06-03, 14:00–14:30 (Europe/Stockholm), Birollen
QGIS plugins are powerful tools that extend the functionality of the QGIS ecosystem. However, many plugins lack essential development practices that ensure maintainability, scalability, and long-term usability. A survey of the top 20 most downloaded QGIS plugins revealed that only three had an established test suite, highlighting a gap in quality assurance across the ecosystem.
In this session, we will walk through best practices for modern QGIS plugin development, drawing from our work on the QGIS Earth Engine Plugin. We will cover:
• The current state of QGIS plugin development – insights from our landscape analysis
• Building a test suite – why it’s essential and how to get started
• Continuous integration (CI) – setting up automated testing and validation
• Proper packaging & distribution – ensuring your plugin is easy to install and update
• Static typing & maintainability – making your plugin more robust and readable
• And more!
By the end of this session, attendees will have a practical roadmap for improving code quality, testing, and deployment in their own QGIS plugins. Whether you’re building a new plugin or maintaining an existing one, these best practices will help ensure your plugin is scalable, maintainable, and future-proof.
Zac Deziel is a geospatial software engineer and product manager at Development Seed, based in Squamish, BC. He works on open-source GIS, cloud-native geospatial applications, and Earth observation data workflows. His recent projects include eoAPI, an open-source framework for scalable Earth observation data access, and NASA’s MAAP (Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform), where he focuses on geospatial data integration and infrastructure. Zac is passionate about modernizing QGIS plugin development through best practices in testing, CI/CD, and maintainability, helping make geospatial tools more accessible and scalable.