| --- |
| title: Overview |
| sidebar_position: 1 |
| --- |
| |
| <!-- |
| Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one |
| or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file |
| distributed with this work for additional information |
| regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this file |
| to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the |
| "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance |
| with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at |
| |
| http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 |
| |
| Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, |
| software distributed under the License is distributed on an |
| "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY |
| KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the |
| specific language governing permissions and limitations |
| under the License. |
| --> |
| |
| # Overview |
| |
| Apache Superset's extension system enables organizations to build custom features without modifying the core codebase. Inspired by the [VS Code extension model](https://code.visualstudio.com/api), this architecture addresses a long-standing challenge: teams previously had to fork Superset or make invasive modifications to add capabilities like query optimizers, custom panels, or specialized integrations—resulting in maintenance overhead and codebase fragmentation. |
| |
| The extension system introduces a modular, plugin-based architecture where both built-in features and external extensions use the same well-defined APIs. This "lean core" approach ensures that any capability available to Superset's internal features is equally accessible to community-developed extensions, fostering a vibrant ecosystem while reducing the maintenance burden on core contributors. |
| |
| ## What are Superset Extensions? |
| |
| Superset extensions are self-contained `.supx` packages that extend the platform's capabilities through standardized contribution points. Each extension can include both frontend (React/TypeScript) and backend (Python) components, bundled together and loaded dynamically at runtime using Webpack Module Federation. |
| |
| ## Extension Capabilities |
| |
| Extensions can provide: |
| |
| - **Custom UI Components**: New panels, views, and interactive elements |
| - **Commands and Menus**: Custom actions accessible via menus and keyboard shortcuts |
| - **REST API Endpoints**: Backend services under the `/extensions/` namespace |
| - **MCP Tools and Prompts**: AI agent capabilities for enhanced user assistance |
| |
| ## UI Components for Extensions |
| |
| Extension developers have access to pre-built UI components via `@apache-superset/core/components`. Browse all available components on the [UI Components](/docs/components/) page and filter by **Extension Compatible** to see components available to extensions. |
| |
| ## Next Steps |
| |
| - **[Quick Start](./quick-start)** - Build your first extension with a complete walkthrough |
| - **[Architecture](./architecture)** - Design principles and system overview |
| - **[Dependencies](./dependencies)** - Managing dependencies and understanding API stability |
| - **[Contribution Types](./contribution-types)** - Available extension points |
| - **[Development](./development)** - Project structure, APIs, and development workflow |
| - **[Deployment](./deployment)** - Packaging and deploying extensions |
| - **[MCP Integration](./mcp)** - Adding AI agent capabilities using extensions |
| - **[Security](./security)** - Security considerations and best practices |
| - **[Tasks](./tasks)** - Framework for creating and managing long running tasks |
| - **[Community Extensions](./registry)** - Browse extensions shared by the community |
