Driver Marketplace

The Driver Marketplace lets you browse, install, and share drivers through a VS Code-style Extensions panel. Community drivers can be distributed as .muxdriver packages — self-contained ZIP files with metadata, documentation, and the driver itself.

Overview

Drivers in Muxit come in several forms:

Type	Tier	Sandbox	Distribution
Built-in	0	N/A	Compiled into the server
JavaScript	1	V8 sandbox	`.driver.js` files
C# Extension	3	None	`.dll` files

All driver types can be packaged as .muxdriver files for sharing. JavaScript drivers are recommended for community distribution because they run in a secure V8 sandbox with no file system, network, or process access.

Installing Drivers

From the Extensions Panel

Click the Extensions icon (puzzle piece) in the Activity Bar
Switch to the Available tab
Search for a driver by name, description, or tag
Click Install

The driver downloads, extracts, and registers automatically — no server restart needed.

From a `.muxdriver` File

If you have a .muxdriver package file (received from a colleague, downloaded manually, etc.):

bash

node drivers.js install

Or place the .muxdriver file in workspace/drivers/packages/ and the server will detect it on next startup.

DLL Driver Warnings

When installing a DLL community driver (Tier 3), the system runs a capability audit and shows what system access the driver requests (file system, network, process, etc.). You must explicitly approve before the driver loads. JS drivers skip this step because they run in a sandbox.

Creating Drivers

Use the Driver Manager tool to scaffold new drivers:

bash

node drivers.js

This opens an interactive menu. Select Create new JS driver or Create new C# driver.

Creating a JavaScript Driver

bash

node drivers.js create
# Select: JS driver
# Enter: name, description, group, author

This creates two files in workspace/drivers/:

{name}.driver.js — the driver implementation
{name}.manifest.json — package metadata

JS driver structure:

javascript

export default {
  meta: {
    name: "MyDriver",
    version: "1.0.0",
    group: "instruments",        // instruments, motion, communication, utilities
    description: "What it does",
    properties: {
      voltage: { type: "number", access: "r", unit: "V", description: "Measured voltage" },
    },
    actions: {
      reset: { description: "Reset the device" },
    },
    streams: [],
  },

  async init(config) { /* setup */ },
  async get(property) { /* read */ },
  async set(property, value) { /* write */ },
  async execute(action, args) { /* run action */ },
  async shutdown() { /* cleanup */ },
};

See JS Driver SDK for the complete API.

Creating a C# Driver

bash

node drivers.js create
# Select: C# driver
# Enter: name (PascalCase), description, group, author

This creates a project in drivers/Muxit.Driver.{Name}/ with:

.csproj referencing the SDK
{Name}Driver.cs implementing IConnectorDriver
manifest.json for packaging

Build with:

bash

dotnet publish drivers/Muxit.Driver.{Name} -c Release

See C# Driver SDK for the complete API.

The `.muxdriver` Package Format

A .muxdriver file is a ZIP archive with this structure:

manifest.json              ← required
README.md                  ← optional, shown in detail page
CHANGELOG.md               ← optional
icon.png                   ← optional, 128x128
my-driver.driver.js        ← JS driver entry point
  OR
MyDriver.dll               ← DLL driver entry point
MyDriver.dll.sig           ← optional RSA signature
deps/                      ← native dependencies (DLL drivers only)

manifest.json

json

{
  "formatVersion": 1,
  "id": "yourname/driver-name",
  "name": "My Driver",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "What this driver does",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "github": "yourgithub"
  },
  "group": "instruments",
  "tier": 1,
  "license": "MIT",
  "repository": "https://github.com/you/your-driver",
  "minMuxitVersion": "0.3.0",
  "entryPoint": "my-driver.driver.js",
  "tags": ["serial", "sensor"]
}

Field	Required	Description
`formatVersion`	Yes	Always `1`
`id`	Yes	Unique identifier: `publisher/name` format
`name`	Yes	Human-readable display name
`version`	Yes	Semantic version (e.g., `1.0.0`)
`entryPoint`	Yes	Filename of the driver (`.driver.js` or `.dll`)
`description`	No	Short description
`author`	No	`{ name, github }`
`group`	No	`instruments`, `motion`, `communication`, or `utilities`
`tier`	No	`1` (JS) or `3` (DLL). Default: `1`
`license`	No	License identifier (e.g., `MIT`)
`repository`	No	Source code URL
`minMuxitVersion`	No	Minimum required Muxit version
`tags`	No	Search/discovery tags

Packaging with `drivers.js`

bash

node drivers.js package

The tool will:

List all available drivers (JS and C# projects)
Let you select one to package
For C# drivers: build with dotnet publish, collect DLLs and native dependencies
Read or create manifest.json (prompts for missing fields)
Include README.md and CHANGELOG.md if present
Create a .muxdriver ZIP file in publish/drivers/
Print the SHA256 hash (needed for the registry)

CHANGELOG.md

Drivers may ship a top-level CHANGELOG.md alongside manifest.json. It is optional, but recommended: the publish flow (both node drivers.js registry and the Dev Console publish wizard) reads it, scopes it to the version being published, and writes it into the changelog field of the generated registry entry. The driver-registry site renders that field as the Changelog section on the driver's detail page.

