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+{% callout %}
+**Note** — Introduced in Bun v0.1.11.
+{% /callout %}
+
+Bun provides a universal plugin API that can be used to extend both the _runtime_ and [_bundler_](/docs/bundler).
+
+Plugins intercept imports and perform custom loading logic: reading files, transpiling code, etc. They can be used to add support for additional file types, like `.scss` or `.yaml`. In the context of Bun's bundler, plugins can be used to implement framework-level features like CSS extraction, macros, and client-server code co-location.
+
+## Usage
+
+A plugin is defined as simple JavaScript object containing a `name` property and a `setup` function. Register a plugin with Bun using the `plugin` function.
+
+```tsx#myPlugin.ts
+import { plugin, type BunPlugin } from "bun";
+
+const myPlugin: BunPlugin = {
+  name: "Custom loader",
+  setup(build) {
+    // implementation
+  },
+};
+```
+
+Plugins have to be registered before any other code runs! To achieve this, use the `preload` option in your [`bunfig.toml`](/docs/runtime/configuration). Bun automatically loads the files/modules specified in `preload` before running a file.
+
+```toml
+preload = ["./myPlugin.ts"]
+```
+
+To preload files before `bun test`:
+
+```toml
+[test]
+preload = ["./myPlugin.ts"]
+```
+
+## Third-party plugins
+
+By convention, third-party plugins intended for consumption should export a factory function that accepts some configuration and returns a plugin object.
+
+```ts
+import { plugin } from "bun";
+import fooPlugin from "bun-plugin-foo";
+
+plugin(
+  fooPlugin({
+    // configuration
+  }),
+);
+```
+
+Bun's plugin API is based on [esbuild](https://esbuild.github.io/plugins). Only [a subset](/docs/bundler/vs-esbuild#plugin-api) of the esbuild API is implemented, but some esbuild plugins "just work" in Bun, like the official [MDX loader](https://mdxjs.com/packages/esbuild/):
+
+```jsx
+import { plugin } from "bun";
+import mdx from "@mdx-js/esbuild";
+
+plugin(mdx());
+```
+
+## Loaders
+
+Plugins are primarily used to extend Bun with loaders for additional file types. Let's look at a simple plugin that implements a loader for `.yaml` files.
+
+```ts#yamlPlugin.ts
+import { plugin } from "bun";
+
+plugin({
+  name: "YAML",
+  async setup(build) {
+    const { load } = await import("js-yaml");
+    const { readFileSync } = await import("fs");
+
+    // when a .yaml file is imported...
+    build.onLoad({ filter: /\.(yaml|yml)$/ }, (args) => {
+
+      // read and parse the file
+      const text = readFileSync(args.path, "utf8");
+      const exports = load(text) as Record<string, any>;
+
+      // and returns it as a module
+      return {
+        exports,
+        loader: "object", // special loader for JS objects
+      };
+    });
+  },
+});
+```
+
+With this plugin, data can be directly imported from `.yaml` files.
+
+{% codetabs %}
+
+```ts#index.ts
+import "./yamlPlugin.ts"
+import {name, releaseYear} from "./data.yml"
+
+console.log(name, releaseYear);
+```
+
+```yaml#data.yml
+name: Fast X
+releaseYear: 2023
+```
+
+{% /codetabs %}
+
+Note that the returned object has a `loader` property. This tells Bun which of its internal loaders should be used to handle the result. Even though we're implementing a loader for `.yaml`, the result must still be understandable by one of Bun's built-in loaders. It's loaders all the way down.
+
+In this case we're using `"object"`—a built-in loader (intended for use by plugins) that converts a plain JavaScript object to an equivalent ES module. Any of Bun's built-in loaders are supported; these same loaders are used by Bun internally for handling files of various kinds. The table below is a quick reference; refer to [Bundler > Loaders](/docs/bundler/loaders) for complete documentation.
