Serve

This module starts a development server, precompiles the plugin, and installs it after launching Zotero.

When source code changes are detected, the plugin is automatically recompiled and reloaded in Zotero.

Zotero and Profile Path

Define the paths for the Zotero binary, profile, and data in a .env file:

# Path to the Zotero binary file.
# For macOS, the path is typically `*/Zotero.app/Contents/MacOS/zotero`.
ZOTERO_PLUGIN_ZOTERO_BIN_PATH=/path/to/zotero.exe

# Path to the profile used for development.
# To create a profile for development, start the profile manager with `/path/to/zotero.exe -p`.
# More info: https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/profile_directory
ZOTERO_PLUGIN_PROFILE_PATH=/path/to/profile

# Optional path to the data directory (if needed).
ZOTERO_PLUGIN_DATA_DIR=/path/to/data

• ZOTERO_PLUGIN_ZOTERO_BIN_PATH is required.
• ZOTERO_PLUGIN_PROFILE_PATH and ZOTERO_PLUGIN_DATA_DIR are optional, a blank profile will be automatically created if not provided.
• If you manage multiple plugins, these paths can be stored in system/user environment variables. However, paths defined in .env currently do not override system/user-level variables. This behavior may change in future versions.

Launch Arguments and Developer Tools

Customize launch arguments and enable developer tools using the serve.tools and serve.startArgs options:

export default defineConfig({
  server: {
    devtools: true,
    startArgs: [],
  },
});

• --purgecaches and --no-remote are always included in the Zotero startup arguments, regardless of the server.startArgs configuration.
• If devtools is set to true, the --jsdebugger argument is appended, enabling the Firefox developer tools.

Hot Reloading and Proxy File

The Zotero team's plugin development guide describes using Proxy File for loading plugins from source. While this method works for older versions of Zotero (e.g., Zotero 6), it does not support plugin reloading.

Zotero 7 and later use an updated Firefox architecture, which supports more modern development methods using the Remote Debugging Protocol (RDP).

By default, Scaffold employs this new approach for plugin installation and reloading, similar to the method used by Firefox's web-ext tool.

For Zotero 6 or earlier, set server.asProxy to true to enable the Proxy File approach.

export default defineConfig({
  server: {
    asProxy: true
  },
});