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Contribution Types

Extensions provide functionality through contributions - well-defined extension points that integrate with the host application.

Why Contributions?​

The contribution system provides several key benefits:

  • Transparency: Administrators can review exactly what functionality an extension provides before installation. The manifest.json documents all REST APIs, MCP tools, views, and other contributions in a single, readable location.

  • Security: Only contributions explicitly declared in the manifest are registered during startup. Extensions cannot expose functionality they haven't declared, preventing hidden or undocumented code from executing.

  • Discoverability: The manifest serves as a contract between extensions and the host application, making it easy to understand what an extension does without reading its source code.

How Contributions Work​

Contributions are automatically discovered from source code at build time. Simply use the @extension_api, @tool, @prompt decorators in Python or define*() functions in TypeScript - the build system finds them and generates a manifest.json with all discovered contributions.

No manual configuration needed!

Backend Contributions​

REST API Endpoints​

Register REST APIs under /api/v1/extensions/:

from superset_core.api import RestApi, extension_api
from flask_appbuilder import expose

@extension_api(id="my_api", name="My Extension API")
class MyExtensionAPI(RestApi):
    @expose("/endpoint", methods=["GET"])
    def get_data(self):
        return self.response(200, result={"message": "Hello"})

MCP Tools​

Register MCP tools for AI agents:

from superset_core.mcp import tool

@tool(tags=["database"])
def query_database(sql: str, database_id: int) -> dict:
    """Execute a SQL query against a database."""
    return execute_query(sql, database_id)

MCP Prompts​

Register MCP prompts:

from superset_core.mcp import prompt

@prompt(tags={"analysis"})
async def analyze_data(ctx, dataset: str) -> str:
    """Generate analysis for a dataset."""
    return f"Analyze the {dataset} dataset..."

See MCP Integration for more details.

Frontend Contributions​

Views​

Add panels or views to the UI using defineView():

import React from 'react';
import { defineView } from '@apache-superset/core';
import MyPanel from './MyPanel';

export const myView = defineView({
  id: 'main',
  title: 'My Panel',
  location: 'sqllab.panels', // or dashboard.tabs, explore.panels, etc.
  component: () => <MyPanel />,
});

Commands​

Define executable commands using defineCommand():

import { defineCommand } from '@apache-superset/core';

export const copyQuery = defineCommand({
  id: 'copy_query',
  title: 'Copy Query',
  icon: 'CopyOutlined',
  execute: async () => {
    // Copy the current query
    navigator.clipboard.writeText(getCurrentQuery());
  },
});

Add items to menus using defineMenu():

import { defineMenu } from '@apache-superset/core';

export const contextMenu = defineMenu({
  id: 'clear_editor',
  title: 'Clear Editor',
  location: 'sqllab.editor.context',
  action: () => {
    clearEditor();
  },
});

Editors​

Replace the default text editor using defineEditor():

import React from 'react';
import { defineEditor } from '@apache-superset/core';
import MonacoEditor from './MonacoEditor';

export const monacoSqlEditor = defineEditor({
  id: 'monaco_sql',
  name: 'Monaco SQL Editor',
  mimeTypes: ['text/x-sql'],
  component: MonacoEditor,
});

All contributions are automatically discovered at build time and registered at runtime - no manual configuration needed!

Configuration​

extension.json​

Specify which files to scan for contributions:

{
  "id": "my_extension",
  "name": "My Extension",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "backend": {
    "entryPoints": ["my_extension.entrypoint"],
    "files": ["backend/src/**/*.py"]
  },
  "frontend": {
    "moduleFederation": {
      "exposes": ["./index"]
    }
  }
}

Manual Contributions (Advanced)​

Override auto-discovery by specifying contributions directly:

{
  "backend": {
    "contributions": {
      "mcpTools": [
        { "id": "query_db", "name": "query_db", "module": "my_ext.tools.query_db" }
      ],
      "restApis": [
        { "id": "my_api", "name": "My API", "module": "my_ext.api.MyAPI", "basePath": "/my_api" }
      ]
    }
  }
}