ChatGPT plugins provide a novel way to extend the core functionality of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is not currently connected to the internet by default, so it cannot perform simple tasks like checking the weather in a location. But through plugins, developers can connect the API to ChatGPT, and ChatGPT can send requests for the latest information, such as the weather in San Francisco.
With a growing plugin store and over 700 plugins available to date, this new ecosystem has the potential to enable many exciting use cases. While it's too early to tell if that's true, many are calling the add-on store the new "app store" because of the huge opportunity it holds. But what exactly are plugins? How do developers get permission to build them? What are some examples of simple starter plugins?
In this article, we will explain:
What is a plugin
How to become a plugin developer
Benefits of creating your own plugin
The process of creating a simple TODO list plugin
As a plugin developer, it is awesome to see hundreds of people using my (very) simple plugin every day. The plugin's user community is very excited and trying to find a tool worth using in their existing ChatGPT workflow. Let's take a deeper look!
What are plugins?
Before we go any further, it is necessary to be very clear about what a plugin in the context of ChatGPT actually is. According to the OpenAI documentation:
Plugins to connect ChatGPT to third-party applications. These plugins enable ChatGPT to interact with developer-defined APIs, thereby enhancing ChatGPT's functionality and allowing it to perform a wide range of operations.
What's unique about plugins is that, with one minor exception, a plugin is really just a simple API. Developers have been building APIs for decades and happily don't need to adopt new paradigms to enable plugin development.
The plugin consists of three important parts: