diff --git a/archivebox/abx/__init__.py b/archivebox/abx/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..04c7d81d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+import itertools
+import importlib
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Dict
+from benedict import benedict
+
+import pluggy
+import archivebox
+
+from . import hookspec as base_spec
+from .hookspec import hookimpl, hookspec           # noqa
+
+
+pm = pluggy.PluginManager("abx")
+pm.add_hookspecs(base_spec)
+
+def register_hookspecs(hookspecs):
+    for hookspec_import_path in hookspecs:
+        hookspec_module = importlib.import_module(hookspec_import_path)
+        pm.add_hookspecs(hookspec_module)
+
+
+def find_plugins_in_dir(plugins_dir: Path, prefix: str) -> Dict[str, Path]:
+    return {
+        f"{prefix}.{plugin_entrypoint.parent.name}": plugin_entrypoint.parent
+        for plugin_entrypoint in sorted(plugins_dir.glob("*/apps.py"))  # key=get_plugin_order  # Someday enforcing plugin import order may be required, but right now it's not needed
+    }   # "plugins_pkg.pip": "/app/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip"
+
+
+def get_pip_installed_plugins(group='abx'):
+    """replaces pm.load_setuptools_entrypoints("abx")"""
+    import importlib.metadata
+
+    DETECTED_PLUGINS = {}   # module_name: module_dir_path
+    for dist in list(importlib.metadata.distributions()):
+        for entrypoint in dist.entry_points:
+            if entrypoint.group != group or pm.is_blocked(entrypoint.name):
+                continue
+            DETECTED_PLUGINS[entrypoint.name] = Path(entrypoint.load().__file__).parent
+            # pm.register(plugin, name=ep.name)
+            # pm._plugin_distinfo.append((plugin, DistFacade(dist)))
+    return DETECTED_PLUGINS
+
+
+def get_plugins_in_dirs(plugin_dirs: Dict[str, Path]):
+    DETECTED_PLUGINS = {}
+    for plugin_prefix, plugin_dir in plugin_dirs.items():
+        DETECTED_PLUGINS.update(find_plugins_in_dir(plugin_dir, prefix=plugin_prefix))
+    return DETECTED_PLUGINS
+
+def get_builtin_plugins():
+    PLUGIN_DIRS = {
+        'plugins_sys':             archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_sys',
+        'plugins_pkg':             archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_pkg',
+        'plugins_auth':            archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_auth',
+        'plugins_search':          archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_search',
+        'plugins_extractor':       archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_extractor',
+    }
+    DETECTED_PLUGINS = {}
+    for plugin_prefix, plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.items():
+        DETECTED_PLUGINS.update(find_plugins_in_dir(plugin_dir, prefix=plugin_prefix))
+    return DETECTED_PLUGINS
+
+def get_user_plugins():
+    return find_plugins_in_dir(archivebox.DATA_DIR / 'user_plugins', prefix='user_plugins')
+
+
+# BUILTIN_PLUGINS = get_builtin_plugins()
+# PIP_PLUGINS = get_pip_installed_plugins()
+# USER_PLUGINS = get_user_plugins()
+# ALL_PLUGINS = {**BUILTIN_PLUGINS, **PIP_PLUGINS, **USER_PLUGINS}
+
+# Load all plugins from pip packages, archivebox built-ins, and user plugins
+
+def load_plugins(plugins_dict: Dict[str, Path]):
+    LOADED_PLUGINS = {}
+    for plugin_module, plugin_dir in plugins_dict.items():
+        # print(f'Loading plugin: {plugin_module} from {plugin_dir}')
+        plugin_module_loaded = importlib.import_module(plugin_module + '.apps')
+        pm.register(plugin_module_loaded)
+        LOADED_PLUGINS[plugin_module] = plugin_module_loaded.PLUGIN
+        # print(f'    √ Loaded plugin: {plugin_module}')
+    return LOADED_PLUGINS
+
+def get_registered_plugins():
+    plugins = {}
+    plugin_to_distinfo = dict(pm.list_plugin_distinfo())
+    for plugin in pm.get_plugins():
+        plugin_info = {
+            "name": plugin.__name__,
+            "hooks": [h.name for h in pm.get_hookcallers(plugin) or ()],
+        }
+        distinfo = plugin_to_distinfo.get(plugin)
+        if distinfo:
+            plugin_info["version"] = distinfo.version
+            plugin_info["name"] = (
+                getattr(distinfo, "name", None) or distinfo.project_name
+            )
+        plugins[plugin_info["name"]] = plugin_info
+    return plugins
+
+
+def get_plugins_INSTALLLED_APPS():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_INSTALLED_APPS())
+
+def register_plugins_INSTALLLED_APPS(INSTALLED_APPS):
+    pm.hook.register_INSTALLED_APPS(INSTALLED_APPS=INSTALLED_APPS)
+
+
+def get_plugins_MIDDLEWARE():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_MIDDLEWARE())
+
+def register_plugins_MIDDLEWARE(MIDDLEWARE):
+    pm.hook.register_MIDDLEWARE(MIDDLEWARE=MIDDLEWARE)
+
+
+def get_plugins_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS())
+
+def register_plugins_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS(AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS):
+    pm.hook.register_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS(AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS=AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS)
+
+
+def get_plugins_STATICFILES_DIRS():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_STATICFILES_DIRS())
+
+def register_plugins_STATICFILES_DIRS(STATICFILES_DIRS):
+    pm.hook.register_STATICFILES_DIRS(STATICFILES_DIRS=STATICFILES_DIRS)
+
+
+def get_plugins_TEMPLATE_DIRS():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_TEMPLATE_DIRS())
+
+def register_plugins_TEMPLATE_DIRS(TEMPLATE_DIRS):
+    pm.hook.register_TEMPLATE_DIRS(TEMPLATE_DIRS=TEMPLATE_DIRS)
+
+def get_plugins_DJANGO_HUEY_QUEUES():
+    HUEY_QUEUES = {}
+    for plugin_result in pm.hook.get_DJANGO_HUEY_QUEUES():
+        HUEY_QUEUES.update(plugin_result)
+    return HUEY_QUEUES
+
+def register_plugins_DJANGO_HUEY(DJANGO_HUEY):
+    pm.hook.register_DJANGO_HUEY(DJANGO_HUEY=DJANGO_HUEY)
+
+def get_plugins_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS_URLS():
+    return itertools.chain(*pm.hook.get_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS_URLS())
+
+def register_plugins_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS(ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS):
+    pm.hook.register_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS(ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS=ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS)
+
+
+def register_plugins_settings(settings):
+    # convert settings dict to an benedict so we can set values using settings.attr = xyz notation
+    settings_as_obj = benedict(settings, keypath_separator=None)
+    
+    # set default values for settings that are used by plugins
+    settings_as_obj.INSTALLED_APPS = settings_as_obj.get('INSTALLED_APPS', [])
+    settings_as_obj.MIDDLEWARE = settings_as_obj.get('MIDDLEWARE', [])
+    settings_as_obj.AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = settings_as_obj.get('AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS', [])
+    settings_as_obj.STATICFILES_DIRS = settings_as_obj.get('STATICFILES_DIRS', [])
+    settings_as_obj.TEMPLATE_DIRS = settings_as_obj.get('TEMPLATE_DIRS', [])
+    settings_as_obj.DJANGO_HUEY = settings_as_obj.get('DJANGO_HUEY', {'queues': {}})
+    settings_as_obj.ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS = settings_as_obj.get('ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS', {'URLS': []})
+    
+    # call all the hook functions to mutate the settings values in-place
+    register_plugins_INSTALLLED_APPS(settings_as_obj.INSTALLED_APPS)
+    register_plugins_MIDDLEWARE(settings_as_obj.MIDDLEWARE)
+    register_plugins_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS(settings_as_obj.AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS)
+    register_plugins_STATICFILES_DIRS(settings_as_obj.STATICFILES_DIRS)
+    register_plugins_TEMPLATE_DIRS(settings_as_obj.TEMPLATE_DIRS)
+    register_plugins_DJANGO_HUEY(settings_as_obj.DJANGO_HUEY)
+    register_plugins_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS(settings_as_obj.ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS)
+    
+    # calls Plugin.settings(settings) on each registered plugin
+    pm.hook.register_settings(settings=settings_as_obj)
+    
+    # then finally update the settings globals() object will all the new settings
+    settings.update(settings_as_obj)
+
+
+def get_plugins_urlpatterns():
+    return list(itertools.chain(*pm.hook.urlpatterns()))
+
+def register_plugins_urlpatterns(urlpatterns):
+    pm.hook.register_urlpatterns(urlpatterns=urlpatterns)
+
+
+# PLUGANTIC HOOKS
+
+def get_plugins_PLUGINS():
+    return benedict({
+        plugin.PLUGIN.id: plugin.PLUGIN
+        for plugin in pm.get_plugins()
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_HOOKS(PLUGINS):
+    return benedict({
+        hook.id: hook
+        for plugin in PLUGINS.values()
+            for hook in plugin.hooks
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_CONFIGS():
+    return benedict({
+        config.id: config
