devtest-plugin

name	devtest-plugin
description	Runs an isolated install-and-verify loop for a marketplace using temporary HOME and ZCODE_HOME, proving components flatten and load without touching live ~/.zcode. Use to behaviorally test a plugin during development, after static validation.

devtest-plugin

Prove a marketplace actually installs and its components load — in throwaway state, never against the owner's live ~/.zcode.

What ZCode does and does NOT provide (read this first)

ZCode 3.5.2 has no zcode plugin add, no plugin cache, no /plugins command, and no developer-mode hot reload. Headless activation is the installer flattening each plugin's skills/, commands/, and agents/ into ~/.zcode/{skills,commands,agents}; UI activation (Discover → +) is a separate, non-scriptable path. So this loop is install-and-inspect, not a CLI cache-buster. See nddev-builder-orientation.

Procedure

1. Static gate. validate-components must pass first.
2. Isolate. Create a temporary directory and point both HOME and ZCODE_HOME into it. Never run against the real ~/.zcode.
3. Plan. install.sh install --setup <mp> --target <tmp> --plan — read-only staged verification; it must report a clean plan.
4. Apply. install.sh install --setup <mp> --target <tmp> --apply into the isolated target.
5. Assert the flatten. Confirm each expected skill, command, and agent basename now exists exactly once under the isolated ~/.zcode/{skills,commands,agents}, and that references/ and tools/ were NOT flattened.
6. Reload to observe. Component discovery is read at startup; a running ZCode must be restarted to pick up changes. Note this rather than expecting a live reload.
7. Tear down. Remove the temporary state; the loop leaves no trace in live user state.

Rules

• Never touch live HOME or ~/.zcode; always isolated temporary state.
• Static validation (validate-components) precedes every behavioral run.
• Report exactly what installed and loaded; a static pass is not a load proof.