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Summary: Lots o docs Test Plan: Run tests, review docs Reviewers: evan Reviewed By: evan Differential Revision: https://review.inboxapp.com/D1496
102 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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Title: Building a Package
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Section: Getting Started
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---
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Packages lie at the heart of Nylas Mail. Each part of the core experience is a separate package that uses the Nilas Package API to add functionality to the client. Want to make a read-only mail client? Remove the core `Composer` package and you'll see reply buttons and composer functionality disappear.
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Let's explore the files in a simple package that adds a Translate option to the Composer. When you tap the Translate button, we'll display a popup menu with a list of languages. When you pick a language, we'll make a web request and convert your reply into the desired language.
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#####Package Structure
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Each package is defined by a `package.json` file that includes it's name, version and dependencies. Our `translate` package uses [React](https://facebook.github.io/react/) and the Node [request](https://github.com/request/request) library.
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```
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{
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"name": "translate",
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"version": "0.1.0",
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"main": "./lib/main",
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"description": "An example package for Nylas Mail",
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"license": "Proprietary",
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"engines": {
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"atom": "*"
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},
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"dependencies": {
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"react": "^0.12.2",
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"request": "^2.53"
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}
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}
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```
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Our package also contains source files, a spec file with complete tests for the behavior the package adds, and a stylesheet for CSS.
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```
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- package.json
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- lib/
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- main.cjsx
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- spec/
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- main-spec.coffee
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- stylesheets/
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- translate.less
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```
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`package.json` lists `lib/main` as the root file of our package. As our package expands, we can add other source files. Since Nylas Mail runs NodeJS, you can `require` other source files, Node packages, etc. Inside `main.cjsx`, there are two important functions being exported:
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```coffee
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module.exports =
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##
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# Activate is called when the package is loaded. If your package previously
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# saved state using `serialize` it is provided.
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#
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activate: (@state) ->
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ComponentRegistry.register TranslateButton,
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role: 'Composer:ActionButton'
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##
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# Serialize is called when your package is about to be unmounted.
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# You can return a state object that will be passed back to your package
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# when it is re-activated.
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#
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serialize: ->
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{}
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##
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# This optional method is called when the window is shutting down,
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# or when your package is being updated or disabled. If your package is
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# watching any files, holding external resources, providing commands or
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# subscribing to events, release them here.
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deactivate: ->
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ComponentRegistry.unregister('TranslateButton')
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```
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> Nylas Mail uses CJSX, a Coffeescript version of JSX, which makes it easy to express Virtual DOM in React `render` methods! You may want to add the [Babel](https://github.com/babel/babel-sublime) plugin to Sublime Text, or the [CJSX Language](https://atom.io/packages/language-cjsx) for syntax highlighting.
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#####Package Stylesheets
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Style sheets for your package should be placed in the _styles_ directory.
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Any style sheets in this directory will be loaded and attached to the DOM when
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your package is activated. Style sheets can be written as CSS or [Less], but
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Less is recommended.
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Ideally, you won't need much in the way of styling. We've provided a standard
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set of components which define both the colors and UI elements for any package
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that fits into Nylas Mail seamlessly.
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If you _do_ need special styling, try to keep only structural styles in the
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package stylesheets. If you _must_ specify colors and sizing, these should be
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taken from the active theme's [ui-variables.less][ui-variables]. For more
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information, see the [theme variables docs][theme-variables]. If you follow this
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guideline, your package will look good out of the box with any theme!
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An optional `stylesheets` array in your _package.json_ can list the style sheets
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by name to specify a loading order; otherwise, all style sheets are loaded.
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###Installing a Package
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Nylas Mail ships with many packages already bundled with the application. When the application launches, it looks for additional packages in `~/.inbox/packages`. Each package you create belongs in it's own directory inside this folder.
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In the future, it will be possible to install packages directly from within the client.
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