diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index d7a90210c..53ff1948d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1395,6 +1395,10 @@ dependencies = [
  "stable_deref_trait",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "helix"
+version = "0.1.0"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "helix-core"
 version = "25.7.1"
@@ -1565,6 +1569,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "indexmap",
  "indoc",
  "libc",
+ "libloading",
  "log",
  "nucleo",
  "once_cell",
@@ -1983,9 +1988,9 @@ checksum = "1171693293099992e19cddea4e8b849964e9846f4acee11b3948bcc337be8776"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "libloading"
-version = "0.8.7"
+version = "0.8.8"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6a793df0d7afeac54f95b471d3af7f0d4fb975699f972341a4b76988d49cdf0c"
+checksum = "07033963ba89ebaf1584d767badaa2e8fcec21aedea6b8c0346d487d49c28667"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "windows-targets 0.53.2",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d860c2e59..ac1ebf349 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ members = [
   "helix-stdx",
   "xtask",
 ]
+exclude = [
+	"helix-plugins"
+]
 
 default-members = [
   "helix-term"
@@ -61,3 +64,11 @@ repository = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix"
 homepage = "https://helix-editor.com"
 license = "MPL-2.0"
 rust-version = "1.82"
+
+[package]
+name = "helix"
+version = "0.1.0"
+
+[lib]
+name = "helix"
+path = "helix-core/src/lib.rs"
diff --git a/helix-term/Cargo.toml b/helix-term/Cargo.toml
index 84c0ae5f3..3da290692 100644
--- a/helix-term/Cargo.toml
+++ b/helix-term/Cargo.toml
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ grep-regex = "0.1.13"
 grep-searcher = "0.1.14"
 
 dashmap = "6.0"
+libloading = "0.8.8"
 
 [target.'cfg(not(windows))'.dependencies]  # https://github.com/vorner/signal-hook/issues/100
 signal-hook-tokio = { version = "0.3", features = ["futures-v0_3"] }
diff --git a/helix-term/src/application.rs b/helix-term/src/application.rs
index cf09aac0d..4bbad8603 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/application.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/application.rs
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ use crate::{
     handlers,
     job::Jobs,
     keymap::Keymaps,
+    plugins::Plugins,
     ui::{self, overlay::overlaid},
 };
 
@@ -234,6 +235,9 @@ impl Application {
         ])
         .context("build signal handler")?;
 
+        // after everything has been set up, load all plugins
+        Plugins::load_all(&config.load());
+
         let app = Self {
             compositor,
             terminal,
@@ -414,6 +418,9 @@ impl Application {
 
             self.terminal
                 .reconfigure(default_config.editor.clone().into())?;
+
+            Plugins::config_updated(&default_config);
+
             // Store new config
             self.config.store(Arc::new(default_config));
             Ok(())
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands.rs b/helix-term/src/commands.rs
index a3417ea1b..2a85041b3 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands.rs
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ use crate::{
     compositor::{self, Component, Compositor},
     filter_picker_entry,
     job::Callback,
+    plugins::Plugins,
     ui::{self, overlay::overlaid, Picker, PickerColumn, Popup, Prompt, PromptEvent},
 };
 
@@ -246,7 +247,9 @@ impl MappableCommand {
     pub fn execute(&self, cx: &mut Context) {
         match &self {
             Self::Typable { name, args, doc: _ } => {
-                if let Some(command) = typed::TYPABLE_COMMAND_MAP.get(name.as_str()) {
+                //if Plugins::call_typed_command(name, cx, args) {
+                if false {
+                } else if let Some(command) = typed::TYPABLE_COMMAND_MAP.get(name.as_str()) {
                     let mut cx = compositor::Context {
                         editor: cx.editor,
                         jobs: cx.jobs,
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs b/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
index 82cad8386..34774c7b9 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
@@ -3692,7 +3692,13 @@ fn execute_command_line(
 
     match typed::TYPABLE_COMMAND_MAP.get(command) {
         Some(cmd) => execute_command(cx, cmd, rest, event),
-        None if event == PromptEvent::Validate => Err(anyhow!("no such command: '{command}'")),
+        None if event == PromptEvent::Validate => {
+            if Plugins::call_typed_command(cx, command, rest) {
+                Ok(())
+            } else {
+                Err(anyhow!("no such command: '{command}'"))
+            }
+        }
         None => Ok(()),
     }
 }
@@ -3813,7 +3819,10 @@ fn complete_command_line(editor: &Editor, input: &str) -> Vec<ui::prompt::Comple
     if complete_command {
         fuzzy_match(
             input,
-            TYPABLE_COMMAND_LIST.iter().map(|command| command.name),
+            TYPABLE_COMMAND_LIST
+                .iter()
+                .map(|command| command.name.to_string())
+                .chain(crate::plugins::Plugins::available_commands()),
             false,
         )
         .into_iter()
diff --git a/helix-term/src/config.rs b/helix-term/src/config.rs
index bcba8d8e1..eb4e4b447 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/config.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/config.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub theme: Option<String>,
     pub keys: HashMap<Mode, KeyTrie>,
     pub editor: helix_view::editor::Config,
+    pub plugins: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    pub plugin: Option<toml::Table>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Deserialize)]
@@ -22,6 +24,8 @@ pub struct ConfigRaw {
     pub theme: Option<String>,
     pub keys: Option<HashMap<Mode, KeyTrie>>,
     pub editor: Option<toml::Value>,
+    pub plugins: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    pub plugin: Option<toml::Table>,
 }
 
 impl Default for Config {
@@ -30,6 +34,8 @@ impl Default for Config {
             theme: None,
             keys: keymap::default(),
             editor: helix_view::editor::Config::default(),
+            plugins: None,
+            plugin: None,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -84,10 +90,22 @@ impl Config {
                         .map_err(ConfigLoadError::BadConfig)?,
                 };
 
