Example: CustomContextMenuItem

A native addon that demonstrates adding custom context menu items to the editor's hierarchy and asset browser.

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Overview

This example demonstrates: - Using EditorUIHooks to add context menu items to the node hierarchy right-click menu - Using EditorUIHooks to add context menu items to the asset browser right-click menu - Filtering asset context items by asset type - Editor-only code with #if EDITOR guards

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Files

package.json

{
    "name": "Custom Context Menu Item",
    "author": "Polyphase Examples",
    "description": "Demonstrates adding custom context menu items to the editor.",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "tags": ["editor", "example"],
    "native": {
        "target": "editor",
        "sourceDir": "Source",
        "binaryName": "customcontextmenuitem",
        "apiVersion": 2
    }
}

Note: "target": "editor" means this addon only runs in the editor and won't be compiled into final game builds.

Source/CustomContextMenuItem.cpp

/**
 * @file CustomContextMenuItem.cpp
 * @brief Demonstrates adding custom context menu items to the editor.
 *
 * This example shows how to:
 * - Use EditorUIHooks to add node hierarchy context menu items
 * - Use EditorUIHooks to add asset browser context menu items
 * - Filter asset context items by asset type
 * - Use proper #if EDITOR guards for editor-only code
 */

#include "Plugins/PolyphasePluginAPI.h"
#include "Plugins/PolyphaseEngineAPI.h"

#if EDITOR
#include "Plugins/EditorUIHooks.h"
#include "imgui.h"
#endif

#include "glm/glm.hpp"

static PolyphaseEngineAPI* sEngineAPI = nullptr;
static uint64_t sHookId = 0;

//=============================================================================
// Context Menu Callbacks
//=============================================================================

#if EDITOR

/**
 * @brief Called when the "Log Node Info" context menu item is clicked.
 * @param userData User data (unused).
 */
static void OnLogNodeInfo(void* userData)
{
    if (sEngineAPI)
    {
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("Node context menu item clicked!");
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("Use this to perform operations on the selected node.");
    }
}

/**
 * @brief Called when the "Inspect Mesh" asset context menu item is clicked.
 * @param userData User data (unused).
 */
static void OnInspectMesh(void* userData)
{
    if (sEngineAPI)
    {
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("Inspect Mesh clicked!");
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("This item only appears when right-clicking StaticMesh assets.");
    }
}

/**
 * @brief Called when the "Export Asset Info" context menu item is clicked.
 * @param userData User data (unused).
 */
static void OnExportAssetInfo(void* userData)
{
    if (sEngineAPI)
    {
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("Export Asset Info clicked!");
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("This item appears for all asset types.");
    }
}

#endif // EDITOR

//=============================================================================
// Plugin Callbacks
//=============================================================================

static int OnLoad(PolyphaseEngineAPI* api)
{
    sEngineAPI = api;
    api->LogDebug("CustomContextMenuItem addon loaded!");
    return 0;
}

static void OnUnload()
{
    if (sEngineAPI)
    {
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("CustomContextMenuItem addon unloaded.");
    }
    sEngineAPI = nullptr;
}

#if EDITOR
/**
 * @brief Registers editor UI hooks for context menu items.
 * @param hooks The editor UI hooks interface.
 * @param hookId Unique identifier for this addon's hooks.
 */
static void RegisterEditorUI(EditorUIHooks* hooks, uint64_t hookId)
{
    sHookId = hookId;

    //=========================================================================
    // Node hierarchy context menu items
    //=========================================================================

    // This item appears in the right-click menu for any node in the hierarchy
    hooks->AddNodeContextItem(
        hookId,
        "Log Node Info",       // Item text shown in the context menu
        OnLogNodeInfo,         // Callback function
        nullptr                // User data
    );

    //=========================================================================
    // Asset browser context menu items
    //=========================================================================

    // This item only appears when right-clicking a StaticMesh asset
    hooks->AddAssetContextItem(
        hookId,
        "Inspect Mesh",        // Item text
        "StaticMesh",          // Asset type filter (only StaticMesh assets)
        OnInspectMesh,         // Callback
        nullptr                // User data
    );

    // This item appears for all asset types (use "*" for no filtering)
    hooks->AddAssetContextItem(
        hookId,
        "Export Asset Info",   // Item text
        "*",                   // No type filter - appears for all assets
        OnExportAssetInfo,     // Callback
        nullptr                // User data
    );

    if (sEngineAPI)
    {
        sEngineAPI->LogDebug("CustomContextMenuItem: Registered context menu hooks");
    }
}
#endif

