Extend your SSH workspace with Zync plugins

You connect to a staging server to inspect an application. The terminal gets you there, but checking process status, switching between logs, and repeating the same commands can interrupt the work you came to do.

A Zync plugin can bring that focused tool into the same workspace. Keep a shell for your own commands and open a plugin pane for the view you need, such as a process monitor or container manager.

The Manifest v2 plugin platform and signed distribution shipped with Zync v2.33.2 on September 27, 2026. This guide covers the user workflow: choosing a plugin, reviewing its access, using it on a server, and managing it afterward.

Choose a tool for the task

Plugins can contribute commands, workspace panes, or editor integrations. Installation does not mean every plugin creates a new tab: an editor provider, for example, is used when opening a file through that editor.

Start with a specific job. For this guide, we will use PM2 Monitor, which shows processes and recent logs on the SSH server connected to its pane. The server must already have Node.js and PM2 available to that SSH account. Installing the plugin does not install PM2 on the server or grant new server privileges.

You can browse Zync extensions on the website. Use the app’s Marketplace to check which releases are available and compatible with your installed Zync version.

Install through the Marketplace

1. Open Settings → Plugins → Marketplace.
2. Find the plugin you want and review its publisher, version, description, and source.
3. Start the installation flow and read the permission review before approving it.
4. Accept the required access only if it fits the plugin’s job. Leave optional features off when you do not need them.
5. Complete installation and follow any restart notice shown by Zync.

Zync checks signed marketplace metadata and the downloaded package before activation. A signature helps establish where the package came from and whether its contents match the signed release. It does not prove that every action the plugin can perform is harmless.

For ordinary marketplace installation, you do not need Developer Mode. That mode is for testing local or legacy packages. Leave it off unless you are deliberately testing one.

Understand the permission request

Read the explanation beside each permission, not just its name. A plugin may need access to display its pane, run a command on the connected server, or save a file you choose.

PM2 Monitor’s v2.0.0 package provides a useful example:

Access	Why PM2 Monitor requests it
Workspace pane	Opens its process-monitoring interface.
SSH commands	Reads process information and runs supported process actions as the connected SSH user.
Confirmation dialogs	Asks before starting, restarting, reloading, stopping, deleting, or saving processes.
Optional local file writing	Exports displayed log snapshots to a file you choose. Monitoring works without granting this optional access.

SSH command access is powerful. It uses the connected account’s authority; it is not limited to a read-only process list by the permission itself. Choose a publisher you trust and an SSH account appropriate for the work.

Zync does not provide a general plugin API for reading raw Vault passwords or private keys. However, a permitted server command can still read sensitive information available to that SSH account, and application logs can contain secrets. Credential protection does not make command output safe to share.

Optional permissions can be changed later under Installed → Details and permissions. If you decline a requested optional action, that action cannot proceed. A plugin can ask again when you attempt the feature another time.

Open PM2 Monitor on the right server

Connect your staging host, open the workspace + menu, and choose PM2 Monitor. Check the selected host before acting on a process.

Begin with observation: find the application in the process list, inspect its status and resource use, and read its recent logs. PM2 Monitor v2.0.0 requires Zync 2.33.0 or newer with Plugin API 2.1. Follow the compatibility information shown for the package you install.

Recent logs are bounded snapshots that you can refresh, not a continuous live stream.

If PM2 is missing from the SSH command environment, review the executable paths in the plugin’s Connection settings. For a custom or nvm-based installation, the plugin supports explicit paths for PM2 and Node.js. A command that works in your interactive shell may depend on a shell profile that the plugin’s command execution does not load.

If the process list is empty, check that you connected as the SSH user who runs the application. PM2 uses the user’s home directory by default; a different account or custom PM2_HOME can point to a different PM2 instance. An empty list does not prove the application has stopped. See PM2’s documentation on multiple instances for that distinction.

Keep the terminal available for commands you want to run yourself. Use Zync’s split controls to place the plugin beside it when a side-by-side view helps. Plugin panes participate in the workspace layout; you do not need a second workspace inside the plugin.

Make one intentional change

Suppose you have identified a staging process that needs a restart. PM2 Monitor asks for confirmation before its process-changing actions. Read the target and action, then confirm only when that interruption is intended.

Afterward, refresh the process information and check the result. If a request times out, inspect the current state before trying again: a missing response does not prove the server did nothing.

That confirmation behavior belongs to PM2 Monitor. Granting command access to another plugin does not automatically guarantee a fresh prompt for every command it runs.

Keep updates and recovery deliberate

Use Settings → Plugins → Installed to inspect installed packages and available updates. Review changes in requested access before approving an update, and follow any restart notice.

A plugin update and a Zync app update are separate. A new plugin release can require a newer desktop version; updating the plugin alone cannot add missing host features.

When an eligible retained version is available, plugin details offer rollback. This can help recover from a package regression, but it does not undo server operations or automatically reverse changes to the plugin’s stored data.

If a pane fails, check the connection, enable state, compatibility, and requested permissions before retrying. Repeated runtime failures can cause Zync to pause the affected plugin. Use the recovery action offered by the app after addressing the cause.

Disable or remove a plugin

Open Settings → Plugins → Installed, then use the plugin’s management actions.

Action	What it changes
Disable	Stops the plugin while leaving it installed. You can enable it again later.
Change optional permissions	Adjusts optional features without granting additional required access.
Uninstall	Removes the package while keeping its private plugin data by default.
Uninstall and delete data	Removes the package and its private data on this device.

Removing a plugin does not remove PM2, Docker, or other software from the remote server. It also does not undo completed server actions. Treat data deletion as a separate choice from removing the tool.

Build a plugin when your workflow needs one

If you have a repeated task that existing plugins do not cover, the plugin development guide introduces the Zync SDK and a small worker-and-pane starter.

The API guide explains supported capabilities, and the publishing guide covers signing and marketplace submission. The SDK helps build a package; installing it from npm does not publish that package to Zync’s Marketplace.

For everyday use, start with one plugin and one staging host. Check its permissions, try the observation workflow, and keep only the tools you actually use. See the plugin guide for management details and PM2 Monitor’s source for its documented behavior.