PaperClipAI/doc/plugins/PLUGIN_AUTHORING_GUIDE.md

Plugin Authoring Guide

This guide describes the current, implemented way to create a Paperclip plugin in this repo.

It is intentionally narrower than PLUGIN_SPEC.md. The spec includes future ideas; this guide only covers the alpha surface that exists now.

New to plugins? Start with the short Local Plugin Development guide — it walks the CLI happy path (plugin init → pnpm dev → plugin install <path>) end to end. Come back here for the full manifest surface, worker capabilities, and UI components.

Current reality

• Treat plugin workers and plugin UI as trusted code.
• Plugin UI runs as same-origin JavaScript inside the main Paperclip app.
• Worker-side host APIs are capability-gated.
• Plugin UI is not sandboxed by manifest capabilities.
• External object reference providers are trusted-install only in the MVP. Capabilities gate provider detection/resolution and host API calls, but they are not a sandbox boundary for untrusted marketplace code.
• Plugin database migrations are restricted to a host-derived plugin namespace.
• Plugin-managed surfaces are first-class records (agents, projects, routines, and skills) rather than private plugin-only state.
• Plugin-owned JSON API routes must be declared in the manifest and are mounted only under /api/plugins/:pluginId/api/*.
• The host provides a small shared React component kit through @paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui; use it for common Paperclip controls before building custom versions.
• ctx.assets is not supported in the current runtime.

External object reference providers

Plugins can contribute provider-neutral object reference detection and status resolution for URLs and future explicit links. Declare objectReferences in the manifest and add at least external.objects.detect and external.objects.read.

objectReferences: [
  {
    providerKey: "mocktracker",
    displayName: "Mock Tracker",
    objectTypes: ["ticket"],
    urlPatterns: ["https://mock.example/tickets/:id"],
  },
],

Implement onDetectExternalObjects() in the worker to recognize sanitized URL candidates and return provider-stable identities. Implement onResolveExternalObject() to return normalized board-safe status metadata. Paperclip owns inline markdown rendering; plugins must not return React, HTML, or dangerouslySetInnerHTML content for inline references.

Scaffold a plugin

Use the CLI scaffold command:

paperclipai plugin init @yourscope/plugin-name --output /absolute/path/to/plugin-repos

That creates <output>/plugin-name/ with:

• src/manifest.ts
• src/worker.ts
• src/ui/index.tsx
• tests/plugin.spec.ts
• esbuild.config.mjs
• rollup.config.mjs

Inside this monorepo, the scaffold uses workspace:* for @paperclipai/plugin-sdk.

Outside this monorepo, the scaffold snapshots @paperclipai/plugin-sdk from the local Paperclip checkout into a .paperclip-sdk/ tarball so you can build and test a plugin without publishing anything to npm first. Pass --sdk-path /absolute/path/to/paperclip/packages/plugins/sdk if you have more than one Paperclip checkout.

Local development workflow

See the short Local Plugin Development guide for the full happy path (pnpm dev → paperclipai plugin install <absolute-path> → paperclipai plugin list) and reload semantics.

Minimum verification from the generated plugin folder:

pnpm install
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test
pnpm build

Supported alpha surface

CreateOS sandbox provider

The in-repo @paperclipai/plugin-createos package implements environment lifecycle hooks and incremental managed-process output and binary workspace transfers using CreateOS's public HTTP API. It does not advertise interactive login or template capture. Install the built package by local path; its optional managed-image catalog key is createos. The package README describes configuration and the opt-in live smoke.

