The Plugins management page is available for local backends. Cloud backends may show an empty plugin catalog or disable plugin management actions until plugin management is available for that backend.
Open the Plugins Area
OpenPlugins from the sidebar to manage plugins for the active backend.
From the Plugins page, you can:
- Search the plugin catalog
- Inspect plugin details
- Install a plugin from the catalog or source
- Enable or disable installed plugins
- Uninstall plugins that are managed by Agent Canvas
- Confirm locally discovered plugins
Installed and Local Plugins
Agent Canvas shows plugin status in the Plugins page:| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Installed | The plugin is managed by Agent Canvas and can be enabled, disabled, or uninstalled |
Available | The plugin is visible in the catalog but not installed |
Local | The plugin was discovered from a local plugin directory and is shown as read-only |
~/.agents/plugins and ~/.openhands/plugins. They can load into conversations, but Agent Canvas does not manage their lifecycle from the UI.
Local plugins are read-only in the Plugins page. To change or remove a local plugin, edit the files in the local plugin directory.
Enable or Disable Installed Plugins
Enabled installed plugins are automatically available to new conversations on that backend. Disabled plugins remain installed, but they are not loaded into new conversations. Use this when you want to keep a plugin available without making it part of every new conversation.Attach Plugins to a New Conversation
When you start a new conversation, use thePlugins picker in the chat launcher to attach catalog plugins explicitly.
Attached plugins are opt-in for that conversation. If you start another conversation without selecting plugins, Agent Canvas does not attach any conversation-specific plugins.
Installed and enabled plugins may still load automatically for new conversations, depending on the active backend configuration.
View Attached Plugins During a Conversation
When a conversation has explicitly attached plugins, open the conversation tools menu and selectShow Plugins to see them.
This view lists plugins attached when the conversation was created. It is display-only and does not include every ambient or installed plugin that might also be available to the backend.
Trust and Backend Scope
Plugins can add instructions, tools, hooks, and external integrations. Install plugins only from sources you trust, and review what a plugin contains before enabling it. Because plugins are managed by the active backend:- A local backend can discover local plugin directories on that machine
- A remote backend uses its own plugin state, not your laptop’s plugin directories
- Switching backends can change which plugins are installed, enabled, or local