Build a Pro Extension

Since Jetonomy Pro 1.9.0, the extension system that powers all bundled Pro modules (Private Messaging, Polls, Analytics, and the rest) is open to third-party developers. Your plugin can register an extension that gets the exact same lifecycle the bundled ones do: an admin toggle on the Extensions screen, table creation on the migration guard, boot() when enabled, and cleanup on deactivation.

Requires: Jetonomy Pro active (the SDK classes ship with Pro). Your extension is not gated by the customer’s Jetonomy Pro license — if you sell your extension separately, gate your own boot().

The contract

Extend the abstract Jetonomy_Pro\Extension and register the instance through the jetonomy_pro_register_extensions filter:

add_filter( 'jetonomy_pro_register_extensions', function ( $extensions ) {
  if ( ! class_exists( 'Jetonomy_Pro\\Extension' ) ) {
    return $extensions; // Pro not active.
  }
  require_once __DIR__ . '/class-my-extension.php';
  $ext = new \Acme\Jetonomy\My_Extension();
  $extensions[ $ext->get_id() ] = $ext;
  return $extensions;
} );

namespace Acme\Jetonomy;

class My_Extension extends \Jetonomy_Pro\Extension {

  /**
   * REQUIRED for external extensions. The base id() derives the id from
   * your class NAMESPACE (second-to-last segment, Pascal_Case → kebab-case),
   * which almost never matches for third-party code — return it explicitly.
   */
  public function id(): string {
    return 'acme-kudos';
  }

  public function meta(): array {
    return array(
      'id'          => 'acme-kudos',
      'name'        => __( 'Acme Kudos', 'acme-kudos' ),
      'version'     => '1.0.0',
      'description' => __( 'Send kudos to helpful members.', 'acme-kudos' ),
      'category'    => __( 'Engagement', 'acme-kudos' ),
      'requires'    => 'starter',
    );
  }

  /** Called only when the extension is enabled on the Extensions screen. */
  public function boot(): void {
    add_action( 'rest_api_init', array( $this, 'register_routes' ) );
  }

  /** Called on the version-change migration guard — dbDelta your tables here. Idempotent. */
  public function activate(): void {}

  /** Called on Jetonomy Pro deactivation — clear cron, etc. */
  public function deactivate(): void {}
}

Lifecycle guarantees

Moment	What runs
Pro loads (plugins_loaded:20)	Your filter callback registers the instance
Stored DB version ≠ Pro version	activate() on every registered extension (including yours)
Extension enabled + each request	boot()
Pro deactivated	deactivate() on enabled extensions

Enable/disable state lives in the jetonomy_pro_extensions option and is toggled from Jetonomy → Extensions, where your extension appears alongside the bundled ones using your meta() values.

Rules that keep you compatible

1. Never reuse a bundled id (private-messaging, polls, reactions, …) — duplicate ids are ignored, first registration wins.
2. Prefix everything: options and user meta acme_kudos_*, tables {$wpdb->prefix}acme_kudos_*, cron hooks acme_kudos_*. Do not use the jetonomy_pro_ prefixes — those namespaces belong to bundled modules.
3. REST permission callbacks: use $this->rest_auth_mutation( $caps ) from the base class for mutation routes — it resolves free’s REST_Auth lazily and fails closed (never reference \Jetonomy\API\REST_Auth directly at registration time).
4. Background jobs go through Jetonomy_Pro\Queue (async() / recurring() / cancel()) — Action-Scheduler-first with WP-Cron fallback; cancel your hooks in deactivate().
5. Licensing is yours: the customer’s Jetonomy Pro license never disables your extension. If yours is paid, check your own license at the top of boot() and return early.
6. Frontend surfaces must follow the Frontend Interactivity Standard (docs/standards/frontend-interactivity.md in the plugin repo) (declarative store actions, restFetch, re-init on jetonomy:navigated) and use the --jt-* design tokens.

Hooking free instead

If you don’t need an admin toggle, tables, or the lifecycle — just behavior — you may not need an extension at all. The free plugin fires 190+ documented hooks (hooks reference) and supports REST, frontend, and adapter extension without Pro. Reach for the extension SDK when you want your feature to feel like a first-class Pro module.