
The whole of MonoDevelop is built this way, so there are many extension points available, and the core ones are described in the Extension Point Reference. An addin is a set of extensions that plug into extension points defined in other addins, and can also define new extension points for other addins to extend.

MonoDevelop is built around the concept of an extension tree. This walkthrough will take you through the basics of writing addins, by describing the creating of a simple addin that adds a command to insert the current date into the source editor. The MonoDevelop addin architecture is designed to allow you to extend any part of MonoDevelop, for example supporting a new language or version control system, or custom source editing commands.

This walkthrough will guide you through the process of creating a simple add-in, introducing the fundamentals of the add-in system and some of MonoDevelop’s core APIs.