+
+{% table %}
+
+- Loader
+- Extensions
+- Output
+
+---
+
+- `js`
+- `.mjs` `.cjs`
+- Transpile to JavaScript files
+
+---
+
+- `jsx`
+- `.js` `.jsx`
+- Transform JSX then transpile
+
+---
+
+- `ts`
+- `.ts` `.mts` `cts`
+- Transform TypeScript then transpile
+
+---
+
+- `tsx`
+- `.tsx`
+- Transform TypeScript, JSX, then transpile
+
+---
+
+- `toml`
+- `.toml`
+- Parse using Bun's built-in TOML parser
+
+---
+
+- `json`
+- `.json`
+- Parse using Bun's built-in JSON parser
+
+---
+
+- `napi`
+- `.node`
+- Import a native Node.js addon
+
+---
+
+- `wasm`
+- `.wasm`
+- Import a native Node.js addon
+
+---
+
+- `object`
+- _none_
+- A special loader intended for plugins that converts a plain JavaScript object to an equivalent ES module. Each key in the object corresponds to a named export.
+
+{% /callout %}
+
+Loading a YAML file is useful, but plugins support more than just data loading. Let's look at a plugin that lets Bun import `*.svelte` files.
+
+```ts#sveltePlugin.ts
+import { plugin } from "bun";
+
+await plugin({
+  name: "svelte loader",
+  async setup(build) {
+    const { compile } = await import("svelte/compiler");
+    const { readFileSync } = await import("fs");
+
+    // when a .svelte file is imported...
+    build.onLoad({ filter: /\.svelte$/ }, ({ path }) => {
+
+      // read and compile it with the Svelte compiler
+      const file = readFileSync(path, "utf8");
+      const contents = compile(file, {
+        filename: path,
+        generate: "ssr",
+      }).js.code;
+
+      // and return the compiled source code as "js"
+      return {
+        contents,
+        loader: "js",
+      };
+    });
+  },
+});
+```
+
+> Note: in a production implementation, you'd want to cache the compiled output and include additional error handling.
+
+The object returned from `build.onLoad` contains the compiled source code in `contents` and specifies `"js"` as its loader. That tells Bun to consider the returned `contents` to be a JavaScript module and transpile it using Bun's built-in `js` loader.
+
+With this plugin, Svelte components can now be directly imported and consumed.
+
+```js
+import "./sveltePlugin.ts";
+import MySvelteComponent from "./component.svelte";
+
+console.log(mySvelteComponent.render());
+```
+
+## Reading the config
+
+Plugins can read and write to the [build config](/docs/bundler#api) with `build.config`.
+
+```ts
+Bun.build({
+  entrypoints: ["./app.ts"],
+  outdir: "./dist",
+  sourcemap: "external",
+  plugins: [
+    {
+      name: "demo",
+      setup(build) {
+        console.log(build.config.sourcemap); // "external"
+
+        build.config.minify = true; // enable minification
+
+        // `plugins` is readonly
+        console.log(`Number of plugins: ${build.config.plugins.length}`);
+      },
+    },
+  ],
+});
+```
+
+## Reference
+
+```ts
+namespace Bun {
+  function plugin(plugin: {
+    name: string;
+    setup: (build: PluginBuilder) => void;
+  }): void;
+}
+
+type PluginBuilder = {
+  onResolve: (
+    args: { filter: RegExp; namespace?: string },
+    callback: (args: { path: string; importer: string }) => {
+      path: string;
+      namespace?: string;
+    } | void,
+  ) => void;
+  onLoad: (
+    args: { filter: RegExp; namespace?: string },
+    callback: (args: { path: string }) => {
+      loader?: Loader;
+      contents?: string;
+      exports?: Record<string, any>;
+    },
+  ) => void;
+  config: BuildConfig;
+};
+
+type Loader = "js" | "jsx" | "ts" | "tsx" | "json" | "toml" | "object";
+```
+
+The `onLoad` method optionally accepts a `namespace` in addition to the `filter` regex. This namespace will be be used to prefix the import in transpiled code; for instance, a loader with a `filter: /\.yaml$/` and `namespace: "yaml:"` will transform an import from `./myfile.yaml` into `yaml:./myfile.yaml`.