Che plug-ins are extensions to the Che-Theia IDE that come bundled with a container image that contains their native prerequisites (for example, the OpenShift Connector plug-in needs the oc command installed). A Che Plugin is a list of Che-Theia plug-ins together with reference to a Linux container that the plug-in requires to run in. It can also include metadata to define the description, categorization tags, and an icon. Che provides a registry of plug-ins available for installation into the user’s workspace.

Because many VS Code extensions can run inside the Che-Theia IDE, they can be packaged as Che plug-ins by combining them with a runtime or a sidecar container. Users can choose from many more plug-ins that are provided out of the box.

From the Dashboard, plug-ins in the registry can be added from the Plugin tab or by adding them into a devfile. The devfile can also be used for further configuration of the plug-in, such as to define memory or CPU usage. Alternatively, plug-ins can be installed from Che by pressing Ctrl+Shift+J or by navigating to View → Plugins.