You have discovered many plugins, their purposes, and some of their details. While it seems like we have covered quite a bit, what we have discovered here is a small sample of the available plugins that exist to be used in a myriad of project types for various workflow purposes. Plugins are core to Grunt and are the building blocks to automated workflows. Each plugin has its own unique configuration parameters and options, allowing the customization of tasks to suit the needs of individual project workflows and requirements. You have been introduced to some common tasks in an effort to become aware of what types of tasks are available, where to find them, and details of what these tasks will do for you.

Grunt plugins can most easily be searched for and obtained by visiting the Grunt plugins page, found at http://gruntjs.com/plugins. A link to each plugin NPM page has been provided under each plugin header. Plugins can be differentiated by whether they are officially supported or maintained by third-party contributors. Officially supported plugins are distinguishable by the contrib- prefix and denoted with a star icon on the Grunt plugins page. Plugins that are not officially maintained by the Grunt team are provided by organizations and individuals. These are developed and shared in order to benefit the community. They may have developed them in order to solve their own workflow problems or perhaps just as an idea that might be a resource for the community; in either case, they are there for you to use in your projects as you see fit.

In the next chapter, we will begin looking at the configuration of Grunt tasks, which will involve gruntfile.js and package.json that has been mentioned so often in this chapter. Once we have the opportunity to learn about configuration, return to this chapter for reference for some of the parameters, options of specific plugins, and links to additional resources.