+        for plugin_configs in pm.hook.get_CONFIGS()
+            for config in plugin_configs
+    })
+    
+def get_plugins_FLAT_CONFIG(CONFIGS):
+    FLAT_CONFIG = {}
+    for config in CONFIGS.values():
+        FLAT_CONFIG.update(config.model_dump())
+    return benedict(FLAT_CONFIG)
+
+def get_plugins_BINPROVIDERS():
+    return benedict({
+        binprovider.id: binprovider
+        for plugin_binproviders in pm.hook.get_BINPROVIDERS()
+            for binprovider in plugin_binproviders
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_BINARIES():
+    return benedict({
+        binary.id: binary
+        for plugin_binaries in pm.hook.get_BINARIES()
+            for binary in plugin_binaries
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_EXTRACTORS():
+    return benedict({
+        extractor.id: extractor
+        for plugin_extractors in pm.hook.get_EXTRACTORS()
+            for extractor in plugin_extractors
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_REPLAYERS():
+    return benedict({
+        replayer.id: replayer
+        for plugin_replayers in pm.hook.get_REPLAYERS()
+            for replayer in plugin_replayers
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_CHECKS():
+    return benedict({
+        check.id: check
+        for plugin_checks in pm.hook.get_CHECKS()
+            for check in plugin_checks
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_ADMINDATAVIEWS():
+    return benedict({
+        admin_dataview.id: admin_dataview
+        for plugin_admin_dataviews in pm.hook.get_ADMINDATAVIEWS()
+            for admin_dataview in plugin_admin_dataviews
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_QUEUES():
+    return benedict({
+        queue.id: queue
+        for plugin_queues in pm.hook.get_QUEUES()
+            for queue in plugin_queues
+    })
+
+def get_plugins_SEARCHBACKENDS():
+    return benedict({
+        searchbackend.id: searchbackend
+        for plugin_searchbackends in pm.hook.get_SEARCHBACKENDS()
+            for searchbackend in plugin_searchbackends
+    })
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/apps.py b/archivebox/abx/apps.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f3880c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/apps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+from django.apps import AppConfig
+
+
+class ABXConfig(AppConfig):
+    default_auto_field = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'
+    name = 'abx'
+
+    def ready(self):
+        import abx
+        from django.conf import settings
+        
+        abx.pm.hook.ready(settings=settings)
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..53cee225
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from pluggy import HookimplMarker
+from pluggy import HookspecMarker
+
+hookspec = HookspecMarker("abx")
+hookimpl = HookimplMarker("abx")
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_system_user() -> str:
+    return Path('~').expanduser().name
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec_archivebox.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_archivebox.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b241a856
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_archivebox.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+from .hookspec import hookspec
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_CONFIGS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_EXTRACTORS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_REPLAYERS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_CHECKS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_ADMINDATAVIEWS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_QUEUES():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_SEARCHBACKENDS():
+    return {}
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_apps.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_apps.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..30bc2951
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_apps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+from .hookspec import hookspec
+    
+@hookspec
+def ready(settings):
+    """Called when the Django app.ready() is triggered"""
+    pass
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_settings.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c340d084
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+from .hookspec import hookspec
+
+
+###########################################################################################
+
+@hookspec
+def get_INSTALLED_APPS():
+    """Return a list of apps to add to INSTALLED_APPS"""
+    # e.g. ['your_plugin_type.plugin_name']
+    return []
+
+@hookspec
+def register_INSTALLED_APPS(INSTALLED_APPS):
+    """Mutate INSTALLED_APPS in place to add your app in a specific position"""
+    # idx_of_contrib = INSTALLED_APPS.index('django.contrib.auth')
+    # INSTALLED_APPS.insert(idx_of_contrib + 1, 'your_plugin_type.plugin_name')
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_TEMPLATE_DIRS():
+    return []     # e.g. ['your_plugin_type/plugin_name/templates']
+
+@hookspec
+def register_TEMPLATE_DIRS(TEMPLATE_DIRS):
+    """Install django settings"""
+    # e.g. TEMPLATE_DIRS.insert(0, 'your_plugin_type/plugin_name/templates')
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_STATICFILES_DIRS():
+    return []     # e.g. ['your_plugin_type/plugin_name/static']
+
+@hookspec
+def register_STATICFILES_DIRS(STATICFILES_DIRS):
+    """Mutate STATICFILES_DIRS in place to add your static dirs in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. STATICFILES_DIRS.insert(0, 'your_plugin_type/plugin_name/static')
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_MIDDLEWARE():
+    return []     # e.g. ['your_plugin_type.plugin_name.middleware.YourMiddleware']
+
+@hookspec
+def register_MIDDLEWARE(MIDDLEWARE):
+    """Mutate MIDDLEWARE in place to add your middleware in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. MIDDLEWARE.insert(0, 'your_plugin_type.plugin_name.middleware.YourMiddleware')
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS():
+    return []     # e.g. ['django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend']
+
+@hookspec
+def register_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS(AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS):
+    """Mutate AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS in place to add your auth backends in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS.insert(0, 'your_plugin_type.plugin_name.backend.YourBackend')
+    pass
+
+@hookspec
+def get_DJANGO_HUEY_QUEUES():
+    return []     # e.g. [{'name': 'your_plugin_type.plugin_name', 'HUEY': {...}}]
+
+@hookspec
+def register_DJANGO_HUEY(DJANGO_HUEY):
+    """Mutate DJANGO_HUEY in place to add your huey queues in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. DJANGO_HUEY['queues']['some_queue_name']['some_setting'] = 'some_value'
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS_URLS():
+    return []
+
+@hookspec
+def register_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS(ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS):
+    """Mutate ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS in place to add your admin data views in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS['URLS'].insert(0, 'your_plugin_type/plugin_name/admin_data_views.py')
+    pass
+
+
+@hookspec
+def register_settings(settings):
+    """Mutate settings in place to add your settings / modify existing settings"""
+    # settings.SOME_KEY = 'some_value'
+    pass
+
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_urls.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_urls.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..258a1e89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_django_urls.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+from .hookspec import hookspec
+
+
+@hookspec
+def get_urlpatterns():
+    return []     # e.g. [path('your_plugin_type/plugin_name/url.py', your_view)]
+
+@hookspec
+def register_urlpatterns(urlpatterns):
+    """Mutate urlpatterns in place to add your urlpatterns in a specific position"""
+    # e.g. urlpatterns.insert(0, path('your_plugin_type/plugin_name/url.py', your_view))
+    pass
diff --git a/archivebox/abx/hookspec_pydantic_pkgr.py b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_pydantic_pkgr.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..63a289a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/archivebox/abx/hookspec_pydantic_pkgr.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+
+from .hookspec import hookspec
+
+###########################################################################################
+
+@hookspec
+def get_BINPROVIDERS():
+    return {}
+
+@hookspec
+def get_BINARIES():
+    return {}
+
diff --git a/archivebox/config.py b/archivebox/config.py
index 0852da83..419f60fe 100644
--- a/archivebox/config.py
+++ b/archivebox/config.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import re
 import sys
 import json
 import shutil
-import archivebox
 
