifest field	Wraps the returned initializer as an ES module inside the same opaque iframe; passes serverAPI and preserves the legacy title	MusicControl 1.1.6 exact official archive, local Chromium startup with backend methods blocked; fake Frame installation/pack/removal
Legacy serverAPI.callPluginMethod(method, kwargs)	Uses Decky's loader/call_legacy_plugin_method RPC, preserving keyword arguments and {success, result} replies	Fake Frame HTTP/CDP read/write with a synthetic backend; no official plugin backend action or worn VR result
Official @decky/rollup JSX (SP_JSX.jsx, jsxs, Fragment)	Creates React elements in the isolated panel	Sample bundle smoke test; host unit test
PanelSection, rows, buttons, toggles, dropdowns	Local touch-sized controls; disabled controls stay inert during a backend call	Local browser and host unit test
TextField, SliderField, grouped Dropdown options	Native text, range and select controls in the panel; disabled state, numeric slider callback and basic input types	Host unit test; worn VR use unverified
DialogCheckbox, DialogButtonPrimary	Native checkbox and button controls in the panel	Host unit test; Storage Cleaner empty-data browser check
Optional settings, frameyQuickActions	Separate settings tab; up to eight actions with result text	Host unit test; these fields are Framey additions
serverAPI.call / callable	Calls only that plugin's Decky Python backend via the headset service	Fake Frame e2e for setting read/write across CEF calls, update, and reinstall; host unit test. Real Decky persistence remains unverified.
toaster.toast	Visible toast inside the plugin panel; dismiss and optional onClick	Host unit test; no Steam system notification
localStorage	Synchronous, per-plugin cache backed by the Frame Control panel origin. Up to 64 keys, 64 KiB per value and 128 KiB total; clear() removes only this plugin's cache. Falls back to memory if panel storage is denied.	Parent/iframe round-trip and reopen in the local host test; real headset persistence remains unverified.
routerHook.addRoute / removeRoute, Navigation.Navigate / NavigateBack, useParams	Local routes inside this plugin panel, with named segments such as /plugin/game/:appid/:view?; useParams() reads the current segment values	Host unit test; VR navigation unverified
routerHook.addPatch, global components	No-op; cannot patch Steam routes	Not applicable
findModuleChild, Navigation.CloseSideMenus	Steam module lookup returns null; close returns to this plugin's main panel	Pinned HLTB for Deck 2.0.12 entry point and shallow settings view in local host test. Steam library patch and live HLTB search remain unverified.
Steam library/store patches, CEF tab injection	Unavailable; no matching target in the isolated panel	Frame CEF inspection
fetchNoCors, Decky event listeners, file picker, root calls	Unavailable	Not supported by Framey

Keep routes local to the panel and give every operation a visible result. A plugin that calls Navigation.Navigate('/decky/store') will not open the Frame Control store; only paths registered by that same plugin can navigate. Optional route segments must be at the end. Framey accepts local path segments only; query strings, external URLs, Steam library routes and duplicate parameter names are rejected. Removing an active route returns to the plugin panel. Toasts stay inside the panel, so keep essential errors in the plugin UI too. An API v1 manifest does not guarantee a working Framey panel. Test the exact store archive and do not assume SteamClient app details, library patches, or destructive actions work in VR. The Storage Cleaner browser check used empty stub data and did not invoke its cleanup actions. Use the Decky Python backend for settings that must survive browser cache loss. The Framey localStorage bridge is for disposable frontend caches, including the cache read attempted by Steam Status 1.2.3. It does not expose another plugin's cache or the Frame Control UI key. A real Steam Status panel reopen and a worn-headset settings check are still needed.

HLTB for Deck 2.0.12 demonstrates the limit of the panel shim: its official bundle can start and produce a settings view with Framey's Steam module lookup stub, but its game page and context menu patches have no Steam target in the isolated panel. The tests do not call its HLTB network search or Python backend. Do not claim game length badges work in VR from this result.