INSTALL PLUGIN registers a plugin in the plugin table and loads the plugin code.

UNINSTALL PLUGIN unregisters a plugin from the plugin table and unloads the plugin code.

The WITH PARSER clause for full-text index creation associates a full-text parser plugin with a given FULLTEXT index.

SHOW PLUGINS displays information about server plugins.

The --plugin-load option enables plugins to be loaded at server startup time.

The plugin_dir system variable indicates the location of the directory where all plugins must be installed. The value of this variable can be specified at server startup with a --plugin_dir=path option. mysql_config --plugindir displays the default plugin directory path name.

In the include/mysql directory, plugin.h exposes the public plugin API. This file should be examined by anyone who wants to write a plugin library. plugin_xxx.h files provide additional information that pertains to specific types of plugins.

In the sql directory, sql_plugin.h and sql_plugin.cc comprise the internal plugin implementation. These files need not be consulted by plugin developers. They may be of interest for those who want to know more about how the server handles plugins.

The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table contains plugin information.

The mysql.plugin table lists each plugin that was installed with INSTALL PLUGIN and is required for plugin use. For new MySQL installations, this table is created during the installation process. If you are upgrading from a version of MySQL older than 5.1, you should run mysql_upgrade to update your system tables and create the plugin table (see Section 4.4.7, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”).