# Plugins

Plugins are how you tailor Cortex to fit the way your organization actually works. Out of the box, Cortex covers a broad set of integrations and workflows—but every engineering org has its own internal tools, custom processes, and one-off systems that don't fit a standard mold. Plugins close that gap, letting you extend Cortex with custom functionality to support unique workflows, surface data from internal systems, or integrate with tools that Cortex doesn't natively support.

Under the hood, each plugin is a single HTML file rendered inside an iframe within Cortex, giving you full control over the UI while keeping the plugin sandboxed from the rest of the app. To make working with external APIs straightforward, Cortex provides plugin proxies that handle CORS restrictions and can enrich outbound requests with custom headers and secrets, so you can call internal services without exposing credentials in the browser. Plugins also receive contextual information about where they're running in the app, allowing them to adapt their behavior based on the entity, page, or workflow currently in view.

For a list of available plugins, see [Available plugins](/streamline/plugins/marketplace.md#available-plugins).

{% hint style="success" %}
Want to learn more? Check out the Cortex Academy course on [plugins](https://academy.cortex.io/courses/understanding-plugins).
{% endhint %}

## Viewing plugins

Plugins can be viewed in the following areas of Cortex:

* **Main sidebar**
* **Engineering homepage**
* **Plugins homepage** (select **Plugins** from the main sidebar)
* **Entity details page**

### Configuring plugins to appear in the main sidebar

Users with the `Configure Plugin Appearance` permission can configure which plugins appear in the main sidebar.

<div align="left" data-with-frame="true"><figure><img src="/files/JzHJKfWzVnR5mMOuUmN7" alt="The &#x27;Plugins&#x27; section in the main sidebar." width="188"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
Use the main sidebar for plugins your whole organization should see. Any plugin added to the main sidebar is visible to all users.
{% endhint %}

1. From the main sidebar, click your avatar in the bottom-left corner.
2. Click **Settings**.
3. From the **Settings** menu, scroll to the **Workspace** section, then select **Main sidebar**.
4. Select the **Plugins** tab.
5. From the **Select plugins** drop-down menu, select up to five (5) plugins to appear in the main sidebar.
6. Optionally, reorder a plugin by hovering over its **grip icon** and dragging it to the desired position. To remove a plugin from the main sidebar, click the **trash icon** next to it. Repeat as necessary.
7. Click **Save changes**.

### Configuring plugins to appear on the engineering homepage

Users with the `Configure Plugin Appearance` permission can configure which plugins appear on the engineering homepage.

<div align="left" data-with-frame="true"><figure><img src="/files/alg4k85TJaesCbzZPhtt" alt="The &#x27;Plugins&#x27; section on the developer homepage." width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
Use the engineering homepage for plugins your whole organization should see. Any plugin added to the engineering homepage is visible to all users.
{% endhint %}

1. From the main sidebar, click your avatar in the bottom-left corner.
2. Click **Settings**.
3. From the **Settings** menu, scroll to the **Workspace** section, then select **Plugins**.
4. From the **Select plugins** drop-down menu, select up to five (5) plugins to appear on the engineering homepage.
5. Optionally, reorder a plugin by hovering over its **grip icon** and dragging it to the desired position. To remove a plugin from the engineering homepage, click the **trash icon** next to it. Repeat as necessary.
6. Click **Save changes**.

### Configuring plugins to appear on an entity's details page

Users with the `Edit Entities` permission can pin, reorder, and hide plugins on an entity's details page. Plugins pinned this way appear as tabs at the top of the page, either on a single entity or across all entities of the same type.

See [Customizing entity page tabs](/ingesting-data-into-cortex/entities-overview/entities/details.md#pinning-plugins) for more information.


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