> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openhands.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plugins in Agent Canvas

> Browse, install, attach, and inspect plugins in Agent Canvas.

Plugins bundle related agent capabilities, such as skills, MCP servers, hooks, commands, and agent definitions. Agent Canvas gives local backends a UI for browsing the plugin catalog, installing plugins, enabling or disabling installed plugins, and attaching plugins when you start a conversation.

<Note>
  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.
</Note>

## Open the Plugins Area

Open `Plugins` 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

Plugin management is backend-scoped. Switching backends changes which installed and local plugins you see.

## 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  |

Local plugins are discovered from user-level plugin directories such as `~/.agents/plugins` and `~/.openhands/plugins`. They can load into conversations, but Agent Canvas does not manage their lifecycle from the UI.

<Note>
  Local plugins are read-only in the Plugins page. To change or remove a local plugin, edit the files in the local plugin directory.
</Note>

## 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 the `Plugins` 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 select `Show 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

## Related Guides

* [Plugins](/overview/plugins)
* [SDK Plugins](/sdk/guides/plugins)
* [Connect and Manage Backends](/openhands/usage/agent-canvas/backends)