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File Manager > extensions

Create a File Type Plugin

Learn how to create a plugin to handle any file type within Webiny File Manager.

Can I Use This?

This feature is available since Webiny v5.8.0.

What you'll learn

how to customize file rendering within Webiny File Manager
how to add custom actions to different file types
how to create your own file type plugin class

Overview

By default, the Webiny File Manager has a preconfigured plugin for image files, and a fallback plugin to render any other file type using a default icon. Out of the box, it looks like this:

Default File Type Plugins

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In this guide, we go through ways of implementing your own renderers for file types of your choice.

Using the Built-in Plugin

The easiest way is to use the built-in FileManagerFileTypePlugin class. Let’s configure a plugin that will render files of type video/mp4:

Custom renderer for video/mp4 files

The code above can be placed in the /apps/admin/code/src/plugins/mp4Plugin.tsx file, which doesn’t exist by default, so you will have to create it manually. Furthermore, once the file is created, make sure that it’s actually imported and registered in the apps/admin/code/src/plugins/index.ts entrypoint file.

Now your File Manager will display files like this:

Custom video/mp4 Renderer

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Using Glob Patterns

You can also define types using globs, which will be matched using the minimatch external link library.

Using globs to match file types

You can define multiple file type plugins, and your plugins may have overlapping types definitions. Webiny will go through all of your plugins, and the last one to match wins.

Custom File Actions

When you open the file details sidebar, you’ll notice there are several actions available out of the box:

Default File Actions

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You can add your own actions here using the same file type plugin you used to define the custom renderer:

Adding Custom Actions to Your File Type Plugin

Now your file details sidebar will contain this new custom action:

Custom File Action

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Custom Plugin Classes

The FileManagerFileTypePlugin class can be used as is, but you can also extend it and create your own classes for different file types:

Creating a Custom File Type Plugin Class