 from hashlib import md5
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -36,15 +35,20 @@ from typing import Optional, Type, Tuple, Dict
 from subprocess import run, PIPE, DEVNULL, STDOUT, TimeoutExpired
 from configparser import ConfigParser
 
-from pydantic_pkgr import SemVer
 from rich.progress import Progress
 from rich.console import Console
+from benedict import benedict
 
 import django
 from django.db.backends.sqlite3.base import Database as sqlite3
 
+import archivebox
+from archivebox.constants import CONSTANTS
+from archivebox.constants import *
+
+from pydantic_pkgr import SemVer
+
 from .config_stubs import (
-    AttrDict,
     ConfigValue,
     ConfigDict,
     ConfigDefaultValue,
@@ -52,85 +56,35 @@ from .config_stubs import (
 )
 
 from .misc.logging import (
-    DEFAULT_CLI_COLORS,
-    ANSI,
-    COLOR_DICT,
     stderr,
     hint,      # noqa
 )
 
-# print('STARTING CONFIG LOADING')
-
-# load fallback libraries from vendor dir
-from .vendor import load_vendored_libs
-load_vendored_libs()
-
-# print("LOADED VENDOR LIBS")
+from .plugins_sys.config.apps import SHELL_CONFIG, GENERAL_CONFIG, ARCHIVING_CONFIG, SERVER_CONFIG, SEARCH_BACKEND_CONFIG, STORAGE_CONFIG
+from .plugins_auth.ldap.apps import LDAP_CONFIG
+from .plugins_extractor.favicon.apps import FAVICON_CONFIG
+ANSI = SHELL_CONFIG.ANSI
+LDAP = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_ENABLED
 
 ############################### Config Schema ##################################
 
 CONFIG_SCHEMA: Dict[str, ConfigDefaultDict] = {
-    'SHELL_CONFIG': {
-        'IS_TTY':                   {'type': bool,  'default': lambda _: sys.stdout.isatty()},
-        'USE_COLOR':                {'type': bool,  'default': lambda c: c['IS_TTY']},
-        'SHOW_PROGRESS':            {'type': bool,  'default': lambda c: c['IS_TTY']},  # progress bars are buggy on mac, disable for now
-        'IN_DOCKER':                {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-        'IN_QEMU':                  {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-        'PUID':                     {'type': int,   'default': os.getuid()},
-        'PGID':                     {'type': int,   'default': os.getgid()},
-    },
+    'SHELL_CONFIG': SHELL_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
 
-    'GENERAL_CONFIG': {
-        'OUTPUT_DIR':               {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'CONFIG_FILE':              {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'ONLY_NEW':                 {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'TIMEOUT':                  {'type': int,   'default': 60},
-        'MEDIA_TIMEOUT':            {'type': int,   'default': 3600},
-        'OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS':       {'type': str,   'default': '644'},
-        'RESTRICT_FILE_NAMES':      {'type': str,   'default': 'windows'},  # TODO: move this to be a default WGET_ARGS
+    'SERVER_CONFIG': SERVER_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
+    
+    'GENERAL_CONFIG': GENERAL_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
 
-        'URL_DENYLIST':             {'type': str,   'default': r'\.(css|js|otf|ttf|woff|woff2|gstatic\.com|googleapis\.com/css)(\?.*)?$', 'aliases': ('URL_BLACKLIST',)},  # to avoid downloading code assets as their own pages
-        'URL_ALLOWLIST':            {'type': str,   'default': None, 'aliases': ('URL_WHITELIST',)},
+    'ARCHIVING_CONFIG': ARCHIVING_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
 
+    'SEARCH_BACKEND_CONFIG': SEARCH_BACKEND_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
 
-        'ENFORCE_ATOMIC_WRITES':    {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'TAG_SEPARATOR_PATTERN':    {'type': str,   'default': r'[,]'},
-    },
+    'STORAGE_CONFIG': STORAGE_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
+    
+    'LDAP_CONFIG': LDAP_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
+    
+    'FAVICON_CONFIG': FAVICON_CONFIG.as_legacy_config_schema(),
 
-    'SERVER_CONFIG': {
-        'ADMIN_USERNAME':            {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'ADMIN_PASSWORD':            {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        
-        'SECRET_KEY':                {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'BIND_ADDR':                 {'type': str,   'default': lambda c: ['127.0.0.1:8000', '0.0.0.0:8000'][c['IN_DOCKER']]},
-        'ALLOWED_HOSTS':             {'type': str,   'default': '*'},     # e.g. archivebox.example.com,archivebox2.example.com
-        'CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS':      {'type': str,   'default': lambda c: 'http://localhost:8000,http://127.0.0.1:8000,http://0.0.0.0:8000,http://{}'.format(c['BIND_ADDR'])},   # e.g. https://archivebox.example.com,https://archivebox2.example.com:8080
-        'DEBUG':                     {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-        'PUBLIC_INDEX':              {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'PUBLIC_SNAPSHOTS':          {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW':           {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-        'FOOTER_INFO':               {'type': str,   'default': 'Content is hosted for personal archiving purposes only.  Contact server owner for any takedown requests.'},
-        'SNAPSHOTS_PER_PAGE':        {'type': int,   'default': 40},
-        'CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR':      {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'TIME_ZONE':                 {'type': str,   'default': 'UTC'},
-        'TIMEZONE':                  {'type': str,   'default': 'UTC'},
-        'REVERSE_PROXY_USER_HEADER': {'type': str,   'default': 'Remote-User'},
-        'REVERSE_PROXY_WHITELIST':   {'type': str,   'default': ''},
-        'LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL':       {'type': str,   'default': '/'},
-        'PREVIEW_ORIGINALS':         {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-
-        'LDAP':                      {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-        'LDAP_SERVER_URI':           {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_BIND_DN':              {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD':        {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_USER_BASE':            {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_USER_FILTER':          {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_USERNAME_ATTR':        {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_FIRSTNAME_ATTR':       {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_LASTNAME_ATTR':        {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_EMAIL_ATTR':           {'type': str,   'default': None},
-        'LDAP_CREATE_SUPERUSER':     {'type': bool,  'default': False},
-    },
 
     'ARCHIVE_METHOD_TOGGLES': {
         'SAVE_TITLE':               {'type': bool,  'default': True, 'aliases': ('FETCH_TITLE',)},
@@ -212,26 +166,6 @@ CONFIG_SCHEMA: Dict[str, ConfigDefaultDict] = {
         'SINGLEFILE_EXTRA_ARGS':    {'type': list,  'default': None},
         'MERCURY_ARGS':             {'type': list,  'default': ['--format=text']},
         'MERCURY_EXTRA_ARGS':       {'type': list,  'default': None},
-        'FAVICON_PROVIDER':         {'type': str,   'default': 'https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain={}'},
-    },
-
-    'SEARCH_BACKEND_CONFIG' : {
-        'USE_INDEXING_BACKEND':     {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'USE_SEARCHING_BACKEND':    {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'SEARCH_BACKEND_ENGINE':    {'type': str,   'default': 'ripgrep'},
-        'SEARCH_BACKEND_HOST_NAME': {'type': str,   'default': 'localhost'},
-        'SEARCH_BACKEND_PORT':      {'type': int,   'default': 1491},
-        'SEARCH_BACKEND_PASSWORD':  {'type': str,   'default': 'SecretPassword'},
-        'SEARCH_PROCESS_HTML':      {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        # SONIC
-        'SONIC_COLLECTION':         {'type': str,   'default': 'archivebox'},
-        'SONIC_BUCKET':             {'type': str,   'default': 'snapshots'},
-        'SEARCH_BACKEND_TIMEOUT':   {'type': int,   'default': 90},
-        # SQLite3 FTS5
-        'FTS_SEPARATE_DATABASE':    {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'FTS_TOKENIZERS':           {'type': str,   'default': 'porter unicode61 remove_diacritics 2'},
-        # Default from https://www.sqlite.org/limits.html#max_length
-        'FTS_SQLITE_MAX_LENGTH':    {'type': int,   'default': int(1e9)},
     },
 
