# Plugin Development

> Build plugins that extend @toolbox-web/grid — lifecycle hooks, manifests, communication, feature registration, and bundling.

`@toolbox-web/grid` is **plugin-driven by design**. The core is intentionally minimal (rendering, virtualization, scheduling); selection, editing, filtering, grouping, drag-and-drop, validation, accessibility shortcuts — almost every grid capability is a plugin under `libs/grid/src/lib/plugins/`. The same APIs are available to you for building your own.

This section covers the plugin system from three angles:

  - [Architecture](/grid/plugin-development/architecture.md): How the plugin system works internally — lifecycle, hooks, render integration, the feature registry, and tree-shaking.
  - [Authoring Guide](/grid/plugin-development/custom-plugins.md): Step-by-step guide to building your first plugin: BaseGridPlugin, manifest, communication, queries, testing, distribution.
  - [API Reference](/grid/api/plugin-development/): Typed reference for BaseGridPlugin, GridPlugin, PluginManifest, hooks, and the feature registry.

## When to write a plugin

Reach for a plugin when you need to:

- React to grid lifecycle events (render, attach, detach, scroll, cell click, keyboard).
- Add new column-level or grid-level configuration that the grid validates and merges.
- Communicate with other plugins (e.g. an "audit log" plugin that listens for edits from `EditingPlugin`).
- Ship a reusable behaviour as its own package — third-party plugins are first-class.

For one-off styling or event handlers, plain CSS and `grid.addEventListener(...)` are usually enough — no plugin needed.