Worker APIs

Worker:

• config
• events
• jobs
• launchers
• http
• secrets
• activity
• state
• database namespace via ctx.db
• scoped JSON API routes declared with apiRoutes
• entities
• projects, project workspaces, and plugin-managed projects
• companies
• issues, comments, namespaced plugin:<pluginKey> origins, blocker relations, checkout assertions, assignment wakeups, and orchestration summaries
• agents, plugin-managed agents, and agent sessions
• plugin-managed routines
• plugin-managed skills
• goals
• data/actions
• streams
• tools
• metrics
• logger

Plugin database declarations

First-party or otherwise trusted orchestration plugins can declare:

database: {
  migrationsDir: "migrations",
  coreReadTables: ["issues"],
}

Required capabilities are database.namespace.migrate and database.namespace.read; add database.namespace.write for runtime mutations. The host derives ctx.db.namespace, runs SQL files in filename order before the worker starts, records checksums in plugin_migrations, and rejects changed already-applied migrations.

Migration SQL may create or alter objects only inside ctx.db.namespace. It may reference whitelisted public core tables for foreign keys or read-only views, but may not mutate/alter/drop/truncate public tables, create extensions, triggers, untrusted languages, or runtime multi-statement SQL. Runtime ctx.db.query() is restricted to SELECT; runtime ctx.db.execute() is restricted to namespace-local INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.

Scoped plugin API routes

Plugins can expose JSON-only routes under their own namespace:

apiRoutes: [
  {
    routeKey: "initialize",
    method: "POST",
    path: "/issues/:issueId/smoke",
    auth: "board-or-agent",
    capability: "api.routes.register",
    checkoutPolicy: "required-for-agent-in-progress",
    companyResolution: { from: "issue", param: "issueId" },
  },
]

The host resolves the plugin, checks that it is ready, enforces api.routes.register, matches the declared method/path, resolves company access, and applies checkout policy before dispatching to the worker's onApiRequest handler. The worker receives sanitized headers, route params, query, parsed JSON body, actor context, and company id. Do not use plugin routes to claim core paths; they always remain under /api/plugins/:pluginId/api/*.

Managed Paperclip resources

Plugins that provide durable Paperclip business objects should declare them in the manifest and let the host create or relink the actual records per company. Do this for plugin-owned agents, projects, routines, and skills. Do not hide long-lived work behind private plugin state when it should be visible to the board, scoped to a company, audited, budgeted, and assigned like normal Paperclip work.

Content-oriented plugins, such as LLM Wiki-style ingestion or durable knowledge systems, should use the same pattern: managed projects for operation issues, managed agents plus managed skills for LLM work, and managed routines for ingest, lint, refresh, or maintenance runs.

Use these surfaces:

• Managed agents: declare top-level agents[] and require agents.managed. Use this when the plugin provides a named worker the board should see in the org, budget, pause, invoke, and inspect. Managed agents are normal Paperclip agents with plugin ownership metadata, not background plugin workers.
• Managed projects: declare top-level projects[] and require projects.managed. Use this when the plugin needs a stable company-scoped project for its issues, routines, or workspace-oriented UI. Keep plugin work in a project instead of scattering generated issues across unrelated projects.
• Managed routines: declare top-level routines[] and require routines.managed. Use this for scheduled, webhook, or manually triggered jobs that should create visible Paperclip issues. Prefer managed routines over plugin jobs[] for recurring business work; plugin jobs are for plugin runtime maintenance that does not need a board-visible task trail.
• Managed skills: declare top-level skills[] and require skills.managed. Use this for reusable plugin capabilities that should be surfaced to operators and synced into Paperclip managed agents.

Managed resources are resolved by stable plugin keys, not hardcoded database ids. In a worker action or data handler, call ctx.agents.managed.reconcile(), ctx.projects.managed.reconcile(), ctx.routines.managed.reconcile(), and ctx.skills.managed.reconcile() for the current companyId. reconcile() creates the missing resource, relinks a recoverable binding, or returns the existing resource. reset() reapplies the manifest defaults when the operator wants to restore the plugin's suggested configuration.

