| Feature | CEP (Legacy) | UXP (Modern) | |---------|--------------|---------------| | Technology | Node.js + Chromium (separate process) | Isolated JavaScript engine + shared process | | UI Framework | Any (Bootstrap, jQuery, React) | Spectrum Web Components (mandatory for distribution) | | Performance | Slower panel load, higher memory | Faster, shared resource model | | Cross-version compatibility | Fragile, breaks with app updates | Stable, version-checked APIs | | API surface | Inconsistent across apps | Unified API with app-specific extensions | | Security | Low (full Node.js access) | High (capability-based permissions) | | Live reload | Third-party tools | Built-in UDT watch mode |
: Compiles plugins into .ccx formats ready for distribution via the Adobe Exchange. Setting Up Your Environment
Host applications will not communicate with UDT unless developer mode is active. adobe uxp developer tools
The Adobe Unified Extensibility Platform (UXP) Developer Tools represent a transformative shift in how developers build, debug, and distribute plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud applications. As Adobe transitions away from older technologies like CEP (Common Extensibility Platform) and ExtendScript, UXP has emerged as the modern standard, bringing the power of modern web development—specifically JavaScript, HTML, and CSS—directly into the heart of professional creative workflows.
The UDT suite consists of four primary tools: | Feature | CEP (Legacy) | UXP (Modern)
Jumpstart development using built-in templates for vanilla JavaScript or React .
Once your plugin is ready, UDT handles the final steps of preparing it for the world. As Adobe transitions away from older technologies like
Are you planning to build with or a modern framework like React ?