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Companion plugin integrations

IPC means inter-plugin communication. It lets one installed Dalamud plugin ask another plugin for information or an action.

A Snowcloak companion plugin is a separate Dalamud plugin that uses Snowcloak's public IPC to access selected Snowcloak features or exchange its own small pieces of data through Snowcloak. You control that access per plugin and per capability.

"Companion" wording

The "companion" wording here shouldn't be taken to mean a plugin was created specifically for use with Snowcloak. I just needed a word to use to describe them and companion seemed like a nice and friendly one.

Reviewing a new integration​

New companion plugins start with no Snowcloak permissions.

When one requests access, Snowcloak displays a notification describing what it wants. Select the notification, or open Settings > Plugin Integrations, to review the request.

IPC notification

Each requested permission has its own checkbox. You can approve only the features you expect the plugin to use, leave the rest disabled, and change your decision later.

Check the plugin, not only its name

Only approve permissions for a plugin you deliberately installed and recognise. A familiar-looking name is not a substitute for trusting its source and maintainer.

What the permissions mean​

Pair and profile information​

  • Read visible pair data lets the plugin inspect visible paired characters, their Snowcloak identity or alias, visibility, and whether character data is being applied.
  • Read out-of-range pair data also exposes paired users and their online, paused, and synchronisation state when their characters are not currently visible. This is broader than the visible-only permission.
  • Read profile summaries lets the plugin read the summary Snowcloak currently has for a profile, including its rating, tags, and update state.

These permissions do not give the companion plugin your Snowcloak secret key.

Opening Snowcloak actions​

  • Open profile windows lets the plugin ask Snowcloak to display a pair's profile.
  • Open pair-request confirmation lets it open Snowcloak's Frostbrand confirmation for a targeted player. The companion plugin cannot approve or send the request by itself.
  • Apply MCDF files lets it ask Snowcloak to apply a local MCDF to a GPose character. Snowcloak still requires GPose, a valid local file, and a valid GPose target.

These actions remain subject to Snowcloak's own checks.

Exchanging companion data​

Some companion plugins attach their own data to Snowcloak synchronisation:

  • Transmit extension data lets the plugin include its current data in the character data sent to your pairs.
  • Receive extension data lets it receive and act on matching data sent by visible pairs using the same integration.
  • Receive out-of-range extension data continues receiving that plugin's matching data from online pairs who are outside game-object range. Snowcloak does not download their appearance data merely because this is enabled.

Snowcloak treats extension data as plugin-owned content. It carries the data but does not understand whether it represents a pose, status, note, or something else. The companion plugin is responsible for validating and safely applying it.

Each registered plugin has one outgoing slot of up to 4 KiB. Snowcloak supports up to 32 registered slots and 128 KiB of outgoing companion data in total.

For two users to exchange companion data, both generally need:

  • a compatible version of the same companion plugin;
  • the relevant transmit or receive permissions;
  • a Snowcloak pairing or syncshell relationship through which that data is shared.

Reading the integration status​

The Plugin Integrations page shows:

  • whether the plugin is currently loaded;
  • whether it registered with Snowcloak during this game session;
  • which requested permissions still need approval;
  • its current outgoing slot usage;
  • data transmitted and received during the session;
  • when its local, transmitted, or received data last changed.

An unloaded plugin may remain listed as a Remembered grant. This allows you to review or revoke its saved permissions even when it is not active.

Revoking access​

Clear any permission checkbox to revoke that capability.

Revoking a receive permission clears the corresponding companion data Snowcloak is holding for that plugin. Revoking transmission stops Snowcloak from including that plugin's data in subsequent character-data updates.

Uninstalling or disabling a companion plugin does not necessarily erase its remembered Snowcloak choices. Review the unloaded entry if you also want to revoke the saved grant.