| 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
- Static gate.
validate-components must pass first.
- Isolate. Create a temporary directory and point both
HOME and
ZCODE_HOME into it. Never run against the real ~/.zcode.
- Plan.
install.sh install --setup <mp> --target <tmp> --plan — read-only
staged verification; it must report a clean plan.
- Apply.
install.sh install --setup <mp> --target <tmp> --apply into the
isolated target.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