     'DEPENDENCY_CONFIG': {
@@ -242,7 +176,6 @@ CONFIG_SCHEMA: Dict[str, ConfigDefaultDict] = {
         'USE_MERCURY':              {'type': bool,  'default': True},
         'USE_GIT':                  {'type': bool,  'default': True},
         'USE_CHROME':               {'type': bool,  'default': True},
-        'USE_NODE':                 {'type': bool,  'default': True},
         'USE_YOUTUBEDL':            {'type': bool,  'default': True},
         'USE_RIPGREP':              {'type': bool,  'default': True},
 
@@ -282,60 +215,16 @@ def get_real_name(key: str) -> str:
 
 
 
-################################ Constants #####################################
-
-PACKAGE_DIR_NAME = 'archivebox'
-TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME = 'templates'
-
-ARCHIVE_DIR_NAME = 'archive'
-SOURCES_DIR_NAME = 'sources'
-LOGS_DIR_NAME = 'logs'
-CACHE_DIR_NAME = 'cache'
-LIB_DIR_NAME = 'lib'
-PERSONAS_DIR_NAME = 'personas'
-CRONTABS_DIR_NAME = 'crontabs'
-SQL_INDEX_FILENAME = 'index.sqlite3'
-JSON_INDEX_FILENAME = 'index.json'
-HTML_INDEX_FILENAME = 'index.html'
-ROBOTS_TXT_FILENAME = 'robots.txt'
-FAVICON_FILENAME = 'favicon.ico'
-CONFIG_FILENAME = 'ArchiveBox.conf'
-
-
-
-
-ALLOWDENYLIST_REGEX_FLAGS: int = re.IGNORECASE | re.UNICODE | re.MULTILINE
-
-
-CONSTANTS = archivebox.CONSTANTS._asdict()
-
-############################## Version Config ##################################
-
-
-
-
-
-############################## Derived Config ##################################
-
-
-
 # These are derived/computed values calculated *after* all user-provided config values are ingested
 # they appear in `archivebox config` output and are intended to be read-only for the user
 DYNAMIC_CONFIG_SCHEMA: ConfigDefaultDict = {
-    **{
-        key: {'default': lambda c: val}
-        for key, val in archivebox.CONSTANTS.items()
-    },
-
-
     'PACKAGE_DIR':              {'default': lambda c: archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR.resolve()},
-    'TEMPLATES_DIR':            {'default': lambda c: c['PACKAGE_DIR'] / TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME},
+    'TEMPLATES_DIR':            {'default': lambda c: c['PACKAGE_DIR'] / CONSTANTS.TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME},
     'CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR':     {'default': lambda c: c['CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR'] and Path(c['CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR'])},
 
 
-    'URL_DENYLIST_PTN':         {'default': lambda c: c['URL_DENYLIST'] and re.compile(c['URL_DENYLIST'] or '', ALLOWDENYLIST_REGEX_FLAGS)},
-    'URL_ALLOWLIST_PTN':        {'default': lambda c: c['URL_ALLOWLIST'] and re.compile(c['URL_ALLOWLIST'] or '', ALLOWDENYLIST_REGEX_FLAGS)},
-    'DIR_OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS':   {'default': lambda c: c['OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS'].replace('6', '7').replace('4', '5')},  # exec is always needed to list directories
+    'URL_DENYLIST_PTN':         {'default': lambda c: c['URL_DENYLIST'] and re.compile(c['URL_DENYLIST'] or '', CONSTANTS.ALLOWDENYLIST_REGEX_FLAGS)},
+    'URL_ALLOWLIST_PTN':        {'default': lambda c: c['URL_ALLOWLIST'] and re.compile(c['URL_ALLOWLIST'] or '', CONSTANTS.ALLOWDENYLIST_REGEX_FLAGS)},
 
 
     'USE_CURL':                 {'default': lambda c: c['USE_CURL'] and (c['SAVE_FAVICON'] or c['SAVE_TITLE'] or c['SAVE_ARCHIVE_DOT_ORG'])},
@@ -356,7 +245,7 @@ DYNAMIC_CONFIG_SCHEMA: ConfigDefaultDict = {
     'WGET_EXTRA_ARGS':          {'default': lambda c: c['WGET_EXTRA_ARGS'] or []},
 
     'USE_MERCURY':              {'default': lambda c: c['USE_MERCURY'] and c['SAVE_MERCURY']},
-    'SAVE_MERCURY':             {'default': lambda c: c['USE_MERCURY'] and c['USE_NODE']},
+    'SAVE_MERCURY':             {'default': lambda c: c['USE_MERCURY']},
     'MERCURY_VERSION':          {'default': lambda c: '1.0.0' if shutil.which(str(bin_path(c['MERCURY_BINARY']))) else None},  # mercury doesnt expose version info until this is merged https://github.com/postlight/parser/pull/750
     'MERCURY_ARGS':             {'default': lambda c: c['MERCURY_ARGS'] or []},
     'MERCURY_EXTRA_ARGS':       {'default': lambda c: c['MERCURY_EXTRA_ARGS'] or []},
@@ -365,8 +254,6 @@ DYNAMIC_CONFIG_SCHEMA: ConfigDefaultDict = {
     'GIT_VERSION':              {'default': lambda c: bin_version(c['GIT_BINARY']) if c['USE_GIT'] else None},
     'SAVE_GIT':                 {'default': lambda c: c['USE_GIT'] and c['SAVE_GIT']},
 
-    'USE_NODE':                 {'default': lambda c: True},
-    'NODE_VERSION':             {'default': lambda c: bin_version(c['NODE_BINARY']) if c['USE_NODE'] else None},
 
     'DEPENDENCIES':             {'default': lambda c: get_dependency_info(c)},
     # 'CODE_LOCATIONS':           {'default': lambda c: get_code_locations(c)},
@@ -550,7 +437,7 @@ def load_config(defaults: ConfigDefaultDict,
                 config: Optional[ConfigDict]=None,
                 out_dir: Optional[str]=None,
                 env_vars: Optional[os._Environ]=None,
-                config_file_vars: Optional[Dict[str, str]]=None) -> ConfigDict:
+                config_file_vars: Optional[Dict[str, str]]=None) -> benedict:
 
     env_vars = env_vars or os.environ
     config_file_vars = config_file_vars or load_config_file(out_dir=out_dir)
@@ -583,13 +470,7 @@ def load_config(defaults: ConfigDefaultDict,
             # raise
             # raise SystemExit(2)
 
-    return AttrDict(extended_config)
-
-
-def parse_version_string(version: str) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
-    """parses a version tag string formatted like 'vx.x.x' into (major, minor, patch) ints"""
-    base = version.split('+')[0].split('v')[-1] # remove 'v' prefix and '+editable' suffix
-    return tuple(int(part) for part in base.split('.'))[:3]
+    return benedict(extended_config)
 
 
 
@@ -778,13 +659,13 @@ def get_dependency_info(config: ConfigDict) -> ConfigValue:
             'enabled': config['USE_WGET'],
             'is_valid': bool(config['WGET_VERSION']),
         },
-        'NODE_BINARY': {
-            'path': bin_path(config['NODE_BINARY']),
-            'version': config['NODE_VERSION'],
-            'hash': bin_hash(config['NODE_BINARY']),
-            'enabled': config['USE_NODE'],
-            'is_valid': bool(config['NODE_VERSION']),
-        },
+        # 'NODE_BINARY': {
+        #     'path': bin_path(config['NODE_BINARY']),
+        #     'version': config['NODE_VERSION'],
+        #     'hash': bin_hash(config['NODE_BINARY']),
+        #     'enabled': config['USE_NODE'],
+        #     'is_valid': bool(config['NODE_VERSION']),
+        # },
         'MERCURY_BINARY': {
             'path': bin_path(config['MERCURY_BINARY']),
             'version': config['MERCURY_VERSION'],
@@ -879,15 +760,15 @@ globals().update(CONFIG)
 
