| name | a0-debug-plugin |
| description | Diagnose and fix Agent Zero plugin problems. Covers plugin not appearing, won't enable, API endpoints not responding, frontend store errors, extension point injection, settings resolution, hooks.py issues, and log inspection. Use when a plugin is not working, not loading, crashing, missing from the list, or behaving unexpectedly. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| tags | ["plugins","debug","troubleshoot","fix","diagnose","error","broken"] |
| trigger_patterns | ["plugin not working","plugin not loading","plugin not showing","plugin broken","plugin error","plugin missing","plugin crash","debug plugin","troubleshoot plugin","fix plugin"] |
Agent Zero Plugin Debugger
Work through these checks in order. Stop at the first failure and fix it before continuing.
1. Plugin not appearing in the Plugins list
ls /a0/usr/plugins/<name>/plugin.yaml
python3 -c "import yaml; yaml.safe_load(open('/a0/usr/plugins/<name>/plugin.yaml'))"
ls /a0/usr/plugins/
Common causes:
- Missing
plugin.yaml - plugin not discovered
- Invalid YAML syntax - plugin skipped silently
- Directory name starts with
. - skipped by discovery
2. Plugin appears but won't enable
ls -la /a0/usr/plugins/<name>/.toggle-*
ls -la project/.a0proj/plugins/<name>/.toggle-* 2>/dev/null
ls -la /a0/usr/agents/default/plugins/<name>/.toggle-* 2>/dev/null
3. API endpoint not responding
- Verify the handler file is in
api/ and subclasses ApiHandler
- Route format:
POST /api/plugins/<plugin_name>/<handler_filename_without_.py>
- Check for Python import errors on startup (check Agent Zero logs)
- Verify correct import paths:
from agent import AgentContext not from helpers.context import AgentContext
python3 -m py_compile /a0/usr/plugins/<name>/api/my_handler.py
4. Frontend component not rendering / store errors
- Check browser console for Alpine.js errors
- Verify the store file is imported in HTML
<head> via <script type="module">
- Confirm Store Gate pattern is used (missing gate = undefined error if store not yet loaded)
- Verify store name in
createStore(...) matches $store.<name> in templates
5. Extension point not injecting
- Check the HTML file is in
extensions/webui/<correct_breakpoint_name>/
- Verify the breakpoint name exists in core UI (check
webui/index.html or component files for <x-extension id="...">)
- Common breakpoints:
sidebar-quick-actions-main-start, plugins-list-header-buttons, chat-input-bottom-actions-end
- Confirm the HTML file has a root element with
x-data and an x-move-* directive
For backend extension hooks:
- Named lifecycle hooks must live under
extensions/python/<point>/
- Implicit
@extensible hooks must live under extensions/python/_functions/<module>/<qualname>/<start|end>/
- The retired flattened form
extensions/python/<module>_<qualname>_<start|end>/ no longer loads
6. Settings not saving / loading wrong values
Config resolution order (highest priority first):
project/.a0proj/agents/<profile>/plugins/<name>/config.jsonproject/.a0proj/plugins/<name>/config.jsonusr/agents/<profile>/plugins/<name>/config.jsonusr/plugins/<name>/config.jsonplugins/<name>/default_config.yaml
find /a0 -path "*/plugins/<name>/config.json" 2>/dev/null
7. hooks.py install hook not running
The install() hook is called automatically by the plugin installer after placement. If it didn't run:
- Check the function is named exactly
install (not on_install or similar)
- Check for exceptions in the function (add try/except with print for debugging)
- Manually trigger in the framework runtime (not via
code_execution_tool python - that uses /opt/venv, not /opt/venv-a0):
cd /a0 && /opt/venv-a0/bin/python -c "
import asyncio
from helpers.plugins import call_plugin_hook
asyncio.run(call_plugin_hook('<plugin_name>', 'install'))
print('Done')
"
If the pre_update() hook is not running before plugin updates:
- Check the function is named exactly
pre_update
- Check for exceptions in the function
- Manually trigger it in the framework runtime the same way:
cd /a0 && /opt/venv-a0/bin/python -c "
import asyncio
from helpers.plugins import call_plugin_hook
asyncio.run(call_plugin_hook('<plugin_name>', 'pre_update'))
print('Done')
"
If the uninstall() hook is not running when the plugin is removed:
- Check the function is named exactly
uninstall (not on_uninstall or similar)
- Check for exceptions in the function
- The
uninstall() hook is called by uninstall_plugin() in helpers/plugins.py before the plugin directory is deleted. If the user removed the plugin manually (rm -rf), the hook was bypassed — always use the API or UI to uninstall.
- Manually trigger it in the framework runtime the same way:
cd /a0 && /opt/venv-a0/bin/python -c "
import asyncio
from helpers.plugins import call_plugin_hook
asyncio.run(call_plugin_hook('<plugin_name>', 'uninstall'))
print('Done')
"
8. Check Agent Zero logs
docker logs --tail 200 a0-instance
Plugin-related errors appear in the container output as Python tracebacks mentioning the plugin path.
How Plugin Discovery Works
- Agent Zero walks
usr/plugins/ then plugins/ at startup
- Any directory containing
plugin.yaml is treated as a plugin
usr/plugins/<name> takes priority over plugins/<name> when both exist (user overrides core)- Toggle state is evaluated:
.toggle-0 disables, .toggle-1 enables, no file = enabled by default
- Enabled plugins have their
extensions/, api/, tools/, etc. registered into the runtime, including both named extension points and implicit _functions/... extensible hooks
Plugins are re-scanned when:
- Agent Zero restarts
- A plugin is installed/removed via the installer
- The "Refresh" action is triggered in the Plugins UI
References
- Plugin architecture:
/a0/plugins/AGENTS.md
- Manage (install/update/uninstall): read
/a0/skills/a0-manage-plugin/SKILL.md
