Connect desktop tooling to exteraGram for plugin updates, reloads, and remote debugging.

Development server

The SDK includes a small TCP development server for desktop tooling. It can inspect and reload regular Python plugins, and Elyx extends it with multi-file synchronization.

The default endpoint is:

127.0.0.1:42690

Because the server binds to the phone's loopback interface, connect through ADB:

adb devices
adb forward tcp:42690 tcp:42690

Then desktop clients connect to 127.0.0.1:42690.

Development use only

Enable the server only while developing. Its protocol can install, rewrite, enable, disable, reload, and delete plugin code.

Message format

The connection carries consecutive UTF-8 JSON objects. A basic request uses:

{
  "@": "ping",
  "#": "request-1"
}

@ is the command name
# is a client-generated request id
additional fields depend on the command

The response repeats the request id:

{
  "#": "request-1",
  "pong": true
}

Clients should keep request ids unique while requests are in flight and match responses by #.

Core commands

Command	Additional fields	Purpose
`ping`	—	Test the connection
`get_plugins`	—	List loaded plugins and their current state
`enable_plugin`	`plugin_id`	Enable an installed plugin
`disable_plugin`	`plugin_id`	Disable an installed plugin
`reload_plugin`	`plugin_id`	Reload a regular single-file plugin
`write_plugin`	`plugin_id`, `content`	Install or update Python source
`remove_plugin`	`plugin_id`	Delete an installed plugin
`start_debugger`	`host`, `port`, `platform`	Start a remote debugger
`stop_debugger`	`platform`	Stop a remote debugger

write_plugin.content contains the complete Python source as a JSON string. The server writes it to a temporary file and passes it through the normal plugin loader.

Elyx multi-file commands

Elyx adds incremental folder comparison and change batches:

Command	Purpose
`elyx_ping`	Check that Elyx development support is active
`get_elyx_plugins`	List loaded structured plugins
`elyx_compare_folder`	Compare local hashes with installed files
`elyx_changes`	Apply file changes and reload one Elyx plugin

Elyx payloads are compressed JSON carried in a base64 data field. See Elyx development and build for the payload format, initial installation requirement, and elyx_dev_client.py workflow.

Remote debugging

The server accepts:

{
  "@": "start_debugger",
  "#": "debug-1",
  "host": "127.0.0.1",
  "port": 5678,
  "platform": "vscode"
}

Supported platform values:

vscode
pycharm

The debugger port is separate from 42690. Configure the IDE and any required ADB reverse/forward rule for the direction used by that debugger.

VS Code attach example:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Attach to exteraGram",
      "type": "debugpy",
      "request": "attach",
      "connect": {
        "host": "127.0.0.1",
        "port": 5678
      },
      "pathMappings": [
        {
          "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
          "remoteRoot": "/data/user/0/com.exteragram.messenger/files/plugins"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Debugger support also depends on the corresponding Python debugger package being available in the app runtime.

Client behavior

A robust custom client should:

test ping or elyx_ping before sending changes
apply socket timeouts
preserve request ids
display complete server errors
ignore build caches and version-control directories
debounce rapid editor events into one change batch
reconnect after the app restarts

The desktop client's CLI is not part of the SDK runtime API. Keep the exact client version and its usage instructions with the plugin project.

Connection troubleshooting

If the client cannot connect:

confirm developer mode and the server are enabled
run adb devices
recreate adb forward tcp:42690 tcp:42690
check that no other process owns local port 42690
restart the server after changing device

If core ping works but elyx_ping does not, the regular server is running but Elyx development support has not initialized.

Development Server