# Admin menu feature: view installed plugins
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [February 1, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353 "2014-02-01T11:37:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@michaeld](https://meta.discourse.org/u/michaeld)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/1 "2014-02-01T11:37:22Z")
How about a feature in the admin menu that lists the active plugins and their versions?
I also propose a header for plugins, [like Wordpress has](http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_a_Plugin#Standard_Plugin_Information), where meta information can be stored.
And since I don’t see a good reason to divert from an already existing de-facto standard, I propose the following lines to be prepended to plugin.rb:
```
# Plugin Name: Name Of The Plugin
# Plugin URI: http://URI_Of_Page_Describing_Plugin_and_Updates
# Description: A brief description of the Plugin.
# Version: The Plugin's Version Number, e.g.: 1.0
# Author: Name Of The Plugin Author
# Author URI: http://URI_Of_The_Plugin_Author
# License: A "Slug" license name e.g. GPL2
```
Alternatively, a file called `pluginmeta.yml` could be stored next to `plugin.rb`
Any thoughts?
EDIT: I do see a reason to _extend_ an existing standard. Let’s introduce a `Minimum Discourse Version` field as well, which indicates the minimum Discourse version the plugin requires.
---
### Author:  [@erlend\_sh](https://meta.discourse.org/u/erlend_sh)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/2 "2014-02-01T11:52:47Z")
👍
I’d love it if [SemVer](http://semver.org/) was strongly recommended or even _required_.
Author URL should be optional.
Recommended additions, both mandatory:
```
# Compatibility: Last version of Discourse tested against.
# Contact: How can the developer(s) be reached?
```
I don’t know how exactly WordPress does its compatibility check that prompts the “this plugin has not been tested with your version”-notice when you install/update a plugin from within the admin panel, but I think it’s an incredibly useful heads-up and I figured this would be a decent first take on it.
(I think it’s based on the “Broken/Works” user vote data they gather **after** the plugin has been submitted. Still don’t know where they get the “Required: some version” and “Compatible up to: some version” though.)
As for contact, it’s just my belief that any self-respecting open source developer ought have an open line of communication of some sort. It wouldn’t have to be an e-mail, but there should be _something_ put there that indicates how the developer would prefer to be contacted.
---
### Author:  [@michaeld](https://meta.discourse.org/u/michaeld)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/3 "2014-02-01T11:54:21Z")
Totally agree about SemVer, I’m hoping that Discourse will be using that as well as soon as 1.0 is reached.
I like your additions as well.
---
### Author:  [@Nuck](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Nuck)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/4 "2014-02-07T04:41:04Z")
[https://meta.discourse.org/t/brand-new-plugin-interface/8793](https://meta.discourse.org/t/brand-new-plugin-interface/8793)
Looks like sam already came up with a format for meta information that he used in this example. Perhaps build on that?
---
### Author:  [@michaeld](https://meta.discourse.org/u/michaeld)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2014, 6:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/5 "2014-02-07T06:52:59Z")
That’s basically what I did, just replacing descriptions that were IMO a bit too vague, since it are general properties, such as ‘name’, with ‘plugin name’
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2025, 10:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-menu-feature-view-installed-plugins/12353/6 "2025-12-04T10:25:58Z")
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