[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #40451: Customizer: Introduce plugin management (was: Customizer: Introduce plugin uploading)

[WordPress Trac]

#40451: Customizer: Introduce plugin management
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 Reporter:  lukecavanagh                         |       Owner:
     Type:  feature request                      |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                               |   Milestone:  Future
Component:  Customize                            |  Release
 Severity:  normal                               |     Version:  4.7.3
 Keywords:  needs-patch ux-feedback dev-         |  Resolution:
  feedback                                       |     Focuses:  ui
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Changes (by celloexpressions):

 * keywords:   => needs-patch ux-feedback dev-feedback
 * focuses:   => ui
 * type:  enhancement => feature request
 * milestone:  Awaiting Review => Future Release


Comment:

 Broadening the scope here to consider plugin management in addition to
 uploading, there are some potential benefits. In particular, the ability
 to live-preview a plugin activation/deactivation could be extremely
 useful, especially for simple option-less plugins that make changes to the
 front end.

 I did an initial implementation exploration as a plugin here:
 https://wordpress.org/plugins/customize-plugin-manager/. Unfortunately,
 while live-previewing plugins is probably relatively easy to implement in
 core, it doesn't seem possible via a plugin because the plugin code would
 need to hook into an action that happens before any plugins are loaded. So
 for now, the plugin gives us an experimental UI and most of the code we'd
 need. Plugin activation and deactivation does work once you save and
 published, and nothing is prematurely published to the live site.

 While the main plugin activation previewing functionality is relatively
 straightforward, there are a few bigger-picture items that will need to be
 worked out:
 - How should plugin-added options in the customize pane be handled? I'm
 thinking a supplemental Ajax call when an activation/deactivation is
 triggered that runs the `customize_register` action, does a diff with the
 previously-registered objects, and adds/removes items accordingly in JS
 could be feasible. This could also eventually be used to allow theme
 switches without a full customizer reload.
 - To what extent should plugin management be handled in the customize
 context? Beyond managing which plugins are active, are updates useful with
 a live preview context (considering that the updates wouldn't be
 previewed)?
 - To what extent should plugin addition and deletion be possible here? We
 probably shouldn't ship anything before plugin addition is possible, as
 we've been stuck with a poor new user experience for themes here for a
 long time (see #37661). Since we don't need the preview aspect when
 browsing plugins, should that happen in a modal, slide-out panel, or full
 preview overlay of some sort? We should prioritize a simpler interface
 that allows the preview to remain beside the controls for the primary
 activation/deactivation process.
 - Can we sandbox plugins before activating them, like the old plugin
 manager does?
 - What do we need to do with plugin activation and deactivation hooks for
 back-compat?
 - What new hooks do we need to provide so that plugins can successfully
 hook into the customize experience when they're activated without full
 page loads (for the preview and customization panes)?

 Our next steps will be to discuss those questions and come to decisions on
 UI/UX and dev goals for what should be in core. Then, depending on the
 agreed-upon scope, we can continue working on pieces in that plugin or
 directly here. The plugin will be useful for testing things with users,
 but the limitations on live previewing plugins while the code is in a
 plugin likely prevent that approach from being great for feedback.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40451#comment:2>
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