Hi, I wanted to reach out and see if you would be interested in using the Sketchpacks API to help with searching and managing plugins?

The API keeps a unique index of all plugin identifiers. So when you parse a manifest locally, you can use the identifier to fetch additional information about the plugin from the API.

If you'd like to check out the API, you can try it here: http://docs.sketchpacks.apiary.io

Some use cases

Weighted Full-Text Search

search across plugins manifest.name, manifest.title, manifest.description, and README.md.

https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins?text=plugin manager

GET Batches of Plugins

fetch groups of plugins to minimize API requests and improve performance.

https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins?in=plugin.identifier1,plugin.identifier2,...,plugin.identifierN

Download Version or SHA

You can download a plugin's latest version, or provide a semantic version or SHA to download.

https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/download
https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/download?version=1.2.3
https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/download?version={full_commit_sha}

Update Checks using Semantic Version Ranges

allows you to check for plugin updates with semantic version ranges. you can also leave out the range to get the latest version that is greater than the given version. (checks Github releases as well as manifest.version)

https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/download/update/1.2.3
https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/download/update/1.2.3?range=<2.0.0

Plugin Analytics

allows you to get download metrics for a plugin. It includes an all_time, weekly, and monthly count for each plugin. High level metrics are also included when you search for plugins.

https://api.sketchpacks.com/v1/plugins/{identifier}/rollup

Live Updates to the Registry

powered by Sketchpacks Relay which allows Sketch Developers to publish plugins quickly and deliver updates in near real-time.