# Sharing with your team and publicly

Plugins can be shared with your team or with the entire internet. This is controlled by the `private` field in your plugin's [`.tessl-plugin/plugin.json`](https://docs.tessl.io/distribute/pages/wpdogFLQtCeEnXfbelvK#plugin.json) file.

## Understanding public vs private plugins

### Private plugins (`"private": true`) - Default

**Shared only with your team:**

* Only accessible to workspace members
* Not discoverable in public searches
* Useful for proprietary code, internal standards, company-specific content
* **Team sharing:** [Add members to your workspace](/reference/workspaces.md#add-member) to give them access

If you don't specify the `private` field in your `.tessl-plugin/plugin.json`, it defaults to `true` (private).

### Public plugins (`"private": false`)

**Shared with the entire internet:**

* Anyone can discover and install them via the Tessl Registry
* Appear in search results and on your workspace's public profile
* Useful for open source libraries, shared standards, community resources
* **Cannot be made private again once published**

## Making a plugin public

**Warning:** Once you make a plugin public, you cannot make it private again. Use this with caution.

To make a plugin publicly discoverable, set `"private": false` in your [`.tessl-plugin/plugin.json`](https://docs.tessl.io/distribute/pages/wpdogFLQtCeEnXfbelvK#plugin.json):

```json
{
  "name": "myworkspace/my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My public plugin",
  "private": false,
  "skills": "skills"
}
```

Then publish (or republish) your plugin:

```sh
tessl plugin publish
```

Your plugin is now publicly discoverable in the [Tessl Registry](https://tessl.io/registry) and accessible to anyone on the internet.

## Best practices

* **Start private** - Develop and test plugins privately before making them public
* **Use semantic versioning** - Especially important for public plugins that others depend on
* **Document thoroughly** - Include clear README files and usage examples
* **Validate before publishing** - Run `tessl plugin lint` to check for issues

## Related documentation

* [Distributing via registry](/distribute/distributing-via-registry.md) - How to publish plugins
* [Configuration files](/reference/configuration.md) - plugin.json field reference
* [Creating plugins](/create/creating-plugins.md) - How to create your own plugins


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.tessl.io/distribute/sharing-plugins-publicly.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.