%% Last Updated: - [[2021-02-10]] %% One of the best parts about [[JMeter]] is its extensibility. Third-party [[Plugin]]s can be installed to cover most cases. ## Plugins Manager The easiest way to download plugins (and also get a catalog of existing plugins) is to first download the [[JMeter Plugin Manager]]. [Download](https://jmeter-plugins.org/wiki/PluginsManager/) the latest version of the Plugins Manager and copy it into `lib/ext` within the JMeter directory. Then, start JMeter by running `jmeter.bat`(Windows) or `jmeter` in `/bin` (Mac). Click Options and then Plugins Manager.  The Plugins Manager will show all available plugins in the catalog.  ## Installing a plugin without the Manager If you don't want to use the Plugin Manager, search for the plugin separately. There will be instructions on how to install it. It typically involves copying and pasting `.jar` files into a specified directory within JMeter, such as `/lib/ext` or `/bin`. ## Plugins you should always have - [[JPGC Standard Set JMeter Plugin]] - [[Random CSV Data Set JMeter Plugin]] - Allow selection of random data from a CSV file. - [[PerfMon Metrics Collector JMeter Plugin]] - Monitoring listener for [[PerfMon]] - [[Custom Thread Groups JMeter Plugin]] - Adds some awesome thread groups that are better than the native one. ## Other cool plugins - [[Blazemeter HTTP-2 JMeter Plugin]] - [[Flexible File Writer JMeter Plugin]] - [[Inter-Thread Communication JMeter Plugin]] - [[Throughput Shaping Timer JMeter Plugin]] - [[HTTP Simple Table Server JMeter Plugin]]