How to Install UXP Plugins Using Command Line Tools

Use UPIA to deploy your plugins, starting in April

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If you want to install UXP plugins from the command line tools, or you’re a long time user of ExManCmd, this post is for you.

We have added the ability to install UXP plugins, that is to say, .CCX and .XDX files for Photoshop and Adobe XD, using the Universal Plugin Installer Agent (UPIA) via the command line, for users with Creative Cloud Desktop App (CCD) 5.7 or higher. This update is expected to roll out between ̶M̶a̶r̶c̶h̶ ̶3̶1̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶A̶p̶r̶i̶l̶ ̶8̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶2̶0̶2̶2̶ April 6th through the 14 (or later).

This post follows up on two previous articles:

Current Installation Methods by File Type

Here is an overview of installation methods by file type:

https://gist.github.com/ErinFinnegan/7203afc32de7c7cad9ea7936d642c5a4#file-New%20Installation%20Methods%20CCD%205-7-md

What has changed?

Previously, command line installation of UXP plugins, which are file types CCX and XDX, was not supported. Users who update to Creative Cloud Desktop app 5.7 are now supported with command line installation of UXP plugins.

Who does this impact?

Now you can support M1 macOS users running Photoshop natively by adding a UXP version of your plugin into your custom installer. Please let us know if you do this in this forum thread.

FAQ

What is the command to install a UXP plugin via the command line?

The commands to do installation, list all, and uninstallation are the same as they have been for ExManCmd and UPIA prior to this release. Please note that some commands from ExManCmd have been deprecated, see this article for more details.

First navigate to the folder where UPIA is installed using your Cmd prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS):

Then run the install command:

To uninstall, use /remove or --remove and the name of the plugin.

How can I tell which version of the Creative Cloud Desktop App I’m running?

Go to Creative Cloud → About Creative Cloud. See this page for more help with CCD, as well as release notes.

How can I update the Creative Cloud Desktop App?

Here’s how to update the Creative Cloud Desktop App (from helpx.adobe.com).

Where can I download UPIA?

Unlike ExManCmd, UPIA is not available for download separately from the Creative Cloud Desktop app. No separate UPIA installer is available.

Where is UPIA installed?

How can I support users who don’t use or install the Creative Cloud Desktop app (FRL users)?

Some Enterprise users do not install Creative Cloud Desktop app for users. This is sometimes called Feature Restricted Licensing, or FRL (read more about FRL Online and LAN FRL). Fortunately, Enterprise Admins do not need to install the Creative Cloud Desktop app for UPIA to be present. UPIA is automatically included in Adobe Enterprise installation workflows as a part of package deployment, in the same directories noted above.

Can I use Anastasiy’s Extension Manager or ZXPInstaller to install UXP plugins?

Anastasiy plans to keep updating his Extension Manager to support UXP plugins, but you will need to update to a version that supports UXP.

ZXPInstaller is no longer under active development (at the time of this writing) and is unlikely to offer UXP support in the near future.

Where are plugins installed?

CEP plugins may be installed in either the system level directory:

Or in the user level extension folder:

See the CEP Cookbook for more information on plugin folder locations.

UXP plugins are installed by default in the user level folder:

**Please note! You cannot write UXP plugins directly into the directories above like you could with CEP panels. UXP plugins must be installed via either double-click or UPIA in order to correctly update a database file.

Can I try it in a prerelease?

Although in the past the Creative Cloud Desktop app has run limited prereleases, there is no prerelease of CCD 5.7. Also note that the rollout does not happen all at once to all users, it’s a staggered roll out.

When will UXP come to other Creative Cloud applications?

At the time of this writing UXP technology is only open to third party developers of Photoshop and Adobe XD, but it is coming to other Creative Cloud products over the next several years. Follow the Creative Cloud category of this blog, or sign up for our Creative Cloud Developer newsletter to stay up to date.

Troubleshooting

The troubleshooting steps for installing UXP plugins with UPIA are the same for installing ZXP plugins, and very similar to troubleshooting ExManCmd.

Try it out!

When Creative Cloud Desktop app 5.7 is available, update it and try installing your UXP plugins from the command line.

¹ I’m calling them CEP “plugins” here, but recognize that in the past, we’ve called them add-ons, panels, or extensions. As Bruce Bullis once pointed out to me: “Since 1992, a plug-in has been broadly understood as a ‘compiled code library, compatible with a host application’s binary interface, loaded for execution at run time.’ Since (Flex API), extensions have been ‘scripting code, NOT compiled but instead loaded and interpreted by a host application.’” Circa 2017, perhaps influenced by Apple, my team dropped the hyphen and started calling everything a “plugin”.

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