What is a Plugin?

In Magento 2, a plugin (also called an interceptor) is a way to modify the behavior of public methods in a class without overriding the entire class.

It’s part of Magento’s interception system and is often used instead of preference to keep your code modular and upgrade-safe.

How Plugins Work

A plugin lets you "hook into" a method of any public function of a class and run your logic:

• Before Method → runs before the target method.
• After Method → runs after the target method.
• Around Method → wraps around the target method (you can even stop execution).

Example: Create a Plugin

Suppose we want to add custom logic before a product is saved (\Magento\Catalog\Model\Product::save()).

1. Create di.xml

(File: app/code/VendorName/ModuleName/etc/di.xml)

2. Create Plugin Class

File: app/code/VendorName/ModuleName/Plugin/ProductPlugin.php

Rules / Best Practices

• You can only use plugins on public methods.
• If multiple plugins exist for the same method, execution order is controlled by .
• Prefer before/after unless you need to control execution flow (then use around).
• Use around carefully → it can completely replace method execution if you don’t call $proceed().