 
 # Set timezone to UTC and umask to OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS
-assert TIMEZONE == 'UTC', 'The server timezone should always be set to UTC'  # noqa: F821
+assert TIMEZONE == 'UTC', f'The server timezone should always be set to UTC (got {TIMEZONE})'  # noqa: F821
 os.environ["TZ"] = TIMEZONE                                                  # noqa: F821
-os.umask(0o777 - int(DIR_OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS, base=8))                        # noqa: F821
+os.umask(0o777 - int(STORAGE_CONFIG.DIR_OUTPUT_PERMISSIONS, base=8))                        # noqa: F821
 
 ########################### Config Validity Checkers ###########################
 
-if not CONFIG.USE_COLOR:
+if not SHELL_CONFIG.USE_COLOR:
     os.environ['NO_COLOR'] = '1'
-if not CONFIG.SHOW_PROGRESS:
+if not SHELL_CONFIG.SHOW_PROGRESS:
     os.environ['TERM'] = 'dumb'
 
 # recreate rich console obj based on new config values
@@ -913,7 +794,7 @@ def setup_django_minimal():
     django.setup()
 
 
-def setup_django(out_dir: Path=None, check_db=False, config: ConfigDict=CONFIG, in_memory_db=False) -> None:
+def setup_django(out_dir: Path | None=None, check_db=False, config: ConfigDict=CONFIG, in_memory_db=False) -> None:
     global INITIAL_STARTUP_PROGRESS
     global INITIAL_STARTUP_PROGRESS_TASK
     
@@ -930,7 +811,6 @@ def setup_django(out_dir: Path=None, check_db=False, config: ConfigDict=CONFIG,
 
             sys.path.append(str(archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR))
             os.environ.setdefault('OUTPUT_DIR', str(archivebox.DATA_DIR))
-            os.environ.setdefault("ARCHIVEBOX_DATABASE_NAME", ":memory:")
             os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'core.settings')
                 
             bump_startup_progress_bar()
diff --git a/archivebox/core/settings.py b/archivebox/core/settings.py
index 51e85607..d74f80ea 100644
--- a/archivebox/core/settings.py
+++ b/archivebox/core/settings.py
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ import os
 import sys
 import inspect
 
-from typing import Dict
 from pathlib import Path
 
-from benedict import benedict
 from django.utils.crypto import get_random_string
 
+import abx
 import archivebox
+from archivebox.constants import CONSTANTS
 
 from ..config import CONFIG
 
@@ -28,39 +28,47 @@ ARCHIVE_DIR = archivebox.DATA_DIR / 'archive'
 ### ArchiveBox Plugin Settings
 ################################################################################
 
+PLUGIN_HOOKSPECS = [
+    'abx.hookspec_django_settings',
+    'abx.hookspec_django_apps',
+    'abx.hookspec_django_urls',
+    'abx.hookspec_pydantic_pkgr',
+    'abx.hookspec_archivebox',
+    'plugantic.base_check',
+]
+abx.register_hookspecs(PLUGIN_HOOKSPECS)
 
-def find_plugins_in_dir(plugins_dir: Path, prefix: str) -> Dict[str, Path]:
-    return {
-        f"{prefix}.{plugin_entrypoint.parent.name}": plugin_entrypoint.parent
-        for plugin_entrypoint in sorted(plugins_dir.glob("*/apps.py"))   # key=get_plugin_order  # Someday enforcing plugin import order may be required, but right now it's not needed
-    }   # "plugins_pkg.pip": "/app/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip"
-    
-PLUGIN_DIRS = {
-    'plugins_sys':          PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_sys',
-    'plugins_pkg':          PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_pkg',
-    'plugins_auth':         PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_auth',
-    'plugins_search':       PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_search',
-    'plugins_extractor':    PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_extractor',
-    'user_plugins':         DATA_DIR / 'user_plugins',
+BUILTIN_PLUGIN_DIRS = {
+    'plugins_sys':             archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_sys',
+    'plugins_pkg':             archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_pkg',
+    'plugins_auth':            archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_auth',
+    'plugins_search':          archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_search',
+    'plugins_extractor':       archivebox.PACKAGE_DIR / 'plugins_extractor',
+}
+USER_PLUGIN_DIRS = {
+    'user_plugins': archivebox.DATA_DIR / 'user_plugins',
 }
-INSTALLED_PLUGINS = {}
-for plugin_prefix, plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.items():
-    INSTALLED_PLUGINS.update(find_plugins_in_dir(plugin_dir, prefix=plugin_prefix))
 
+BUILTIN_PLUGINS = abx.get_plugins_in_dirs(BUILTIN_PLUGIN_DIRS)
+PIP_PLUGINS = abx.get_pip_installed_plugins(group='archivebox')
+USER_PLUGINS = abx.get_plugins_in_dirs(USER_PLUGIN_DIRS)
+ALL_PLUGINS = {**BUILTIN_PLUGINS, **PIP_PLUGINS, **USER_PLUGINS}
 
-### Plugins Globals (filled by plugin_type.pluginname.apps.PluginName.register() after Django startup)
-PLUGINS = benedict({})
-HOOKS = benedict({})
-
-# Created later by Plugin.register(settings) -> Hook.register(settings):
-# CONFIGS = benedict({})
-# BINPROVIDERS = benedict({})
-# BINARIES = benedict({})
-# EXTRACTORS = benedict({})
-# REPLAYERS = benedict({})
-# CHECKS = benedict({})
-# ADMINDATAVIEWS = benedict({})
+PLUGIN_MANAGER = abx.pm
+PLUGINS = abx.load_plugins(ALL_PLUGINS)
+HOOKS = abx.get_plugins_HOOKS(PLUGINS)
 
+CONFIGS = abx.get_plugins_CONFIGS()
+# FLAT_CONFIG = abx.get_plugins_FLAT_CONFIG(CONFIGS)
+FLAT_CONFIG = CONFIG
+BINPROVIDERS = abx.get_plugins_BINPROVIDERS()
+BINARIES = abx.get_plugins_BINARIES()
+EXTRACTORS = abx.get_plugins_EXTRACTORS()
+REPLAYERS = abx.get_plugins_REPLAYERS()
+CHECKS = abx.get_plugins_CHECKS()
+ADMINDATAVIEWS = abx.get_plugins_ADMINDATAVIEWS()
+QUEUES = abx.get_plugins_QUEUES()
+SEARCHBACKENDS = abx.get_plugins_SEARCHBACKENDS()
 
 ################################################################################
 ### Django Core Settings
@@ -96,15 +104,14 @@ INSTALLED_APPS = [
     'django_object_actions',     # provides easy Django Admin action buttons on change views       https://github.com/crccheck/django-object-actions
 
     # Our ArchiveBox-provided apps
+    # 'plugantic',                 # ArchiveBox plugin API definition + finding/registering/calling interface
     'queues',                    # handles starting and managing background workers and processes
     'abid_utils',                # handles ABID ID creation, handling, and models
-    'plugantic',                 # ArchiveBox plugin API definition + finding/registering/calling interface
     'core',                      # core django model with Snapshot, ArchiveResult, etc.
     'api',                       # Django-Ninja-based Rest API interfaces, config, APIToken model, etc.
 
