Plugin Runtime

Plugins are executable processes. Glade installs them, checks their manifests, writes lock files, and invokes their commands.

Keep plugin authoring out of the user guide until the registry is ready for a larger public surface. User docs should show first-party install and lock-file flows. Maintainer docs can show the runtime contract.

Runtime contract

Each plugin executable must answer:

plugin-name manifest --json

The manifest declares commands, arguments, environment needs, and package metadata. Glade validates the manifest before it exposes commands.

Local proof

Use a linked executable while developing a first-party plugin:

glade plugins link --exec ./glade-plugin-compat
glade plugins lock --include-linked

Use registry or archive installs for team and CI lock files.