Getting Started

Entry Point

There are two primary ways to create an Arelle plugin: via a standalone script or a module (directory).

If using the script approach, your plugin’s entry point is the script itself (myplugin.py)

If using the module approach, your plugin’s entry point is the __init__.py script in your plugin module’s root directory. (myplugin/__init__.py)

Once your entry point is created, it will need to be properly configured as an Arelle plugin. To do this, your plugin’s entry point must define a __pluginInfo__ property as a map with the following properties (some optional):

Property	Description
name	(Required) Name of plugin for display purposes.
version	(Required) Version of plugin for display purposes.
description	Description displayed in the GUI.
localeURL	L10N internationalization for this module (subdirectory if relative).
localeDomain	Domain for L10N internationalization (e.g., ‘arelle’).
license	License information to display with plugin.
author	Author to be listed in the GUI.
copyright	Copyright information to be listed in the GUI.
import	str, list or tuple of URLs or relative file names of imported plug-ins.
(hook)	See Plugin Functionality below.

Here is an example of what this might look like in Python code:

def exampleHook(arg):
  # This will be called when Arelle searches for `Example.Hook` usages from plugins.
  pass

__pluginInfo__ = {
    'name': 'My Plugin',
    'version': '1.0.0',
    'license': 'MIT',
    'author': 'John Smith',
    'copyright': '(c) Copyright 2023 Example Inc., All rights reserved.',
    'import': ['../otherPlugin.py', '../otherPlugin2.py'],
    'Example.Hook': exampleHook
}

Plugin Functionality

Arelle is configured to search for and run plugin code at predetermined places. These predetermined places are referred to as hooks.

In the example above, when Arelle calls for the hypothetical hook named Example.Hook, it will call the exampleHook method.

Hooks may or may not expect a value to be returned by your plugin’s method, which may or may not prevent other plugins from running or cause Arelle’s default behavior to be circumvented.

See Plugin Hooks to find documentation on expected arguments, expected return values, and other behavior associated with specific hooks.