Adobe Uxp Developer Tools May 2026
entryPoints.setup( panels: myPanel: show: saveText );
Enter . UXP is the modern, unified framework that allows developers to build plugins and extensions for Adobe’s flagship applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Fresco, XD, and Premiere Pro) using standard web technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and React .
Introduction: The Evolution of Adobe Extensibility For over a decade, developing extensions for Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator meant wrestling with proprietary, fragmented technologies: CEP (Common Extensibility Platform), ExtendScript (a quirky ES3-based language), and Flash-based panels. This ecosystem was powerful but slow, insecure, and visually inconsistent. adobe uxp developer tools
But a framework is only as good as its tooling. The (UDT) are the critical suite of utilities that transform UXP from a theoretical spec into a practical, debuggable, and deployable environment.
| Command | Function | | :--- | :--- | | uxp create | Scaffolds a new project with best-practice defaults. | | uxp watch | Watches your files for changes and rebuilds automatically. Pairs with the Desktop app’s autoload. | | uxp build | Compiles your plugin (minifies JS/CSS, copies assets) into a dist folder. | | uxp package | Creates a .ccx file (Adobe’s plugin format) ready for submission to the Exchange. | | uxp validate | Checks your manifest.json for schema errors and missing permissions. | entryPoints
"id": "com.mycompany.myplugin", "name": "My First Plugin", "host": [ "app": "PS", "minVersion": "24.0" , "app": "PHSP", "minVersion": "24.0" ], "entrypoints": [ "type": "panel", "id": "myPanel", "label": "My Panel", "main": "index.html" ], "features": "localStorage": true
my-first-plugin/ ├── manifest.json # The heart of the plugin (permissions, entry points) ├── main.js # Your JavaScript entry point ├── index.html # UI for the panel ├── style.css # UI styling └── node_modules/ # Dependencies The tools rely heavily on manifest.json . Here is a minimal example: This ecosystem was powerful but slow, insecure, and
const fs = require('uxp').storage.localFileSystem; const entryPoints = require('uxp'); async function saveText() const file = await fs.getFileForSaving("myOutput.txt"); await file.write("Hello from Adobe UXP!"); console.log("Saved successfully");