     # ArchiveBox plugins
-    *INSTALLED_PLUGINS.keys(),   # all plugin django-apps found in archivebox/plugins_* and data/user_plugins,
-    # plugin.register(settings) is called at import of each plugin (in the order they are listed here), then plugin.ready() is called at AppConfig.ready() time
+    *abx.get_plugins_INSTALLLED_APPS(),  # all plugin django-apps found in archivebox/plugins_* and data/user_plugins,
 
     # 3rd-party apps from PyPI that need to be loaded last
     'admin_data_views',          # handles rendering some convenient automatic read-only views of data in Django admin
@@ -112,9 +119,13 @@ INSTALLED_APPS = [
     'django_huey',               # provides multi-queue support for django huey https://github.com/gaiacoop/django-huey
     'bx_django_utils',           # needed for huey_monitor https://github.com/boxine/bx_django_utils
     'huey_monitor',              # adds an admin UI for monitoring background huey tasks https://github.com/boxine/django-huey-monitor
+
+    # load plugins last so all other apps are already .ready() when we call plugins.ready()
+    'abx',
 ]
 
 
+
 MIDDLEWARE = [
     'core.middleware.TimezoneMiddleware',
     'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
@@ -125,8 +136,10 @@ MIDDLEWARE = [
     'core.middleware.ReverseProxyAuthMiddleware',
     'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
     'core.middleware.CacheControlMiddleware',
+    *abx.get_plugins_MIDDLEWARE(),
 ]
 
+
 ################################################################################
 ### Authentication Settings
 ################################################################################
@@ -136,18 +149,20 @@ MIDDLEWARE = [
 AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
     'django.contrib.auth.backends.RemoteUserBackend',
     'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend',
+    *abx.get_plugins_AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS(),
 ]
 
-from ..plugins_auth.ldap.settings import LDAP_CONFIG
 
-if LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_ENABLED:
-    AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_BIND_DN
-    AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_SERVER_URI
-    AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD
-    AUTH_LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP
-    AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH = LDAP_CONFIG.AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH
+# from ..plugins_auth.ldap.settings import LDAP_CONFIG
+
+# if LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_ENABLED:
+#     AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_BIND_DN
+#     AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_SERVER_URI
+#     AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD
+#     AUTH_LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP = LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP
+#     AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH = LDAP_CONFIG.AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH
     
-    AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = LDAP_CONFIG.AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS
+#     AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = LDAP_CONFIG.AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS
 
 ################################################################################
 ### Staticfile and Template Settings
@@ -156,22 +171,24 @@ if LDAP_CONFIG.LDAP_ENABLED:
 STATIC_URL = '/static/'
 TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME = 'templates'
 STATICFILES_DIRS = [
-    *([str(CONFIG.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR / 'static')] if CONFIG.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR else []),
-    *[
-        str(plugin_dir / 'static')
-        for plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.values()
-        if (plugin_dir / 'static').is_dir()
-    ],
+    *([str(CONSTANTS.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR / 'static')] if CONSTANTS.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR.is_dir() else []),
+    # *[
+    #     str(plugin_dir / 'static')
+    #     for plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.values()
+    #     if (plugin_dir / 'static').is_dir()
+    # ],
+    *abx.get_plugins_STATICFILES_DIRS(),
     str(PACKAGE_DIR / TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME / 'static'),
 ]
 
 TEMPLATE_DIRS = [
-    *([str(CONFIG.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR)] if CONFIG.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR else []),
-    *[
-        str(plugin_dir / 'templates')
-        for plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.values()
-        if (plugin_dir / 'templates').is_dir()
-    ],
+    *([str(CONSTANTS.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR)] if CONSTANTS.CUSTOM_TEMPLATES_DIR.is_dir() else []),
+    # *[
+    #     str(plugin_dir / 'templates')
+    #     for plugin_dir in PLUGIN_DIRS.values()
+    #     if (plugin_dir / 'templates').is_dir()
+    # ],
+    *abx.get_plugins_TEMPLATE_DIRS(),
     str(PACKAGE_DIR / TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME / 'core'),
     str(PACKAGE_DIR / TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME / 'admin'),
     str(PACKAGE_DIR / TEMPLATES_DIR_NAME),
@@ -198,8 +215,6 @@ TEMPLATES = [
 ### External Service Settings
 ################################################################################
 
-from ..plugins_sys.config.constants import CONSTANTS
-
 # CACHE_DB_FILENAME = 'cache.sqlite3'
 # CACHE_DB_PATH = CONSTANTS.CACHE_DIR / CACHE_DB_FILENAME
 # CACHE_DB_TABLE = 'django_cache'
@@ -210,7 +225,7 @@ DATABASE_NAME = os.environ.get("ARCHIVEBOX_DATABASE_NAME", str(CONSTANTS.DATABAS
 QUEUE_DATABASE_NAME = DATABASE_NAME.replace('index.sqlite3', 'queue.sqlite3')
 
 SQLITE_CONNECTION_OPTIONS = {
-    "TIME_ZONE": CONFIG.TIMEZONE,
+    "TIME_ZONE": CONSTANTS.TIMEZONE,
     "OPTIONS": {
         # https://gcollazo.com/optimal-sqlite-settings-for-django/
         # # https://litestream.io/tips/#busy-timeout
@@ -280,6 +295,7 @@ DJANGO_HUEY = {
     "queues": {
         HUEY["name"]: HUEY.copy(),
         # more registered here at plugin import-time by BaseQueue.register()
+        **abx.get_plugins_DJANGO_HUEY_QUEUES(),
     },
 }
 
@@ -411,7 +427,7 @@ USE_I18N = True
 USE_TZ = True
 DATETIME_FORMAT = 'Y-m-d h:i:s A'
 SHORT_DATETIME_FORMAT = 'Y-m-d h:i:s A'
-TIME_ZONE = CONFIG.TIMEZONE        # django convention is TIME_ZONE, archivebox config uses TIMEZONE, they are equivalent
+TIME_ZONE = CONSTANTS.TIMEZONE        # django convention is TIME_ZONE, archivebox config uses TIMEZONE, they are equivalent
 
 
 from django.conf.locale.en import formats as en_formats    # type: ignore
@@ -504,6 +520,7 @@ ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS = {
                 "name": "log",
             },
         },
+        *abx.get_plugins_ADMIN_DATA_VIEWS_URLS(),
     ],
 }
 
@@ -595,3 +612,7 @@ DEBUG_LOGFIRE = DEBUG_LOGFIRE and (DATA_DIR / '.logfire').is_dir()
 # INSTALLED_APPS += ['jet_django']
 # JET_PROJECT = 'archivebox'
 # JET_TOKEN = 'some-api-token-here'
+
+
+abx.register_plugins_settings(globals())
+
diff --git a/archivebox/core/views.py b/archivebox/core/views.py
index 45bf1882..2de18c8d 100644
--- a/archivebox/core/views.py
+++ b/archivebox/core/views.py
@@ -533,6 +533,8 @@ def key_is_safe(key: str) -> bool:
 @render_with_table_view
 def live_config_list_view(request: HttpRequest, **kwargs) -> TableContext:
 
+    CONFIG = settings.FLAT_CONFIG
+
     assert request.user.is_superuser, 'Must be a superuser to view configuration settings.'
 
     rows = {
diff --git a/archivebox/plugantic/base_check.py b/archivebox/plugantic/base_check.py
index 3f3deda4..029113b6 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugantic/base_check.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugantic/base_check.py
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 __package__ = "archivebox.plugantic"
 
+import abx
 from typing import List
 
 from django.core.checks import Warning, Tags, register
 
 from .base_hook import BaseHook, HookType
-from ..config_stubs import AttrDict
+
 
 class BaseCheck(BaseHook):
     hook_type: HookType = "CHECK"
@@ -28,21 +29,18 @@ class BaseCheck(BaseHook):
     def register(self, settings, parent_plugin=None):
         # self._plugin = parent_plugin  # backref to parent is for debugging only, never rely on this!
 
