# plugin command

## Syntax

    plugin command args

-   command = *load* or *unload* or *list* or *clear*

-   args = list of arguments for a particular plugin command

        *load* file = load plugin(s) from shared object in *file*
        *unload* style name = unload plugin *name* of style *style*
            *style* = *pair* or *bond* or *angle* or *dihedral* or *improper* or *kspace* or *compute* or *fix* or *region* or *command*
        *list* = print a list of currently loaded plugins
        *clear* = unload all currently loaded plugins

## Examples

``` LAMMPS
plugin load morse2plugin.so
plugin unload pair morse2/omp
plugin unload command hello
plugin list
plugin clear
```

## Description

The plugin command allows to load (and unload) additional styles and
commands into a LAMMPS binary from so-called dynamic shared object (DSO)
files. This enables to add new functionality to an existing LAMMPS
binary without having to recompile and link the entire executable.

The *load* command will load and initialize all plugins contained in the
plugin DSO with the given filename. A message with information the
plugin style and name and more will be printed. Individual DSO files may
contain multiple plugins. More details about how to write and compile
the plugin DSO is given in programmer\'s guide part of the manual under
[Developer_plugins]{.title-ref}.

The *unload* command will remove the given style or the given name from
the list of available styles. If the plugin style is currently in use,
that style instance will be deleted.

The *list* command will print a list of the loaded plugins and their
styles and names.

The *clear* command will unload all currently loaded plugins.

:::: {.admonition .note}
Automatic loading of plugins

::: versionadded
4May2022
:::

When the environment variable `LAMMPS_PLUGIN_PATH` is set, then LAMMPS
will search the directory (or directories) listed in this path for files
with names that end in `plugin.so` (e.g. `helloplugin.so`) and will try
to load the contained plugins automatically at start-up.
::::

## Restrictions

The *plugin* command is part of the PLUGIN package. It is only enabled
if LAMMPS was built with that package. See the [Build
package](Build_package) page for more info.

If plugins access functions or classes from a package, LAMMPS must have
been compiled with that package included.

Plugins are dependent on the LAMMPS binary interface (ABI) and
particularly the MPI library used. So they are not guaranteed to work
when the plugin was compiled with a different MPI library or different
compilation settings or a different LAMMPS version. There are no checks,
so if there is a mismatch the plugin object will either not load or data
corruption and crashes may happen.

## Related commands

none

## Default

none