| name | codealta-plugin-runtime |
| description | Use this skill when authoring, testing, enabling, disabling, or troubleshooting CodeAlta source plugins. |
CodeAlta plugin runtime
CodeAlta source plugins live under either the user root ~/.alta/plugins/<package-id>/plugin.cs or a project root <project>/.alta/plugins/<package-id>/plugin.cs. Source plugins are trusted code: discovered plugins are enabled by default, so copying one into a plugin root allows .NET SDK, NuGet/MSBuild, and plugin initialization logic to run in the CodeAlta process unless disabled by configuration.
Generated root files are CodeAlta-owned and marker-protected: Directory.Build.props, Directory.Build.targets, Directory.Packages.props, and global.json. They select the .NET 10 SDK for native file-based builds, set file-based plugins up as net10.0 libraries with EnableDynamicLoading=true, reference host CodeAlta assemblies from the running executable folder with Private=false, pin shared authoring package versions directly on generated shared PackageReference items while excluding runtime/native assets, disable central package management so #:package Package@Version directives work, and expose a deterministic CodeAltaPluginTargetPath= message for runtime output discovery.
The runtime builds enabled source packages by running dotnet build plugin.cs from each plugin package directory. CodeAlta does not pass forwarded MSBuild switches such as /logger: or /nr:false because current .NET 10 file-based builds treat those as project-build mode and try to parse plugin.cs as XML. CodeAlta lets the .NET SDK choose the file-based build output/cache location; its own manifests live under CodeAlta-owned cache state (~/.alta/cache/plugins/build/) and record generated-file hashes, source inputs, CodeAlta build identity, SDK selection, output assembly, target framework, and diagnostic summaries so up-to-date plugins can load with only a concise startup summary. CodeAlta does not generate replacement .csproj fallback projects for source plugins.
Dynamic plugins load in a collectible AssemblyLoadContext. CodeAlta public assemblies and shared authoring dependencies resolve from the default ALC; plugin-private managed and unmanaged dependencies resolve from the plugin output folder through AssemblyDependencyResolver. Unload is cooperative: the runtime removes contributions, cancels plugin lifetime work, disposes the plugin, calls Unload(), and reports diagnostics if references or background tasks keep the ALC alive.
Use /plugins, /plugin, or the command palette to inspect descriptors, source paths, README files, state, diagnostics, contribution summaries, source-change notifications, and enable/disable/rebuild/reload/clean actions. Interactive startup shows source-plugin build/activation progress in a transient Terminal.Live region using the built-in Spinner control while work is running and colored state icons per package; --plugins-wait-for-enter pauses the live region after source plugin startup finishes, shows the concise build/activation timing summary there, and continues after Enter before discarding the region. Failed source-plugin builds are still printed with source paths and full per-plugin diagnostics plus captured stdout/stderr tails are written to ~/.alta/logs/codealta.log. Use --no-plugins, --plugin-safe-mode, or CODEALTA_DISABLE_PLUGINS=1 when a source plugin breaks startup. Use --plugins-status for a headless config/discovery summary.
Samples
Copy one of the samples/* folders to ~/.alta/plugins/<sample-name>/ or <project>/.alta/plugins/<sample-name>/; it will be discovered, built, and loaded on the next startup unless disabled in TOML:
[plugins.hello-command]
enabled = false
The sample folders are intentionally small and are used by integration tests as real plugin inputs rather than unverified snippets.
