Set up developer tools

Building a UXP plugin requires a code editor for writing the project and the UXP Developer Tool (UDT) for creating, loading, reloading, and debugging it.

Choose a code editor

A reliable code editor helps you stay organized and productive. Any modern editor works. Visual Studio Code is a safe default: it's free, with a strong extension ecosystem, built-in formatting and linting, and a good fit for UXP workflows.

Once you've picked an editor, set up autocomplete and type checking and ESLint linting for UXP so mistakes surface as you type. Neither is required to start, but both pay off quickly.

Install the UXP Developer Tool

The UXP Developer Tool (UDT) simplifies creating, loading, managing, and debugging plugins for Adobe's UXP-powered applications.

The UXP Developer Tool Developer Workspace, showing connected apps and a list of plugins with their load states and actions

In addition, the UXP Developer Tool:

Includes a Code Playground to quickly test and explore APIs.
Lets you package plugins into a .ccx installable file, ready for distribution.
Provides starter templates and sample projects to help you get moving faster.

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Admin privileges are required to use UDT.

The UXP Developer Tool requires administrator-level privileges to run correctly. If you cannot elevate permissions on your system, you may not be able to use this tool.

Install from Creative Cloud

You can install UDT directly from Creative Cloud, or by following these steps:

Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. If you don't have it installed, download and install it here.
Sign in with your Adobe ID if you haven't already.
Go to the All apps section and search for "UXP Developer Tools".
Select Install on the UXP Developer Tools card.

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The UXP Developer Tool is not yet available as a Package in the Adobe Admin Console for Team and Enterprise customers.

Enable Developer Mode

The first time you launch UDT, it asks you to enable Developer Mode. This is required to load plugins in development into your host application. Click Enable; elevated permissions will be requested, and you may need to enter your password or approve an action.

UDT prompting to enable Developer Mode

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data-summary=Manual fallback: Enable Developer Mode via settings.json

data-subText=If enabling Developer Mode inside UDT fails, configure it manually on disk (requires admin privileges):

Manual configuration steps:
1. Quit the UXP Developer Tool.
2. Navigate to /Library/Application Support/Adobe/UXP/Developer on macOS, or %CommonProgramFiles%/Adobe/UXP/Developer on Windows (create the folder if needed).
3. Create a file named settings.json containing { "developer": true }.
4. Launch the UXP Developer Tool again.

Next step

Your tools are ready. Now build your first plugin.