Plugins

ServiceStack Plugin API provides a declarative way to enable modular functionality in ServiceStack:

Plugin API

public interface IPlugin
{
    void Register(IAppHost appHost);
}

Custom Logic before Plugins are loaded

If your plugin also implements IPreInitPlugin it will get run before any plugins are registered:

public interface IPreInitPlugin
{
    void Configure(IAppHost appHost);
}

Custom Logic after Plugins are loaded

If your plugin implements IPostInitPlugin it will get run after all plugins are registered:

public interface IPostInitPlugin
{
    void AfterPluginsLoaded(IAppHost appHost);
}

Disabling Plugins via Feature Enum Flags

All built-in Plugins are Registered and available via base.Plugins before your Configure() script is run so you have a chance to modify the behaviour or remove un-used plugins which is exactly what the short-hand:

SetConfig(new HostConfig { 
    EnableFeatures = Feature.All.Remove(Feature.Csv)
});

Which under the covers just does:

if ((Feature.Csv & config.EnableFeatures) != Feature.Csv)
    Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is CsvFormat);

Which you now also have an opportunity to also do in your AppHost Configure() start-up script yourself - if you want to remove or customize any pre-loaded plugins.

Resolving Plugins

You can easily use LINQ to fetch any specific plugin:

var htmlFormat = base.Plugins.First(x => x is HtmlFormat) as HtmlFormat;

Which is also what the this.GetPlugin<T>() convenience extension method does:

var htmlFormat = base.GetPlugin<HtmlFormat>();

List of Plugins added by Default

A list of all of the plugins available on ServiceStack and how to add them:

Auto-registered plugins

These plugins below are already added by default, you can remove or customize them using the methods described above.

Metadata Feature

Provides ServiceStack's auto-generated metadata pages.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is MetadataFeature); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is MetadataFeature); 

Predefined Routes

Provides ServiceStack's pre-defined routes used in the built-in C# Service Clients.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is PredefinedRoutesFeature); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is PredefinedRoutesFeature); 

Request Info

Provides ServiceStack's Request Info feature useful for debugging requests. Just add ?debug=requestinfo in your /pathinfo and ServiceStack will return a dump of all the HTTP Request parameters to help with with debugging interoperability issues. The RequestInfoFeature is only enabled for Debug builds.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is RequestInfoFeature); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is RequestInfoFeature); 

CSV Format

Providing ServiceStack's CSV Format.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is CsvFormat); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is CsvFormat); 

Note: By default the CSV Format tries serialize the Response object directly into CSV which is only ideal if your responses return List<Poco>. If however you mark your Response DTO with the [Csv(CsvBehavior.FirstEnumerable)] attribute the CSV Format instead will only serialize the first IEnumerable<T> it finds on your Response DTO e.g. if you had a List<Poco> Results property it will only serialize this list in the tabular CSV Format which is typically the behaviour you want.

Html Format

Providing ServiceStack's Html Format.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is HtmlFormat); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is HtmlFormat); 

Razor Markdown Format

This provides ServiceStack's Razor Markdown Format and also enables ServiceStack to serve static .md or .markdown files in either plain text, rendered as HTML (partial), or rendered in HTML inside a static _Layout.shtml HTML template.

var feature = Plugins.FirstOrDefault(x => x is MarkdownFormat); 
Plugins.RemoveAll(x => x is MarkdownFormat); 

The entire docs.servicestack.net website is rendered using static Markdown. More information of Razor Markdown features can be found in:

• Introduction to Markdown Razor
• Markdown Razor Features
• How Docs is built with Markdown

Available Plugins

The rest of ServiceStack's plugins are not enabled by default by can easily be added on adhoc basis, as and when needed.

Auto Query

AutoQuery enables instant querying support on RDBMS tables behind clean self-describing APIs by enhancing the ideal API the developer would naturally write and completing their implementation for them! This is essentially the philosophy behind AutoQuery which utilizes conventions to automate creation of intent-based self-descriptive APIs that are able to specify configurable conventions and leverage extensibility options to maximize the utility of AutoQuery services.

Plugins.Add(new AutoQueryFeature { MaxLimit = 100 });

Requires ServiceStack.Server

Server Events

Server Events enables server push notifications to create real-time responsive web apps with its support for Server Sent Events. It offers a number of different API's for sending notifications to select users at different levels of granularity, letting you interact and modify live-running web apps.

Plugins.Add(new ServerEventsFeature());

Postman

The Postman Rest Client is a very popular and easy to use HTTP Request composer that makes it easy to call web services, similar to Fiddler's Composer. It also provides as an alternative for auto-generating API documentation to ServiceStack's Swagger support that makes it easier to call existing services but does require users to install the Postman Rest Client.

Plugins.Add(new PostmanFeature());
Plugins.Add(new CorsFeature());

Swagger support

Swagger support an optional add-on available in the ServiceStack.Api.Swagger NuGet package.

After installing the NuGet package enable the Swagger with:

Plugins.Add(new SwaggerFeature());

Now you can enjoy your shiny new Swagger UI at: http://yoursite/swagger-ui/index.html

Annotating your services

You can further document your services in the Swagger UI with the new [Api] and [ApiMember] annotation attributes, e,g: Here's an example of a fully documented service:

[Api("Service Description")]
[Route("/swagger/{Name}", "GET", Summary = @"GET Summary", Notes = "GET Notes")]
[Route("/swagger/{Name}", "POST", Summary = @"POST Summary", Notes = "POST Notes")]
public class MyRequestDto
{
    [ApiMember(Name="Name", Description = "Name Description", 
               ParameterType = "path", DataType = "string", IsRequired = true)]
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Razor Format

Provides ServiceStack's primary HTML story with support for the MVC Razor view engine.

