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After months of development, OpenC3 is proud to announce the grand opening of the COSMOS App Store! Now COSMOS users can develop and share plugins connecting COSMOS to everything from video feeds to power supplies, and even to foam missile launchers!

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What is the COSMOS App Store?

The COSMOS App Store is the easy button for COSMOS integrations. Open to all COSMOS users, Core and Enterprise, the App Store is where users can find community- and OpenC3-built COSMOS plugins to fast-track hardware connections. 

COSMOS Core users will have access to all open-source plugins while COSMOS Enterprise users will be able to access both Core and Enterprise-only plugins, as long as their email address is associated with an active COSMOS Enterprise license. 

COSMOS makes it easy to build a plugin for just about any embedded hardware.  But even better, the COSMOS App Store lets you skip that development process, sidestepping the internal cycles and work required to create integrations. By simply grabbing and quickly installing App Store plugins, engineers can bootstrap their COSMOS instance and quick-launch their mission - going from zero to COSMOS at light speed.

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How to Get Started in the COSMOS App Store

Getting started in the new COSMOS App Store is quick and easy:

        • Start by heading to the COSMOS App Store
        • Click the green "Sign Up" button in the top right corner
        • On the account creation screen, add the following:
                o email address
                o username
                o create a password
        • Complete the captcha (if required)
        • Click "Submit"
        • Check your inbox for a validation email and follow the instructions to verify your email address

And that's it! Once your account is created, easily log in by clicking the "Login" link in the top right corner of the App Store. If your email address is associated with a COSMOS enterprise account, then additional access to the COSMOS Enterprise plugins will be automatically provided. 

Once logged in users can download and implement COSMOS plugins as needed.

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How to Build and Deploy to the COSMOS App Store

The OpenC3 team has already built App Store plugins for everything from importing test data to connecting video feeds, but all COSMOSnauts, Core and Enterprise, can build, submit, and update App Store plugins. 

Plugins are how COSMOS can be configured and extended to add new functionality. Each plugin is built as a Ruby gem and has a corresponding plugin.gemspec build file. For an in-depth guide on building plugins, please see OpenC3's documentation HERE.

Newly created plugins may be submitted directly to the App Store clicking "Browse All" and then "New Plugin" on the App Store main page. Once submitted, OpenC3 will review all plugins to ensure that each plugin meets the following requirements:
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        • Gem must be a COSMOS plugin that provides value and usability to the COSMOS community
        • Submission must not fail a virus scan or be malicious in any way
        • Gem must include a cover image and the required metadata fields listed on the "Submission Guidelines" page‍

All plugins approved by the OpenC3 team will be added to the App Store. If a plugin is rejected, the plugin's author will be notified and the rejection reason will be provided in the App Store's "My Plugins" page.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where are the Plugins?
A: The COSMOS App Store defaults to showing "Featured" plugins. If no or few plugins are showing when the App Store loads, click the blue "Browse All" button at the top of the screen to display all available plugins.

Q: Are COSMOS App Store plugins free?
A: Yes! All COSMOS Core plugins are free to use. COSMOS enterprise plugins do require an active COSMOS Enterprise license and some Enterprise plugins may only be available for an additional charge. For questions regarding access to Enterprise plugins, please contact sales@openc3.com.

Q: How are plugins approved?
A: All COSMOS plugins are reviewed by an OpenC3 COSMOSnaut to ensure the plugin adheres to the COSMOS plugin rules prior to being approved and made available in the app store. The OpenC3 team reserves the right to remove or block any plugin from the App Store at any time.

Q: How can limit access to my plugin?
A: All plugins default to being publicly available (Core and Enterprise users), however, the access type may be updated in the gemspec file metadata to only COSMOS Enterprise users or even to a specific list of App Store user accounts using "allowlist." Note that only COSMOS Enterprise customers may submit Enterprise-only and allowlist plugins, and that developers using "allowlist" need to contact OpenC3 prior to submitting their plugin.

For additional questions and information about the COSMOS App Store, please contact the OpenC3 support team (for COSMOS Enterprise users) or submit a GitHub ticket (for COSMOS Core users).