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What is a plugin?

Gatsby’s plugin layer includes a wide variety of common website functionality that you can drop in to your website. There are many types of Gatsby plugins, including:

One point of confusion people sometimes have is “when don’t I need a plugin?” The answer is “most things”! As a general rule, any npm package you might use while working on another JavaScript or React application can also be used with a Gatsby application. Even when plugins are helpful, they are always optional.

Feel free to browse and search plugins at Gatsby’s Plugin Library or read the documentation on how to add a plugin.

Advanced use-cases include making your own plugins and either distribute them for fellow Gatsby developers to use or install them locally.

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