Plugins.Add(new RazorFormat()); 

It's an optional .NET 4.0 plugin that is available in the ServiceStack.Razor NuGet package.

Validation

Enable the validation feature if you want to ensure all of ServiceStack's Fluent validators for Request DTOs IValidator<TRequestDto> are automatically validated on every request.

Plugins.Add(new ValidationFeature());

More information on ServiceStack's built-in Fluent Validation support is described on the Validation page.

Authentication

The Authentication Feature enables the Authentication and Authorization support in ServiceStack. It makes available the AuthService at the default route at /auth/{provider}, registers AssignRoles and UnAssignRoles services (at /assignroles and /unassignroles default routes) and auto-enables Session support if it's not added already.

An example AuthFeature registration (taken from the SocialBootstrapApi project):

Plugins.Add(new AuthFeature(
    () => new CustomUserSession(), //Use your own typed Custom UserSession type
    new IAuthProvider[] {
        new CredentialsAuthProvider(),         //HTML Form post of UserName/Password
        new TwitterAuthProvider(appSettings),  //Sign-in with Twitter
        new FacebookAuthProvider(appSettings), //Sign-in with Facebook
        new BasicAuthProvider(),               //Sign-in with Basic Auth
    }));

This registers and provides your ServiceStack host a myriad of different Authentication options as described above.

Session support

If you're not using the AuthFeature above and you still want Session support you need to enable it explicitly with:

Plugins.Add(new SessionFeature());

This will add a Request Filter to instruct any HTTP client calling a ServiceStack web service to create a Temporary (ss-id) and Permanent (ss-pid) cookie if not already done so.

Registration

Related to Authentication is Registration which enables the Registration Service at the default route /register which lets new Users to be registered and validated with the Credentials and Basic AuthProviders.

Plugins.Add(new RegistrationFeature());

See the SocialBootstrapApi project for a working example of Registration and Authentication.

MessagePack format

To add fast binary MessagePack support to ServiceStack install the ServiceStack.Plugins.MsgPack NuGet package and register the plugin with:

Plugins.Add(new MsgPackFormat());

ProtoBuf format

To enable ProtoBuf support install the ServiceStack.Plugins.ProtoBuf NuGet package and register the plugin with:

Plugins.Add(new ProtoBufFormat());

Request Logger

Add an In-Memory IRequestLogger and service with the default route at /requestlogs which maintains a live log of the most recent requests (and their responses). Supports multiple config options incl. Rolling-size capacity, error and session tracking, hidden request bodies for sensitive services, etc.

Plugins.Add(new RequestLogsFeature());

The IRequestLogger is a great way to introspect and analyze your service requests in real-time. Here's a screenshot from the http://bootstrapapi.servicestack.net website:

It supports multiple queryString filters and switches so you filter out related requests for better analysis and debuggability:

The RequestLogsService is just a simple C# service under-the-hood but is a good example of how a little bit of code can provide a lot of value in ServiceStack's by leveraging its generic, built-in features.

Encrypted Messaging

The Encrypted Messaging feature enables a secure channel for all Services to offer protection to clients who can now easily send and receive encrypted messages over unsecured HTTP by registering the EncryptedMessagesFeature plugin:

Plugins.Add(new EncryptedMessagesFeature {
    PrivateKeyXml = ServerRsaPrivateKeyXml
});

Where PrivateKeyXml is the Servers RSA Private Key Serialized as XML. See the Encrypted Messaging docs for more info.

Cancellable Requests

The Cancellable Requests Feature makes it easy to design long-running Services that are cancellable with an external Web Service Request. To enable this feature, register the CancellableRequestsFeature plugin:

Plugins.Add(new CancellableRequestsFeature());

Web Sudo

A common UX in some websites is to add an extra layer of protection for super protected functionality by getting users to re-confirm their password verifying it's still them using the website, common in places like confirming a financial transaction.

WebSudo is a new feature similar in spirit requiring users to re-authenticate when accessing Services annotated with the [WebSudoRequired] attribute. To make use of WebSudo, first register the plugin:

Plugins.Add(new WebSudoFeature());

Your Custom AuthUserSession would need to either inherit WebSudoAuthUserSession or implement IWebSudoAuthSession, e.g:

public class CustomUserSession : WebSudoAuthUserSession {}

Then tell ServiceStack to use your CustomUserSession by registering it with the AuthFeature, e.g:

Plugins.Add(new AuthFeature(() => new CustomUserSession(), ...);

You can then apply WebSudo behavior to existing services by annotating them with [WebSudoRequired]:

[WebSudoRequired]
public class RequiresWebSudoService : Service
{
    public object Any(RequiresWebSudo request)
    {
        return request;
    }
}

Once enabled this will throw a 402 Web Sudo Required HTTP Error the first time the service is called:

var requiresWebSudo = new RequiresWebSudo { Name = "test" };
try
{
    client.Send<RequiresWebSudoResponse>(requiresWebSudo); //throws
}
catch (WebServiceException)
{
    client.Send(authRequest); //re-authenticate
    var response = client.Send(requiresWebSudo); //success!
}

Re-authenticating afterwards will allow access to the WebSudo service.

Community Resources

• Extending ServiceStack by morganskinner