[[kibana-plugins]]
== Kibana Plugins

Add-on functionality for Kibana is implemented with plug-in modules. You can use the `bin/kibana-plugin`
command to manage these modules. You can also install a plugin manually by moving the plugin file to the
`plugins` directory and unpacking the plugin files into a new directory.

A list of existing Kibana plugins is available on https://github.com/elastic/kibana/wiki/Known-Plugins[GitHub].

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=== Installing Plugins

Use the following command to install a plugin:

[source,shell]
bin/kibana-plugin install <package name or URL>

When you specify a plugin name without a URL, the plugin tool attempts to download the plugin from `download.elastic.co`.

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==== Installing Plugins from an Arbitrary URL

You can specify a URL to a specific plugin, as in the following example:

[source,shell]
$ bin/kibana-plugin install https://download.elastic.co/kibana/x-pack/x-pack-5.0.0-snapshot.zip
Attempting to transfer from https://download.elastic.co/kibana/x-pack//x-pack-5.0.0-snapshot.zip
Transferring <some number> bytes....................
Transfer complete
Retrieving metadata from plugin archive
Extracting plugin archive
Extraction complete
Optimizing and caching browser bundles...
Plugin installation complete

You can specify URLs that use the HTTP, HTTPS, or `file` protocols.

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=== Installing Plugins to an Arbitrary Directory

Use the `-d` or `--plugin-dir` option after the `install` command to specify a directory for plugins, as in the following
example:

[source,shell]
$ bin/kibana-plugin install file:///some/local/path/x-pack.zip -d path/to/directory
Installing sample-plugin
Attempting to transfer from file:///some/local/path/x-pack.zip
Transferring <some number> bytes....................
Transfer complete
Retrieving metadata from plugin archive
Extracting plugin archive
Extraction complete
Optimizing and caching browser bundles...
Plugin installation complete

NOTE: This command creates the specified directory if it does not already exist.

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=== Removing Plugins

Use the `remove` command to remove a plugin, including any configuration information, as in the following example:

[source,shell]
$ bin/kibana-plugin remove timelion

You can also remove a plugin manually by deleting the plugin's subdirectory under the `plugins/` directory.

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=== Listing Installed Plugins

Use the `list` command to list the currently installed plugins.

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=== Updating Plugins

To update a plugin, remove the current version and reinstall the plugin.

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=== Configuring the Plugin Manager

By default, the plugin manager provides you with feedback on the status of the activity you've asked the plugin manager
to perform. You can control the level of feedback for the `install` and `remove` commands with the `--quiet` and
`--silent` options. Use the `--quiet` option to suppress all non-error output. Use the `--silent` option to suppress all
output.

By default, plugin manager installation requests do not time out. Use the `--timeout` option, followed by a time, to
change this behavior, as in the following examples:

[source,shell]
.Waits for 30 seconds before failing
bin/kibana-plugin install --timeout 30s sample-plugin

[source,shell]
.Waits for 1 minute before failing
bin/kibana-plugin install --timeout 1m sample-plugin

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==== Plugins and Custom Kibana Configurations

Use the `-c` or `--config` options with the `install` and `remove` commands to specify the path to the configuration file
used to start Kibana. By default, Kibana uses the configuration file `config/kibana.yml`. When you change your installed
plugins, the `bin/kibana-plugin` command restarts the Kibana server. When you are using a customized configuration file,
you must specify the path to that configuration file each time you use the `bin/kibana-plugin` command.

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=== Plugin Manager Exit Codes

[horizontal]
0:: Success
64:: Unknown command or incorrect option parameter
74:: I/O error
70:: Other error

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[[plugin-switcher]]
== Switching Plugin Functionality

The Kibana UI serves as a framework that can contain several different plugins. You can switch between these
plugins by clicking the icons for your desired plugins in the left-hand navigation bar.

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=== Disabling Plugins

Use the following command to disable a plugin:

[source,shell]
-----------
./bin/kibana --<plugin ID>.enabled=false <1>
-----------

<1> You can find a plugin's plugin ID as the value of the `name` property in the plugin's `package.json` file.