//=============================================================================
// Plugin Entry Point
//=============================================================================

extern "C" OCTAVE_PLUGIN_API int PolyphasePlugin_GetDesc(PolyphasePluginDesc* desc)
{
    desc->apiVersion = OCTAVE_PLUGIN_API_VERSION;
    desc->pluginName = "Custom Context Menu Item";
    desc->pluginVersion = "1.0.0";
    desc->OnLoad = OnLoad;
    desc->OnUnload = OnUnload;
    desc->Tick = nullptr;
    desc->TickEditor = nullptr;
    desc->RegisterTypes = nullptr;
    desc->RegisterScriptFuncs = nullptr;

#if EDITOR
    desc->RegisterEditorUI = RegisterEditorUI;
#else
    desc->RegisterEditorUI = nullptr;
#endif

    return 0;
}

---

Context Menus Modified

After loading this addon:

Node hierarchy right-click menu will contain:

(existing items)
├── ...
├── ─────────────────────────────── (separator)
└── Log Node Info

Asset browser right-click menu (on a StaticMesh asset) will contain:

(existing items)
├── ...
├── ─────────────────────────────── (separator)
├── Inspect Mesh
└── Export Asset Info

Asset browser right-click menu (on any other asset) will contain:

(existing items)
├── ...
├── ─────────────────────────────── (separator)
└── Export Asset Info

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API Reference

hooks->AddNodeContextItem(hookId, itemPath, callback, userData)

Adds a context menu item to the node hierarchy right-click menu.

Parameters: - hookId (uint64_t): Your plugin's hook ID (provided to RegisterEditorUI) - itemPath (const char): Display text for the context menu item - callback (MenuCallback): Function to call when clicked: void callback(void* userData) - userData (void): Custom data passed to callback

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hooks->AddAssetContextItem(hookId, itemPath, assetTypeFilter, callback, userData)

Adds a context menu item to the asset browser right-click menu.

Parameters: - hookId (uint64_t): Your plugin's hook ID (provided to RegisterEditorUI) - itemPath (const char): Display text for the context menu item - assetTypeFilter (const char): Asset type to filter by (e.g., "StaticMesh", "Texture", "Scene"), or "*" for all types - callback (MenuCallback): Function to call when clicked: void callback(void* userData) - userData (void*): Custom data passed to callback

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hooks->RemoveAllHooks(hookId)

Removes all hooks registered with this hookId. Called automatically on plugin unload.

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Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Names

// Good - Clear about what it does
hooks->AddNodeContextItem(hookId, "Export Node Transform", ...);

// Bad - Vague
hooks->AddNodeContextItem(hookId, "Do Thing", ...);

2. Filter by Asset Type When Appropriate

// Only show for mesh assets
hooks->AddAssetContextItem(hookId, "Optimize Mesh", "StaticMesh", ...);

// Only show for materials
hooks->AddAssetContextItem(hookId, "Preview Material", "MaterialLite", ...);

// Show for all assets
hooks->AddAssetContextItem(hookId, "Copy Asset Path", "*", ...);

3. Guard Editor Code

#if EDITOR
// All editor-specific code here
static void RegisterEditorUI(EditorUIHooks* hooks, uint64_t hookId)
{
    // ...
}
#endif

// In plugin descriptor:
#if EDITOR
    desc->RegisterEditorUI = RegisterEditorUI;
#else
    desc->RegisterEditorUI = nullptr;
#endif

---

Common Asset Type Names

Type Name	Description
"StaticMesh"	Static mesh geometry
"SkeletalMesh"	Skeletal mesh with bones
"MaterialLite"	Lightweight material
"MaterialBase"	Full-featured material
"MaterialInstance"	Material instance
"Scene"	Scene asset
"Texture"	Texture asset
"SoundWave"	Audio asset
"ParticleSystem"	Particle system
"*"	All asset types

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Troubleshooting

Context menu item doesn't appear

1. Check that RegisterEditorUI is being called (add a log message)
2. Verify the hookId is valid
3. For asset context items, check that the asset type filter matches the asset you're right-clicking

Callback not firing

1. Verify callback function signature: void callback(void* userData)
2. Check that the callback isn't null
3. Look for errors in the console

Asset type filter not working

The assetTypeFilter parameter is case-sensitive and must match the asset's type name exactly. Use "*" to match all types, or check the Common Asset Type Names table above.