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Libraries, Finally!
Make your own plugins in Xojo
Issue: 24.2 (March/April 2026)
Author: Marc Zeedar
Author Bio: Marc taught himself programming in high school when he bought his first computer but had no money for software. He's had fun learning ever since.
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 18,318
Starting Page Number: 49
Article Number: 24205
Resource File(s):
project24205.zip Updated: 2026-03-01 13:10:28
Related Link(s): None
Excerpt of article text...
Libraries are a feature that Xojo put on the roadmap many years ago... but with twists like Apple switching to ARM architecture (Apple Silicon) taking priority, they have been a long time coming. But finally—with Xojo2025R3—they are here!
What Are Libraries?
In short, a Xojo Library is like a plugin that you create with Xojo code. Traditionally, Xojo plugins are written in a high-level language like C++, which isn't trivial. For years, Xojo users have wanted a way to create a Xojo "plugin" using Xojo itself. Libraries are the answer to that.
You could always share code via modules or classes, of course, but these aren't encrypted, so you're giving away the source code. If you're wanting to make a little money via a plugin, that wasn't feasible.
The advantage of a Library is that you can include whatever you want in it from a Xojo project, pass it on to another person who can load it into their project, and they can use it without being able to see your source code or make changes to your Library. The Library they receive is compiled machine code, not Xojo code, so there's no way for them to extract your source.
You can also use your own Libraries in multiple projects, so it's a great way to consolidate code and is more secure (safer) than techniques like External Items (
https://documentation.xojo.com/topics/code_management/sharing_code_among_multiple_projects.html#external-items), which can be fragile.
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