The publisher recognises the common Keep a Changelog heading styles for version scoping:

markdown

## 1.2.0
## [1.2.0]
## v1.2.0
## 1.2.0 - 2026-04-18
## 1.2.0 — 2026-04-18

The section is read from the first matching ## heading up to the next ## heading. If no heading matches the manifest version the whole file is used as a conservative fallback. The Dev Console's publish wizard shows the scoped text in an editable textarea before the driver-registry PR is opened, so you can always tweak the published notes without re-packaging.

Validating Before Packaging

bash

node drivers.js validate

Checks your driver project for common issues:

Missing or invalid manifest.json
Missing entry point file
Path traversal in file names
Missing SDK reference (C# drivers)
Missing meta section (JS drivers)

Inspecting a Package

bash

node drivers.js inspect

Opens a .muxdriver file and shows:

Manifest contents (name, version, author, etc.)
File listing with sizes
SHA256 hash of the package

Publishing

Step 1: Create a GitHub Release

Push your driver source code to a GitHub repository
Create a release and upload the .muxdriver file as a release asset
Copy the download URL of the .muxdriver asset

Step 2: Generate Registry Entry

bash

node drivers.js          # select "Prepare registry entry"

This generates a JSON file with all the metadata needed for the registry, including the download URL and SHA256 hash.

Step 3: Submit to Registry

Fork the driver-registry repository
Add your registry entry JSON to the drivers/ directory
Submit a pull request
Once merged, your driver appears in the Available tab of the Extensions panel

Security Model

JavaScript Drivers (Recommended for Community)

JS drivers run in a V8 sandbox with strict isolation:

No file system access
No network access (except via transport APIs)
No process spawning
No require() or import()

This makes JS drivers safe to install from unknown authors.

DLL Drivers

C# DLL drivers run with full .NET runtime access. Before installation, the system audits the DLL for capabilities:

File System — can read/write files
Network — can make network connections
Process — can spawn processes
Reflection — can inspect/modify code at runtime
Registry — can access the Windows registry

A warning dialog shows these capabilities and requires explicit approval.

Offline Use

The marketplace works in offline environments:

Registry cache: The driver index is cached locally for 24 hours. If the network is unavailable, stale cache is used.
Manual install: Place .muxdriver files in workspace/drivers/packages/ or use node drivers.js install to install from a local file.
No phone-home: Installed drivers work without any network connection.

Driver Manager Reference

bash

node drivers.js              # Interactive menu
node drivers.js create       # Create new driver
node drivers.js package      # Package driver into .muxdriver
node drivers.js validate     # Validate driver project
node drivers.js inspect      # Inspect .muxdriver package
node drivers.js install      # Install .muxdriver locally
node drivers.js list         # List all drivers

Also available from the command center: node muxit.js 20

Driver Marketplace ​

Overview ​

Installing Drivers ​

From the Extensions Panel ​

From a .muxdriver File ​

DLL Driver Warnings ​

Creating Drivers ​

Creating a JavaScript Driver ​

Creating a C# Driver ​

The .muxdriver Package Format ​

manifest.json ​

Packaging with drivers.js ​

CHANGELOG.md ​

Validating Before Packaging ​

Inspecting a Package ​

Publishing ​

Step 1: Create a GitHub Release ​

Step 2: Generate Registry Entry ​

Step 3: Submit to Registry ​

Security Model ​

JavaScript Drivers (Recommended for Community) ​

DLL Drivers ​

Offline Use ​

Driver Manager Reference ​

Driver Marketplace

Overview

Installing Drivers

From the Extensions Panel

From a `.muxdriver` File

DLL Driver Warnings

Creating Drivers

Creating a JavaScript Driver

Creating a C# Driver

The `.muxdriver` Package Format

manifest.json

Packaging with `drivers.js`

CHANGELOG.md

Validating Before Packaging

Inspecting a Package

Publishing

Step 1: Create a GitHub Release

Step 2: Generate Registry Entry

Step 3: Submit to Registry

Security Model

JavaScript Drivers (Recommended for Community)

DLL Drivers

Offline Use

Driver Manager Reference