+                let plugins = match (global.plugins, local.plugins) {
+                    (None, None) => None,
+                    (None, Some(val)) | (Some(val), None) => Some(val),
+                    (Some(global), Some(local)) => {
+                        let mut plugins = global.clone();
+                        plugins.extend(local);
+                        Some(plugins)
+                    }
+                };
+
                 Config {
                     theme: local.theme.or(global.theme),
                     keys,
                     editor,
+                    plugins,
+                    plugin: local.plugin.or(global.plugin), // TODO: merge
                 }
             }
             // if any configs are invalid return that first
@@ -107,6 +125,8 @@ impl Config {
                         || Ok(helix_view::editor::Config::default()),
                         |val| val.try_into().map_err(ConfigLoadError::BadConfig),
                     )?,
+                    plugins: config.plugins,
+                    plugin: config.plugin,
                 }
             }
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/lib.rs b/helix-term/src/lib.rs
index 75b67479b..a4b05f7c0 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/lib.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ pub mod events;
 pub mod health;
 pub mod job;
 pub mod keymap;
+pub mod plugins;
 pub mod ui;
 
 use std::path::Path;
diff --git a/helix-term/src/plugins.rs b/helix-term/src/plugins.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..edfe4d191
--- /dev/null
+++ b/helix-term/src/plugins.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+use crate::{compositor::Context, config::Config};
+
+use libloading::Library;
+use serde::Deserialize;
+use std::{
+    ffi::{c_char, CString},
+    sync::Mutex,
+};
+
+enum PluginInstance {}
+type InitFn = fn(&Config) -> &'static mut PluginInstance;
+type ConfigUpdatedFn = fn(&mut PluginInstance, &Config);
+type AvailableCmdsFn = fn(&mut PluginInstance) -> Vec<String>;
+type CmdFn = fn(&mut PluginInstance, &mut Context, *const c_char);
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields)]
+struct PluginInfo {
+    pub name: String,
+    pub version: String,
+    pub lib_path: String,
+    pub min_helix_version: Option<String>,
+    pub dependencies: Option<Vec<String>>,
+}
+
+struct Plugin {
+    info: PluginInfo,
+    lib: Library,
+    instance: &'static mut PluginInstance,
+}
+
+static PLUGINS: Mutex<Vec<Plugin>> = Mutex::<Vec<Plugin>>::new(vec![]);
+
+pub struct Plugins {}
+
+impl Plugins {
+    // Utils for plugin developers
+
+    pub fn alloc<T>() -> &'static mut T {
+        let layout = std::alloc::Layout::new::<T>();
+        unsafe {
+            let t = std::alloc::alloc(layout) as *mut T;
+            t.as_mut().unwrap()
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn get_config_for<'a>(config: &'a Config, name: &str) -> Option<&'a toml::Table> {
+        if let Some(config) = &config.plugin {
+            if let Some(config) = config.get(name) {
+                return config.as_table();
+            }
+        }
+        None
+    }
+
+    // Internal plugin API
+
+    pub fn load_all(config: &Config) {
+        if let Some(plugins) = &config.plugins {
+            for plugin in plugins {
+                Self::load(&plugin, config);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn load(info_path: &str, config: &Config) {
+        let info_str = std::fs::read_to_string(info_path).unwrap();
+        let info = toml::from_str::<PluginInfo>(&info_str).unwrap();
+
+        // TODO: do nothing if this version is too low
+        // if (VERSION_AND_GIT_HASH < info.min_helix_version) {
+        // 	return;
+        // }
+
+        // load the dynamic lib
+        let lib_path = std::path::Path::new(info_path)
+            .parent()
+            .unwrap()
+            .join(&info.lib_path);
+        let lib = unsafe { Library::new(lib_path).unwrap() };
+
+        // call the plugin's init method (if it has one)
+        let func_opt = unsafe { lib.get::<InitFn>(b"init") };
+        let instance = func_opt.unwrap()(config);
+
+        PLUGINS.lock().unwrap().push(Plugin {
+            info,
+            lib,
+            instance,
+        });
+    }
+
+    pub fn config_updated(config: &Config) {
+        for plugin in PLUGINS.lock().unwrap().iter_mut() {
+            let func_opt = unsafe { plugin.lib.get::<ConfigUpdatedFn>(b"config_updated") };
+            if let Ok(func) = func_opt {
+                func(plugin.instance, config);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn available_commands() -> Vec<String> {
+        let mut commands = Vec::<String>::new();
+        for plugin in PLUGINS.lock().unwrap().iter_mut() {
+            let func_opt = unsafe { plugin.lib.get::<AvailableCmdsFn>(b"available_commands") };
+            if let Ok(func) = func_opt {
+                let plugin_commands = func(plugin.instance);
+                for command in plugin_commands {
+                    commands.push(command.to_string());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        commands
+    }
+
+    pub fn call_typed_command(cx: &mut Context, name: &str, args: &str) -> bool {
+        for plugin in PLUGINS.lock().unwrap().iter_mut() {
+            let func_opt = unsafe { plugin.lib.get::<CmdFn>(name.as_bytes()) };
+            if let Ok(func) = func_opt {
+                func(plugin.instance, cx, CString::new(args).unwrap().as_ptr());
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        false
+    }
+}