Declare dependencies between managed resources with refs. A routine can point at a managed agent through assigneeRef and at a managed project through projectRef. Reconcile the referenced agent and project before reconciling the routine; if a ref is still missing, the routine resolution reports missing_refs instead of guessing.

import type { PaperclipPluginManifestV1 } from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk";

const manifest: PaperclipPluginManifestV1 = {
  id: "example.research-plugin",
  apiVersion: 1,
  version: "0.1.0",
  displayName: "Research Plugin",
  description: "Creates a managed research agent and scheduled research routine.",
  author: "Example",
  categories: ["automation"],
  capabilities: [
    "agents.managed",
    "projects.managed",
    "routines.managed",
    "skills.managed",
    "instance.settings.register",
  ],
  entrypoints: {
    worker: "./dist/worker.js",
    ui: "./dist/ui",
  },
  agents: [
    {
      agentKey: "researcher",
      displayName: "Researcher",
      role: "research",
      title: "Research Agent",
      capabilities: "Runs recurring research briefs for this company.",
      adapterPreference: ["codex_local", "claude_local", "process"],
      instructions: {
        content: "Follow the Paperclip heartbeat and produce concise research briefs.",
      },
    },
  ],
  projects: [
    {
      projectKey: "research",
      displayName: "Research",
      description: "Recurring research work created by the Research Plugin.",
      status: "in_progress",
    },
  ],
  routines: [
    {
      routineKey: "weekly-brief",
      title: "Weekly research brief",
      description: "Create a short research brief for the board.",
      assigneeRef: { resourceKind: "agent", resourceKey: "researcher" },
      projectRef: { resourceKind: "project", resourceKey: "research" },
      priority: "medium",
      triggers: [
        {
          kind: "schedule",
          label: "Monday morning",
          cronExpression: "0 9 * * 1",
          timezone: "America/Chicago",
          enabled: false,
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
  skills: [
    {
      skillKey: "weekly-brief-skills",
      displayName: "Weekly Briefer",
      description: "Reusable skill for the managed research workflow.",
    },
  ],
  ui: {
    slots: [
      {
        type: "settingsPage",
        id: "settings",
        displayName: "Research",
        exportName: "SettingsPage",
      },
    ],
  },
};

export default manifest;

In the worker, expose a small setup action or settings-page action that reconciles the resources for the selected company:

import { definePlugin } from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk";

export default definePlugin({
  setup(ctx) {
    ctx.actions.register("setup-company", async (params) => {
      const companyId = String(params.companyId ?? "");
      if (!companyId) throw new Error("companyId is required");

      const project = await ctx.projects.managed.reconcile("research", companyId);
      const agent = await ctx.agents.managed.reconcile("researcher", companyId);
      const routine = await ctx.routines.managed.reconcile("weekly-brief", companyId);
      const skill = await ctx.skills.managed.reconcile("weekly-brief-skills", companyId);

      return { project, agent, routine, skill };
    });
  },
});

Authoring rules:

• Keep keys stable once published. Renaming agentKey, projectKey, routineKey, or skillKey creates a new managed resource from the host's point of view.
• Use managed agents for plugin-provided labor. Use ctx.agents.invoke() or ctx.agents.sessions only after you have a real agent id, either selected by the operator or resolved from ctx.agents.managed.
• Use managed routines for recurring or externally triggered work that should produce tasks. Schedule, webhook, and API triggers are visible routine triggers, and each run has the normal Paperclip issue/audit trail.
• Use managed skills for reusable operator-visible capabilities that are shared by managed agents. Reconcile skill declarations by skillKey and keep the declared skill markdown and files in sync with agent behavior.
• Use managed projects to keep plugin-generated work organized and to give project-scoped plugin UI a stable home. For filesystem access inside a project, still resolve project workspaces through ctx.projects.
• Keep defaults conservative. Managed declarations are suggestions owned by the plugin, but the resulting resources are normal Paperclip records that the operator can inspect, pause, and adjust.

