WordPress have just (read: finally!) released the public WordPress Plugin Directory where you can download all the plugins that have been submitted to the development plugin site wp-plugins.org.

Plugins now have a permanent download link, because the directory always takes the latest version and links straight to the download file.  It also provides stats on downloads over time. Brilliant!

From the post, here are the benefits to plugin developers:

• Exposure to the millions of people who visit WordPress.org every month.
• Free SVN hosting for GPL plugin development at wp-plugins.org. (Like always.)
• Automatic download packages and free hosting of those.
• Statistics about how many people are using and downloading your plugins.
• Prominent links to your homepage, and the ability to specify a Paypal donation link from your plugin page.

Here’s a link to all my plugins on the directory.  This is so very great.  Thanks to Matt & his team for getting this up & running.