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Hybrid plugins

Extend UXP plugins with native C++ for performance-critical processing and platform integrations. Learn when to use a Hybrid plugin, how the JavaScript-to-C++ bridge works, and what it takes to build and ship one.

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Premiere & Photoshop only

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Host support

Hybrid plugins require Premiere 26.2 or later or Photoshop 24.2.0 or later. Media Encoder and InDesign do not currently support them. Build and test native binaries for every target host, platform, and architecture.

In this section

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Build a Hybrid Plugin

Compile a C++ uxpaddon, connect it to JavaScript, configure the manifest, debug both layers, and package the plugin.

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Hybrid Plugins FAQ

Answers on code signing, architectures, compatibility, and common loading errors.

How Hybrid plugins work

A Hybrid plugin is a standard UXP plugin that loads a dynamically linked C++ library. JavaScript imports the compiled .uxpaddon with require() and calls its exported functions like any other module.

The model is similar to C++ addons in Node.js:

const addon = require("sample.uxpaddon");

The addon exposes native functions and properties to JavaScript. Keep interface code and routine orchestration in JavaScript, and move only the work that benefits from native execution into C++.

Choose Hybrid for native work

Hybrid plugins are a good fit for:

Performance-intensive media processing: waveform analysis, frame-level pixel operations, audio DSP, or similar computation.
Existing C++ libraries: image processing, machine learning, codecs, or internal native libraries.
High-volume metadata work: batch XMP processing or custom schema transformations.
Native integrations: hardware SDKs, proprietary pipelines, or platform APIs exposed only through C or C++.

Do not add a native layer when the task can be implemented reliably with UXP or host APIs. Native binaries add platform builds, code signing, testing, and distribution requirements.

Before you begin

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Advanced C++ topic

Before adding native code, be comfortable building standard UXP plugins, using the UXP Developer Tool, and developing C++ dynamic libraries with Xcode or Visual Studio.

Component

Premiere

Photoshop

Host application

26.2+

24.2.0+

UXP Developer Tool (UDT)

2.2+

1.7.0+

Creative Cloud Desktop

5.10+

Get the Hybrid Plugin SDK

Download the SDK

Download the UXP Hybrid Plugin SDK from the Adobe Developer Console (if you get "Access Denied", see this FAQ). Unpack the contents and read the included README.md for platform-specific build instructions.

Adobe Developer Console

Review the SDK contents

The SDK provides headers, utilities, and templates for building native addons, called uxpaddons. Its API follows concepts similar to Node-API.

Folder

Contents

src/api

UxpAddonTypes.h: fundamental data types (opaque abstractions consumed by the SDK APIs). UxpAddonShared.h: the full addon API surface, closely mirroring Node-API.

src/utilities

Utility classes with common helpers. UxpAddon.h provides the UXP_ADDON_INIT and UXP_ADDON_TERMINATE macros for registering initialization and termination routines.

template/template-dev

Source code for a minimal addon example. Use it as a starting point for your own plugin.

template/template-plugin

A pre-compiled Hybrid plugin ready to load in UDT.

Plan SDK updates

The SDK is versioned separately from host applications and labeled by UXP version. Check each target host's release notes for SDK announcements. Adopting a newer SDK requires rebuilding and republishing the native binaries; addons built with an older supported SDK remain compatible with newer supported host releases.

Next step

Follow Build a Hybrid Plugin to compile an addon, connect it to JavaScript, configure the manifest, debug both layers, and package the plugin.