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Harsh_Patel_590
Harsh_Patel_590
Participant
February 28, 2026
Question

I made a photoshop CEP plugin for color grading and filmic look but i don't know how to pack it and upload it to exchange

  • February 28, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 31 views

This is my very first CEP plugin submission for the Adobe Marketplace, and despite following the Creative Cloud Developer Guidelines, I am having significant trouble successfully uploading my packaged file to the Producer Portal.

Initially, I provided a
.zxp
 file directly to the portal, the automated validator continuously rejected it with the following parsing errors:

"Ensure the bundle version is not empty for CEP or MXI. Your MXI file or CEP manifest file is empty. Could not extract bundle ID from your MXI file or CEP manifest file... Ensure that at least one supported host product and its minimum and maximum versions supported by your extension are present in MXI file or CEP manifest file."

To the best of my knowledge, my

CSXS/manifest.xml
is perfectly well-formed. It clearly defines the ExtensionBundleId, sets the ExtensionBundleVersion="1.0.0", and explicitly defines the <HostList> with PHSP and PHXS pointing to version ranges [14.0,99.9]. The plugin also functions flawlessly within Photoshop when installed locally.

Because the Producer Portal rejected the

i uploded 

.zip with exmancmd installer but 
 installer, which unfortunately resulted in the "Not Compatible" flag within the Creative Cloud Desktop app during your review.



i just want someone to help me to Pack this plugin and guide me how to do so , so i can upload it to the exchange. i will share my plugin(unpacked) to them if they are willing to help for evaluation.
my Email_Id-> harshpatelharsh590@gmail.com

 

 

    1 reply

    Radwan Almsora
    Radwan Almsora
    Participating Frequently
    May 10, 2026

    Hello Harsh!

    ​Congratulations on finishing your first color grading plugin! The errors you’re seeing in the Producer Portal (Empty Bundle ID/HostList) are classic symptoms of a Malformed Package Structure or an Encoding Issue in your XML. When the validator says it 'cannot extract,' it usually means it can't parse the file because of its location or format.

    ​Here is the professional workflow to ensure your plugin is accepted:

    ​1. Verify the Directory Structure:

    The Producer Portal validator is very picky. Your ZXP must have this exact structure at the root:

    • ​CSXS/manifest.xml (Must be in a folder named CSXS, all caps).
    • ​index.html (and your other assets).
    • ​META-INF/ (This folder is created automatically during signing).
    • ​Crucial: Ensure there are no hidden system files like .DS_Store (Mac) or Thumbs.db (Windows) inside the folders, as these can break the validator.

    ​2. Check XML Encoding:

    The manifest.xml must be saved with UTF-8 (without BOM) encoding. If your editor added a Byte Order Mark (BOM), the Adobe validator will fail to read the first line and return the 'Empty file' error.

    ​3. Use the 'ZXPSignCmd' Tool (Don't use ZIP):

    Never manually rename a .zip to .zxp for the Marketplace. Use the official ZXPSignCmd tool.

    • ​Command: ZXPSignCmd -sign YourInputFolder YourOutput.zxp YourCertificate.p12 YourPassword
    • ​Ensure your Certificate is valid and not expired. If you are using a self-signed certificate, make sure the 'Common Name' matches your Producer Portal provider name.

    ​4. Validate with 'ZXPCheck':

    Before uploading, run your ZXP through the ZXPCheck tool. If this tool can't read the Bundle ID, the Exchange portal won't either.

    ​5. HostList Syntax Check:

    Double-check your manifest.xml. It should look exactly like this:

     

    <HostList>
      <Host Name="PHSP" Version="[14.0,99.9]" />
      <Host Name="PHXS" Version="[14.0,99.9]" />
    </HostList>

    Note: Some validators prefer integer ranges like [14.0,30.0] instead of 99.9.

    ​Next Step: Instead of sharing your email publicly (to avoid spam), I recommend uploading your manifest.xml code here (redacting any private keys). I can then review the syntax for you directly!.

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