-        self.register_with_django_check_system(settings)  # (SIDE EFFECT)
+        abx.pm.hook.register_django_check(check=self, settings=settings)
 
-        # install hook into settings.CHECKS
-        settings.CHECKS = getattr(settings, "CHECKS", None) or AttrDict({})
-        settings.CHECKS[self.id] = self
 
-        # record installed hook in settings.HOOKS
-        super().register(settings, parent_plugin=parent_plugin)
 
-    def register_with_django_check_system(self, settings):
-        def run_check(app_configs, **kwargs) -> List[Warning]:
-            import logging
-            return self.check(settings, logging.getLogger("checks"))
+@abx.hookspec
+@abx.hookimpl
+def register_django_check(check: BaseCheck, settings):
+    def run_check(app_configs, **kwargs) -> List[Warning]:
+        import logging
+        return check.check(settings, logging.getLogger("checks"))
 
-        run_check.__name__ = self.id
-        run_check.tags = [self.tag]
-        register(self.tag)(run_check)
+    run_check.__name__ = check.id
+    run_check.tags = [check.tag]
+    register(check.tag)(run_check)
 
diff --git a/archivebox/plugantic/base_configset.py b/archivebox/plugantic/base_configset.py
index 11ca16ef..972173dc 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugantic/base_configset.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugantic/base_configset.py
@@ -227,26 +227,34 @@ class ArchiveBoxBaseConfig(BaseSettings):
                 print(f'    {key}={original_value} -> {value}')
         self.__init__()
         return self
+    
+    def as_legacy_config_schema(self):
+        # shim for backwards compatibility with old config schema style
+        model_values = self.model_dump()
+        return benedict({
+            key: {'type': field.annotation, 'default': model_values[key]}
+            for key, field in self.model_fields.items()
+        })
 
 class BaseConfigSet(ArchiveBoxBaseConfig, BaseHook):      # type: ignore[type-arg]
     hook_type: ClassVar[HookType] = 'CONFIG'
 
     section: ClassVar[ConfigSectionName] = 'GENERAL_CONFIG'
 
-    def register(self, settings, parent_plugin=None):
-        # self._plugin = parent_plugin                                      # for debugging only, never rely on this!
+    # def register(self, settings, parent_plugin=None):
+    #     # self._plugin = parent_plugin                                      # for debugging only, never rely on this!
 
-        # settings.FLAT_CONFIG = benedict(getattr(settings, "FLAT_CONFIG", settings.CONFIG))
-        # # pass FLAT_CONFIG so far into our config model to load it
-        # loaded_config = self.__class__(**settings.FLAT_CONFIG)
-        # # then dump our parsed config back into FLAT_CONFIG for the next plugin to use
-        # settings.FLAT_CONFIG.merge(loaded_config.model_dump(include=set(self.model_fields.keys())))
+    #     settings.FLAT_CONFIG = benedict(getattr(settings, "FLAT_CONFIG", {}))
+    #     # pass FLAT_CONFIG so far into our config model to load it
+    #     loaded_config = self
+    #     # then dump our parsed config back into FLAT_CONFIG for the next plugin to use
+    #     settings.FLAT_CONFIG.merge(loaded_config.model_dump(include=set(self.model_fields.keys())))
         
-        settings.CONFIGS = getattr(settings, "CONFIGS", None) or benedict({})
-        settings.CONFIGS[self.id] = self
-        self._original_id = id(self)
+    #     settings.REGISTERED_CONFIGS = getattr(settings, "REGISTERED_CONFIGS", None) or benedict({})
+    #     settings.REGISTERED_CONFIGS[self.id] = self
+    #     self._original_id = id(self)
 
-        super().register(settings, parent_plugin=parent_plugin)
+    #     super().register(settings, parent_plugin=parent_plugin)
 
     # def ready(self, settings):
     #     # reload config from environment, in case it's been changed by any other plugins
diff --git a/archivebox/plugantic/base_hook.py b/archivebox/plugantic/base_hook.py
index a847ca1c..adc5cad7 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugantic/base_hook.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugantic/base_hook.py
@@ -96,32 +96,32 @@ class BaseHook(BaseModel):
         # e.g. /admin/environment/config/LdapConfig/
         return f"/admin/environment/{self.hook_type.lower()}/{self.id}/"
 
-    def register(self, settings, parent_plugin=None):
-        """Load a record of an installed hook into global Django settings.HOOKS at runtime."""
-        self._plugin = parent_plugin         # for debugging only, never rely on this!
+    # def register(self, settings, parent_plugin=None):
+    #     """Load a record of an installed hook into global Django settings.HOOKS at runtime."""
+    #     self._plugin = parent_plugin         # for debugging only, never rely on this!
 
-        # assert json.dumps(self.model_json_schema(), indent=4), f"Hook {self.hook_module} has invalid JSON schema."
+    #     # assert json.dumps(self.model_json_schema(), indent=4), f"Hook {self.hook_module} has invalid JSON schema."
 
-        # print('  -', self.hook_module, '.register()')
+    #     # print('  -', self.hook_module, '.register()')
 
-        # record installed hook in settings.HOOKS
-        settings.HOOKS[self.id] = self
+    #     # record installed hook in settings.HOOKS
+    #     settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS[self.id] = self
 
-        if settings.HOOKS[self.id]._is_registered:
-            raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.hook_module}.register() but its already been called!")
+    #     if settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS[self.id]._is_registered:
+    #         raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.hook_module}.register() but its already been called!")
 
-        settings.HOOKS[self.id]._is_registered = True
+    #     settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS[self.id]._is_registered = True
 
-        # print("REGISTERED HOOK:", self.hook_module)
+    #     # print("REGISTERED HOOK:", self.hook_module)
 
-    def ready(self, settings):
-        """Runs any runtime code needed when AppConfig.ready() is called (after all models are imported)."""
+    # def ready(self, settings):
+    #     """Runs any runtime code needed when AppConfig.ready() is called (after all models are imported)."""
 
-        # print('  -', self.hook_module, '.ready()')
+    #     # print('  -', self.hook_module, '.ready()')
 
-        assert self.id in settings.HOOKS, f"Tried to ready hook {self.hook_module} but it is not registered in settings.HOOKS."
+    #     assert self.id in settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS, f"Tried to ready hook {self.hook_module} but it is not registered in settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS."
 
-        if settings.HOOKS[self.id]._is_ready:
-            raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.hook_module}.ready() but its already been called!")
+    #     if settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS[self.id]._is_ready:
+    #         raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.hook_module}.ready() but its already been called!")
 
-        settings.HOOKS[self.id]._is_ready = True
+    #     settings.REGISTERED_HOOKS[self.id]._is_ready = True
diff --git a/archivebox/plugantic/base_plugin.py b/archivebox/plugantic/base_plugin.py
index 24683fab..2071a648 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugantic/base_plugin.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugantic/base_plugin.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 __package__ = 'archivebox.plugantic'
 
+import abx
 import inspect
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -21,9 +22,6 @@ from benedict import benedict
 
 from .base_hook import BaseHook, HookType
 
-from ..config import bump_startup_progress_bar
-
-
 class BasePlugin(BaseModel):
     model_config = ConfigDict(
         extra='forbid',
@@ -107,9 +105,10 @@ class BasePlugin(BaseModel):
 
             default_auto_field = 'django.db.models.AutoField'
 
-            def ready(self):
-                from django.conf import settings
-                plugin_self.ready(settings)
+            # handled by abx.hookimpl  ready()
+            # def ready(self):
+            #     from django.conf import settings
+            #     plugin_self.ready(settings)
 
         return PluginAppConfig
 
@@ -125,64 +124,60 @@ class BasePlugin(BaseModel):
             hooks[hook.hook_type][hook.id] = hook
         return hooks
 
-    def register(self, settings=None):
+    def register(self, settings):
         """Loads this plugin's configs, binaries, extractors, and replayers into global Django settings at import time (before models are imported or any AppConfig.ready() are called)."""
 
-        if settings is None:
-            from django.conf import settings as django_settings
-            settings = django_settings
-            
-        # print()
-        # print(self.plugin_module_full, '.register()')
+        from ..config import bump_startup_progress_bar
 
-        # assert json.dumps(self.model_json_schema(), indent=4), f'Plugin {self.plugin_module} has invalid JSON schema.'
+        # assert settings.PLUGINS[self.id] == self
+        # # assert self.id not in settings.PLUGINS, f'Tried to register plugin {self.plugin_module} but it conflicts with existing plugin of the same name ({self.app_label}).'
 
