Plugin Architecture

🏛️ Plugin Architecture

This guide provides a technical overview of the Acode AI CLI Assistant Plugin architecture, components, and design patterns.

🎯 Overview

The plugin is built using modern JavaScript with a modular architecture that integrates seamlessly with Acode's plugin system while providing advanced AI capabilities.

📁 Project Structure

Acode-Plugin-AI-cli/
├── src/
│   ├── main.js          # Main plugin entry point
│   ├── constants.js     # Configuration constants
│   ├── api_key.js      # API key encryption/management
│   ├── utils.js        # Utility functions
│   └── style.scss      # Styling
├── dist/
│   ├── main.js         # Bundled plugin code
│   └── assets/         # Plugin assets
├── docs/               # Documentation files
├── package.json        # Project dependencies and metadata
├── plugin.json         # Acode plugin configuration
└── build.mjs           # Build process configuration

🧠 Core Components

AI Assistant Class

The main plugin class that handles:

• Initialization and setup
• UI rendering and management
• AI provider integration
• Message history handling
• File operations

API Key Manager

Responsible for:

• Secure encryption of API keys using AES-GCM
• Passphrase-based key derivation with PBKDF2
• Storage and retrieval of encrypted keys
• Key validation and management

Real-Time Analysis Engine

Handles:

• Code change detection
• Debounce timing management
• AI request optimization
• Error detection and suggestions

Bulk Operations Manager

Manages:

• Multi-file operations
• Pattern-based renaming
• Directory organization
• File movement and deletion

🔌 AI Provider Integration

Supported Providers

The plugin integrates with multiple AI providers through dedicated classes:

• OpenAI: Using @langchain/openai package
• Google Gemini: Using @langchain/google-genai package
• Ollama: Using @langchain/community package
• Groq: Using @langchain/groq package
• Anthropic Claude: Using @langchain/anthropic package
• OpenRouter: Custom OpenAI-like integration
• Qwen: Custom OpenAI-like integration
• OpenAI-Like: Generic OpenAI-compatible API integration

Provider Abstraction

All providers implement a common interface:

class AIProvider {
  async getResponse(prompt) { /* Implementation */ }
  async streamResponse(prompt) { /* Implementation */ }
  validateApiKey(apiKey) { /* Implementation */ }
}

🎨 UI Architecture

Scoped Styling

All plugin styles are scoped to prevent conflicts:

#acode-ai-assistant {
  // All styles contained within this scope
}

Component-Based Design

UI elements are modular:

• Chat Interface: Message display, input area, action buttons
• Dialog Components: History browser, settings panel, file selector
• Widgets: Real-time suggestions, error markers, performance indicators

Responsive Framework

• CSS variables for consistent theming
• Media queries for device-specific layouts
• Flexible components that adapt to screen size

🔐 Security Architecture

Encryption Layer

• AES-GCM: For encrypting sensitive data
• PBKDF2: For secure key derivation
• Random IVs: For unique encryption per entry

Data Protection

• API keys never stored in plain text
• Passphrases never stored or transmitted
• Local storage isolation from other plugins

Communication Security

• HTTPS-only API connections
• Secure header management
• Token usage monitoring

📦 Build System

ESBuild Configuration

The plugin uses ESBuild for fast bundling:

// build.mjs
import * as esbuild from "esbuild";
import { sassPlugin } from "esbuild-sass-plugin";

let result = await esbuild.build({
  entryPoints: ["src/main.js"],
  bundle: true,
  minify: true,
  outdir: "dist",
  plugins: [
    sassPlugin({
      type: "css-text",
    }),
  ],
});

Asset Management

• SVG icons for crisp rendering
• SCSS for maintainable styling
• JSON configuration files

Packaging

• Automated ZIP packaging for distribution
• Asset copying and optimization
• Version management through package.json

🔄 Data Flow

User Interaction Flow

1. User triggers plugin through UI or keyboard shortcut
2. Plugin initializes and renders interface
3. User inputs query or selects code
4. Plugin processes input and sends to AI provider
5. AI response is received and formatted
6. Response is displayed with markdown rendering
7. User can interact with response (copy code, etc.)

Real-Time Analysis Flow

1. Editor content change detected
2. Debounce timer initiated
3. Content analyzed for context
4. AI request prepared with context
5. Response cached for future use
6. UI updated with suggestions

Bulk Operations Flow

1. User selects operation type
2. File selection interface presented
3. Operation parameters configured
4. AI analysis performed if needed
5. Changes previewed
6. User confirms operation
7. Files processed in batch

🧪 Testing Architecture

Unit Testing

• Component-level testing
• API integration testing
• Security validation testing

Integration Testing

• Acode plugin system compatibility
• Cross-provider functionality
• UI responsiveness testing

Performance Testing

• Response time monitoring
• Memory usage tracking
• Battery impact assessment

📈 Monitoring and Analytics

Built-In Metrics

• Token usage tracking
• Response time measurement
• Error rate monitoring
• Feature usage statistics

Debugging Support

• Console logging for development
• Error boundary implementations
• Performance profiling hooks

🛠️ Extensibility Points

Plugin Hooks

• Acode command registration
• Context menu integration
• Keyboard shortcut binding
• Theme adaptation

AI Extension Points

• Provider interface for adding new AI services
• Custom prompt templates
• Response formatting customization
• Cache strategy modification

UI Extension Points

• Custom component injection
• Theme variable overrides
• Layout modification hooks
• Animation customization

🐛 Troubleshooting Architecture Issues

Common Problems

Build Failures

• Dependency resolution issues
• SCSS compilation errors
• Asset copying problems

Runtime Errors

• API provider initialization failures
• UI rendering issues
• Storage access problems

Integration Issues

• Acode version compatibility
• Plugin conflict resolution
• Resource limitation handling

Architecture Verification

To verify architectural components are working:

1. Check that main.js initializes properly
2. Verify API key manager encrypts/decrypts correctly
3. Test real-time analysis engine responsiveness
4. Confirm bulk operations manager processes files

📞 Getting Help

If you encounter architectural issues:

1. Check the Common Issues documentation
2. Visit our GitHub Issues page
3. Join our Discussions community for support

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