This is the directory (or directories) where Smarty will look for the plugins that it needs. Default is "plugins" under the SMARTY_DIR. If you supply a relative path, Smarty will first look under the SMARTY_DIR, then relative to the cwd (current working directory), then relative to the PHP include_path. If $plugins_dir is an array of directories, Smarty will search for your plugin in each plugin directory in the order they are given. For best performance, do not setup your $plugins_dir to have to use the PHP include path. Use an absolute pathname, or a path relative to SMARTY_DIR or the cwd. plugins_dir[] = 'includes/my_smarty_plugins'; ?> ]]> plugins_dir = array( 'plugins', // the default under SMARTY_DIR '/path/to/shared/plugins', '../../includes/my/plugins' ); ?> ]]>