-        assert self.id not in settings.PLUGINS, f'Tried to register plugin {self.plugin_module} but it conflicts with existing plugin of the same name ({self.app_label}).'
+        # ### Mutate django.conf.settings... values in-place to include plugin-provided overrides
 
-        ### Mutate django.conf.settings... values in-place to include plugin-provided overrides
-        settings.PLUGINS[self.id] = self
+        # if settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered:
+        #     raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.plugin_module}.register() but its already been called!")
 
-        if settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered:
-            raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.plugin_module}.register() but its already been called!")
+        # for hook in self.hooks:
+        #     hook.register(settings, parent_plugin=self)
 
-        for hook in self.hooks:
-            hook.register(settings, parent_plugin=self)
-
-        settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered = True
-        # print('√ REGISTERED PLUGIN:', self.plugin_module)
+        # settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered = True
+        # # print('√ REGISTERED PLUGIN:', self.plugin_module)
         bump_startup_progress_bar()
 
     def ready(self, settings=None):
         """Runs any runtime code needed when AppConfig.ready() is called (after all models are imported)."""
 
-        if settings is None:
-            from django.conf import settings as django_settings
-            settings = django_settings
+        from ..config import bump_startup_progress_bar
 
-        # print()
-        # print(self.plugin_module_full, '.ready()')
 
-        assert (
-            self.id in settings.PLUGINS and settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered
-        ), f"Tried to run plugin.ready() for {self.plugin_module} but plugin is not yet registered in settings.PLUGINS."
+        # if settings is None:
+        #     from django.conf import settings as django_settings
+        #     settings = django_settings
 
-        if settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_ready:
-            raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.plugin_module}.ready() but its already been called!")
+        # # print()
+        # # print(self.plugin_module_full, '.ready()')
 
-        for hook in self.hooks:
-            hook.ready(settings)
+        # assert (
+        #     self.id in settings.PLUGINS and settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_registered
+        # ), f"Tried to run plugin.ready() for {self.plugin_module} but plugin is not yet registered in settings.PLUGINS."
+
+        # if settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_ready:
+        #     raise Exception(f"Tried to run {self.plugin_module}.ready() but its already been called!")
+
+        # for hook in self.hooks:
+        #     hook.ready(settings)
         
-        settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_ready = True
+        # settings.PLUGINS[self.id]._is_ready = True
         bump_startup_progress_bar()
 
-    # @validate_call
-    # def install_binaries(self) -> Self:
-    #     new_binaries = []
-    #     for idx, binary in enumerate(self.binaries):
-    #         new_binaries.append(binary.install() or binary)
-    #     return self.model_copy(update={
-    #         'binaries': new_binaries,
-    #     })
+    @validate_call
+    def install_binaries(self) -> Self:
+        new_binaries = []
+        for idx, binary in enumerate(self.binaries):
+            new_binaries.append(binary.install() or binary)
+        return self.model_copy(update={
+            'binaries': new_binaries,
+        })
 
     @validate_call
     def load_binaries(self, cache=True) -> Self:
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_auth/ldap/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_auth/ldap/apps.py
index f7fd2ef7..fab177d3 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_auth/ldap/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_auth/ldap/apps.py
@@ -51,5 +51,5 @@ class LdapAuthPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = LdapAuthPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/chrome/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/chrome/apps.py
index fa295c37..f1cf1b92 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/chrome/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/chrome/apps.py
@@ -259,5 +259,5 @@ class ChromePlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = ChromePlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/readability/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/readability/apps.py
index 20c2939f..b695ee52 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/readability/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/readability/apps.py
@@ -99,5 +99,5 @@ class ReadabilityPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = ReadabilityPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/singlefile/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/singlefile/apps.py
index b7741213..403a5220 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/singlefile/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/singlefile/apps.py
@@ -134,5 +134,5 @@ class SinglefilePlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = SinglefilePlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/ytdlp/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/ytdlp/apps.py
index 4385f41f..335b4e1a 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_extractor/ytdlp/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_extractor/ytdlp/apps.py
@@ -97,5 +97,5 @@ class YtdlpPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = YtdlpPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/npm/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/npm/apps.py
index ea2db87e..fce0dad1 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/npm/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/npm/apps.py
@@ -90,5 +90,5 @@ class NpmPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = NpmPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip/apps.py
index 45be3374..c283d2f4 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/pip/apps.py
@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import List, Dict, Optional, ClassVar
 from pydantic import InstanceOf, Field, model_validator
 
+import abx
+
 import django
 from django.db.backends.sqlite3.base import Database as django_sqlite3     # type: ignore[import-type]
 from django.core.checks import Error, Tags
-from django.conf import settings
 
 from pydantic_pkgr import BinProvider, PipProvider, BinName, BinProviderName, ProviderLookupDict, SemVer
 from plugantic.base_plugin import BasePlugin
@@ -240,5 +241,11 @@ class PipPlugin(BasePlugin):
     ]
 
 PLUGIN = PipPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
+
+
+@abx.hookimpl
+def register_django_checks(settings):
+    USER_IS_NOT_ROOT_CHECK.register_with_django_check_system(settings)
+    PIP_ENVIRONMENT_CHECK.register_with_django_check_system(settings)
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/playwright/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/playwright/apps.py
index dabb8ec8..9198eca5 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/playwright/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/playwright/apps.py
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class PlaywrightBinProvider(BaseBinProvider):
         if OPERATING_SYSTEM == "darwin" else
         Path("~/.cache/ms-playwright").expanduser()              # linux playwright cache dir
     )
-    puppeteer_install_args: List[str] = ["install"]  # --with-deps
+    puppeteer_install_args: List[str] = ["install"]              # --with-deps
 
     packages_handler: ProviderLookupDict = Field(default={
         "chrome": lambda: ["chromium"],
@@ -177,5 +177,5 @@ class PlaywrightPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = PlaywrightPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/puppeteer/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/puppeteer/apps.py
index 2677ac06..0efd1e8c 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_pkg/puppeteer/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_pkg/puppeteer/apps.py
@@ -165,5 +165,5 @@ class PuppeteerPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = PuppeteerPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_search/ripgrep/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_search/ripgrep/apps.py
index e2671141..780c96a1 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_search/ripgrep/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_search/ripgrep/apps.py
@@ -113,5 +113,5 @@ class RipgrepSearchPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = RipgrepSearchPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_search/sonic/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_search/sonic/apps.py
index 1c8077ab..fd630fdb 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_search/sonic/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_search/sonic/apps.py
@@ -133,5 +133,5 @@ class SonicSearchPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = SonicSearchPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_search/sqlite/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_search/sqlite/apps.py
index c773843d..75e9309e 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_search/sqlite/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_search/sqlite/apps.py
@@ -255,5 +255,5 @@ class SqliteftsSearchPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = SqliteftsSearchPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
+# PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
diff --git a/archivebox/plugins_sys/config/apps.py b/archivebox/plugins_sys/config/apps.py
index 4a1f1228..67607809 100644
--- a/archivebox/plugins_sys/config/apps.py
+++ b/archivebox/plugins_sys/config/apps.py
@@ -245,5 +245,17 @@ class ConfigPlugin(BasePlugin):
 
 
 PLUGIN = ConfigPlugin()
-PLUGIN.register(settings)
 DJANGO_APP = PLUGIN.AppConfig
+
+
+
+# register django apps
+@archivebox.plugin.hookimpl
+def get_INSTALLED_APPS():
+    return [DJANGO_APP.name]
+
+# register configs
+@archivebox.plugin.hookimpl
+def register_CONFIG():
+    return PLUGIN.HOOKS_BY_TYPE['CONFIG'].values()
+