UI:

• usePluginData
• usePluginAction
• usePluginStream
• usePluginToast
• useHostContext
• typed slot props from @paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui

Mount surfaces currently wired in the host include:

• page
• settingsPage
• dashboardWidget
• sidebar
• routeSidebar
• sidebarPanel
• detailTab
• taskDetailView
• projectSidebarItem
• globalToolbarButton
• appShellOverlay (persistent, signed-in application shell)
• toolbarButton
• contextMenuItem
• commentAnnotation
• commentContextMenuItem

routeSidebar and the app sidebar

A routeSidebar slot gives a plugin page route its own contextual navigation. It coexists with the main app sidebar rather than replacing it: while your route is active the host collapses the app <Sidebar/> to its 64px icon rail (still hover/peek-able) and renders your sidebar in a second pane, yielding [ app rail ][ your sidebar ][ content ].

Because the host drives this collapse, a plugin should not mount RequestCollapsedSidebar or otherwise try to collapse the app sidebar itself — doing so is redundant and fights the host. While your route is active the app rail is forced collapsed (its expand toggle is hidden), overriding any user pin — a secondary sidebar always collapses the primary. This force never changes the user's saved expanded/collapsed preference, so the host restores exactly what the user chose as soon as they navigate away.

Shared host components

Use shared components from @paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui when the plugin needs a Paperclip-native control. The host owns the implementation, so plugins inherit the board's current styling, ordering, recent selections, and dark-mode behavior without importing ui/src internals.

Prefer shared components for common Paperclip UX patterns to reduce drift and deprecation risk, especially for task/assignment flows and routine or sidebar-like plugin screens.

Currently exposed components include:

• MarkdownBlock and MarkdownEditor for rendered and editable markdown.
• FileTree for serializable file and directory trees.
• IssuesList for a native company-scoped issue table.
• AssigneePicker for the same agent/user selector used in the new issue pane. Use the controlled value format agent:<id>, user:<id>, or "".
• ProjectPicker for the same project selector used in the new issue pane. Use the controlled project id value, or "" for no project.
• ManagedRoutinesList for plugin-owned routine settings pages.

import { AssigneePicker, ProjectPicker } from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui";

export function PluginAssignmentControls({ companyId }: { companyId: string }) {
  const [assignee, setAssignee] = useState("");
  const [projectId, setProjectId] = useState("");

  return (
    <>
      <AssigneePicker
        companyId={companyId}
        value={assignee}
        onChange={(value) => setAssignee(value)}
      />
      <ProjectPicker
        companyId={companyId}
        value={projectId}
        onChange={setProjectId}
      />
    </>
  );
}

File and path UI

Plugin UI often needs to render a file tree, accept a folder path, or browse a project workspace. There are three different surfaces for that, and they map to different trust and data-flow boundaries. Pick the surface that matches the data the plugin actually has.

When to use the shared FileTree

Use FileTree from @paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui whenever the plugin only needs to render a serializable file/directory list and react to selection or expand/collapse. The host owns the implementation, so plugin UI inherits the board's icons, indent, focus ring, and dark-mode styling without importing host internals.

import {
  FileTree,
  type FileTreeNode,
} from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui";

const nodes: FileTreeNode[] = [
  { name: "AGENTS.md", path: "AGENTS.md", kind: "file", children: [] },
  {
    name: "wiki",
    path: "wiki",
    kind: "dir",
    children: [
      { name: "index.md", path: "wiki/index.md", kind: "file", children: [] },
    ],
  },
];

export function WikiTree() {
  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState<Set<string>>(() => new Set(["wiki"]));
  const [selected, setSelected] = useState<string | null>(null);

  return (
    <FileTree
      nodes={nodes}
      selectedFile={selected}
      expandedPaths={expanded}
      onSelectFile={(path) => setSelected(path)}
      onToggleDir={(path) =>
        setExpanded((current) => {
          const next = new Set(current);
          next.has(path) ? next.delete(path) : next.add(path);
          return next;
        })
      }
    />
  );
}

Good fits:

• LLM Wiki page navigation in packages/plugins/plugin-llm-wiki builds a FileTreeNode[] from worker query results and renders it through FileTree.
• The example plugin-file-browser-example lazily fetches a directory's children through a loadFileList action when onToggleDir fires, then merges the children into the local tree state — letting the shared component handle rendering and selection.

