Ubuntu 22.04
node v22.10.0
tiddlywiki . --version 5.3.6
Firefox browser
Hello,
I successfully installed TW a month ago. Now, I want to install Relink plugin. I have been trying for two days, but nothing works. If someone can point me to a known, working procedure to do this, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot.
Serge
I hope this is just a case of over-complicating things rather than some fundamental issue! I’m pretty sure I installed it just by dragging the drag n' drop me! link from Relink — flexibility when relinking renamed tiddlers into my TW, approving the import, and reloading. Certainly that’s how I just updated from 2.4.5 to 2.5.1 (just now in fact - this thread is why I checked if there was an update, thankyou!)
For context, my setup is reasonably similar to yours - I’m using firefox, TW version 5.3.6, node v18.19.0 on Debian 12.7
Welcome to the forum Serge!
I’m similar to Nemo. I’m using plugin 2.4.5 in node 5.3.6 (running in docker, but that shouldn’t matter). I originally installed the plugin by drag/drop. I think. It’s been awhile.
If you haven’t already, make sure the plugin shows up in your plugin list. And of course reload your browser.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot!
The drag & drop from the link you provided worked perfectly.
However, I’m still a bit confused about my understanding of the whole process. Originally, I was following the instructions from GitHub - flibbles/tw5-relink: Tiddlywiki5 plugin to better update all other tiddlers when renaming a tiddler., since I’m using TiddlyWiki with Node.js, I never tried the TiddlyWiki demo site — I went directly to the “How to Install… For Node.js” section. Unfortunately, I was never able to get it working using that method.
What’s not clear to me is whether the drag & drop method actually works with the Node.js version of TiddlyWiki. Maybe I’m missing a key concept here, or just misunderstanding something fundamental.
Anyway, thanks again — it does work this way, and I really appreciate your help!
yeah, my understand (from other readings over the last year) is that the drag-and-drop method of installing plugins to node, will work but isn’t recommended, and instead the “add files to the filesystem and meddle with the tiddlywiki.info file manually (don’t make any syntax errors!) and then restart node” … is the recommended way. I’m not sure why, since it just feels like a lot of extra effort just to be less flexible compared to doing things the same as single-file TW. (I assume there is some reason (perhaps it makes sense for more complex setups than mine?), but I’ve not found it in any doco I’ve seen)
relevant tangent: it’s worth keeping a single-file version of TW around so you can search for plugins, since the documentation for installing plugins on Node (https://tiddlywiki.com/#Installing%20official%20plugins%20on%20Node.js) says
Identify the plugins you want to install using the Plugins tab of ControlPanel
However within a node TW, that tab says
The official plugin library is disabled when using the client-server configuration.
…making it impossible to search the official plugin library from Node 
I would say this part of the documentation is completely untrue:
Including a plugin as an ordinary tiddler by drag and drop into the browser, will result in the plugin only being active in the browser
It will not be available under Node.js
I think what they meant to say was that a drag-and-drop plugin will prevent a local folder plugin from working. But it’s very unclear.
Most of my TW work is done in Node, but I never bother to install plugins through the file system. Drag-and-drop has always worked for me. I really don’t understand the reason for the recommendation.
Of course I don’t use very many plugins, either.
I think the recommendation was written from the perspective of the developer. If you have a drag-and-drop version of an official plugin, then it won’t update when you update your node version.
But I suspect most of us have more unofficial plugins than official plugins. And for these, there is no auto-update feature, no matter how you install them.
That makes sense. When I develop plugins, I do have folders for them.
I don’t use the CPL myself, but I think that it also has auto-updates…
Don’t put plugins to pligin folder & update tiddlywiki.info, it is not recommended.
Recommended way is drag & drop or click Install button on CPL.
As a plugin author and nodejs wiki user myself, I never recommend people to modify json config file manually or put files into folder manually, it will scare many valuable new users out of tw community.
Not recommended by who? Where?
The official documentation appears to recommend it
- Plugins found using the OS environment variables
- See: PluginFolders
- Using a Node.js configuration option 1 is the most common one
…and says this about drag-and-drop:
- Plugins imported by drag and drop as wiki content
- This mechanism should only be used in a Node.js configuration for testing and debugging purposes, since the plugins are stored in the
tiddlers/directory
— https://tiddlywiki.com/#Installing%20custom%20plugins%20on%20Node.js
I’m not a plugin author, and relatively new to node TW, so I can’t speak with any authority or experience except as a user (with aspirations to be a power user, maybe), but I 100% agree that instructions to modify tiddlywiki.info is scary. otoh, finding drag-and-drop being the only non-scary option from a day-to-day usability point of view, but the doco that says drag-and-drop should only be for testing and debugging? That’s just a different scary.
Recommended on CPL and our chinese tutorial , based on discussion
We care about user growth and new user experiences.
I will find time to update tw5-com doc, but only when I have time…
This seems to be the “Question of the week”
This will install the plugin as a tiddler to the current wiki in the browser tab, No other node wiki or subwiki will have access to it. This is OK in many cases, but for plugins you use in every wiki within node this is duplication.
I just commented here How to extract plugin content - #17 by TW_Tones if there is a github implementation, the files to install into node (not just a wiki instance within it) may be available in github.
This is a gap between single file wiki use and node documentation.
A few weeks ago I also wanted to install relink into the node implementation within tiddlywiki-app because I want this plugin available to all wikis there in. I must say following instructions was a nighmare and incomplete.
Here is an example, I may want to install the internals plugin from the core plugins for research and development but not want it present in wikis a team uses or is published to the internet.
What if all plugins came with a link to a zip file that can be expanded into a node instance for instalation then all that remains is to update the tiddlywiki.info file? Perhaps even all core plugins could come in one zip file. Then one just needs to nominate plugins to load.
[Edited] Perhaps all Plugin Libraries could come with a zip of all plugins therein, in file format, for instalation on node? This could become part of the library implementation. No special searching or Github hosting would be nessasary.