How to Create Extensions in Illustrator 2025 Without CEP?

[Meeiir]

Hello Adobe Community,

I am trying to develop an extension for Illustrator 2025 (v29.3.1), but I have noticed that CEP (Common Extensibility Platform) is no longer supported in this version. Previously, I used CEP to create panels and custom UI elements, but now:

• The "Extensions (Legacy)" menu is missing.
• CEP-based extensions no longer load.
• CSInterface is not recognized in scripts.
• There is no option to enable CEP in Preferences.

I would like to know:

1. What is the new recommended method for creating UI panels and extensions in Illustrator 2025?
2. Is UXP now fully supported for Illustrator? If so, where can I find resources or documentation?
3. Is there any workaround to enable CEP again in Illustrator 2025, or is it completely removed?

Any guidance on how to proceed with Illustrator extension development in the latest version would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Kind Regards,
Meer

[m1b]

Hi @Meeiir I was waiting for someone knowledgeable to answer this, but no one has yet, so I'll answer as best I can, which is to say:

1. I believe CEP is still the only supported way to create extensions for Illustrator. (And plugins via the SDK).

2. UXP is not available in the released version of Illustrator.

So there might be something else going wrong for you. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it might be. I would start by attempting the most basic sample CEP extension from the Adobe CEP github and working out exactly what is going wrong. Maybe even uninstalling Illustrator and re-installing? Sorry I can't be more help.

- Mark

[Meeiir]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response!

I actually attempted to create an extension for Illustrator 2025, but I ran into an issue with missing library files. The SDK only contains .cpp and .h files, making it difficult to proceed without the necessary libraries. When I tried testing my extension by placing it in the Illustrator Extensions folder, it wouldn't show up at all.

I also reached out to Adobe support, and they confirmed that since Illustrator 2022, CEP is no longer supported. This explains why my extension isn't working in the latest version. However, there's no official documentation about an alternative like UXP for Illustrator yet.

So, unless Adobe provides a clear update, it seems like developing extensions for Illustrator 2025 is at a dead end unless we use the Plugin SDK (C++), which isn't suitable for UI-based panels like CEP was.

If you (or anyone else) has insights on this, I'd love to hear more!

Thanks again for your input.

Best,
Meer

[Stefan Rakete]

As far as I know CEP works with Apple Silicon in Illustrator

[sttk3]

> 3. Is there any workaround to enable CEP again in Illustrator 2025, or is it completely removed?

Tried and CEP is still working in Illustrator 2025 (29.3.1). Would it solve the problem if you set the PlayerDebugMode again?

• CEP-Resources/CEP_11.x/Documentation /CEP 11.1 HTML Extension Cookbook.md