Boundary rules:

• Keep the prop surface serializable (nodes, expandedPaths, checkedPaths, fileBadges, fileTones). Do not pass arbitrary render functions across the plugin/host boundary in v1; the supported escape hatches are fileBadges (status pill keyed by path) and fileTones (row tone keyed by path).
• Do not import the host's FileTree.tsx or any ui/src/* module. The SDK declaration is the only supported import path for plugin UI.
• The shared FileTree is for rendering and selection. Plugin-specific editors, ingest flows, query forms, and lint runs stay inside the plugin and do not belong as FileTree props.

When to declare localFolders

When the plugin needs operator-configured filesystem roots — typically for trusted local plugins like wiki tooling — declare localFolders[] on the manifest and add the local.folders capability. The host renders a settings surface for the operator to set the absolute path, validates the path server-side (containment, symlinks, required files/directories), and exposes ctx.localFolders.readText() and ctx.localFolders.writeTextAtomic() in the worker.

export const manifest = {
  capabilities: ["local.folders"],
  localFolders: [
    {
      folderKey: "content-root",
      displayName: "Content root",
      access: "readWrite",
      requiredDirectories: ["sources", "pages"],
      requiredFiles: ["schema.md"],
    },
  ],
};

Use this when:

• The data lives outside any project workspace.
• Reads and writes need company-scoped configuration.
• The operator picks the path once in plugin settings and the worker resolves files relative to that root.

Do not use localFolders to grant the UI direct browser-side access to the filesystem — there is no such capability. The browser still goes through the worker via getData / performAction, and the worker only exposes paths it chose to expose.

When to keep worker-mediated project workspace browsing

When the data lives inside an existing project workspace, keep the browsing flow worker-mediated:

• The worker uses ctx.projects.listWorkspaces() to resolve the workspace path, then reads its filesystem with normal Node APIs.
• The plugin UI calls a getData handler for the root listing and an action for lazy children, then renders them through FileTree.
• The worker is the only side that touches the disk. The browser receives a serializable tree and never sees raw absolute paths it can replay.

The example plugin-file-browser-example is the reference for this pattern: the worker registers fileList (data) and loadFileList (action) over the same handler, and the UI uses the action for on-toggle directory loading so the shared FileTree stays the rendering surface.

Mixing surfaces

A single plugin can use more than one of these. The LLM Wiki uses localFolders for its content root, then renders the resulting page list through FileTree. The file browser example uses ctx.projects.listWorkspaces to pick a workspace and renders its on-disk tree through FileTree with lazy loading. Pick the boundary per data source, not per plugin.

Company routes

Plugins may declare a page slot with routePath to own a company route like:

/:companyPrefix/<routePath>

Rules:

• routePath must be a single lowercase slug
• it cannot collide with reserved host routes
• it cannot duplicate another installed plugin page route

Publishing guidance

• Use npm packages as the deployment artifact.
• Treat repo-local example installs as a development workflow only.
• Prefer keeping plugin UI self-contained inside the package.
• Do not rely on host design-system components or undocumented app internals.
• GitHub repository installs are not a first-class workflow today. For local development, use a checked-out local path. For production, publish to npm or a private npm-compatible registry.

Verification before handoff

At minimum:

pnpm --filter <your-plugin-package> typecheck
pnpm --filter <your-plugin-package> test
pnpm --filter <your-plugin-package> build

If you changed host integration too, also run:

pnpm -r typecheck
pnpm test:run
pnpm build

For image-supplied plugins and the persistent shell lifecycle, see Distribution plugins.