Files
PaperClipAI/doc/plugins
Devin FoleyandPaperclip b70641f23f feat(plugins): support image catalogs and persistent application overlays (#13646)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Plugins extend the application without adding each integration to
Core.
> - A downstream image needs a way to supply prebuilt plugins.
> - Some plugin UI must stay mounted as users move between pages.
> - This change adds an image catalog and a persistent application slot.
> - Operators can upgrade or remove these plugins through their image
and configuration.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**Subsystem affected**

Plugin packaging, activation and application UI.

**Problem or motivation**

The built-in plugin catalog is fixed in Core source. Downstream images
cannot add entries through an explicit catalog. Existing page slots also
cannot preserve a small application overlay across route changes.

**Proposed solution**

Read a bounded catalog of prebuilt plugins from the image. Verify its
files before importing manifests. Use the existing managed selection and
plugin lifecycle. Add an `appShellOverlay` slot with account and company
cleanup.

**Alternatives considered**

A downstream fork adds merge work. Script injection provides no plugin
lifecycle. A separate runtime download system adds a second distribution
channel.

**Roadmap alignment**

This extends the existing plugin system. Related PR #9006 covers runtime
install replication; this change covers immutable image contents. PR
#12555 covers CLI scaffolding. Neither provides this catalog or
application slot. The maintainer requested this work directly.

## What Changed

- Validate catalog identities, confined paths, package versions and
bundle hashes before importing code.
- Apply image selection to persisted plugin installs, including removal
and rollback. Adopt the verified image path from existing npm/local
installs and bind runtime worker/UI entrypoints to verified package
declarations.
- Mount application overlays in both UI shells. Preserve route state and
clear it on account, company and onboarding changes.
- Restrict service-worker offline storage/fallback to hashed public
assets in a separate cache namespace; exclude application HTML and
extension/API data, including after worker restart.
- Document the packaging contract, trust model and rollback
requirements.

## Verification

- Passed `pnpm -r typecheck`, `pnpm build`, and `pnpm
check:token-gates`. Affected server/UI typechecks and builds, plus token
gates, passed again after rebasing onto current master; the 124 focused
tests also passed after rebase.
- Latest focused verification: 124 tests in nine files passed for
catalog/reconciliation/loader, overlay lifecycle, Layout and
service-worker policy. The broader UI/shared/SDK run passed 7,204 tests
in 690 files with canonical `TMPDIR`.
- Real disposable Core/PostgreSQL: catalog install, selection removal,
0.1.0→0.1.1→0.1.0, same-version npm/legacy-path adoption, and
preservation of disabled status passed. Added permissions entered
`upgrade_pending`, withheld UI across restart, and activated only after
explicit operator enable.
- Real Chromium: desktop/mobile layout, route draft retention and
Escape/focus passed with mocked extension responses. A persistent
browser restart retained public hashed-asset offline fallback while
refusing seeded legacy/current private entries and legacy HTML.
- Full `pnpm test:run`: 12,539 passed; 17 failed across six existing
files, stopping later phases. macOS read-only directory renames fail in
runtime-skill-cache and company-skills-service; email tests require an
absent local AgentMail fixture. Native runner/comment-redaction passed
in isolation after temporary Rust setup; agent-conversations also passed
in isolation. No unrelated source was changed to hide failures.
- After rebase, two unchanged chat timing tests failed in CI and passed
locally in isolation. Their CI shard passed on its single retry. All
other current-head CI jobs passed on the initial run; review is 5/5 with
no unresolved threads.
- No live deployment or external plugin service was used.

## Risks

- Plugins are trusted code. The catalog detects packaging errors; it
does not authenticate an untrusted image builder.
- Invalid catalogs fail startup. Images must contain the catalog and
bundles together, with stable directories.
- A host older than this contract lacks the activation guard. Disable
added plugins and remove their configuration keys before reverting to
it.
- Offline navigation now returns 503 instead of replaying cached
application HTML. Only public build assets have offline fallback.
- Rolling back an unapproved permission change retains the approval
gate; review the current manifest and explicitly enable it. A reduced
permission set cannot establish prior approval or prior enabled status.
- Plugin data migrations need their own rollback policy. This change
retains installed records and does not reverse migrations.

## Model Used

- OpenAI GPT-6 (Codex), model ID `gpt-6`, with repository inspection,
code execution and browser verification. The runtime does not expose an
exact context-window size.

## Checklist

- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass (relevant suites; broad
macOS server-run exceptions are documented above)
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [x] All Paperclip CI gates are green (fresh run on 488b3754ae; chat
shard passed its single retry)
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
(fresh review on 488b3754ae)
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge

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Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
2026-09-19 09:18:10 -07:00
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