| name | validating-plugins |
| description | The reference for what makes an ObjectCore plugin valid — the hard load-error rules (manifest shape, kebab-case, component placement) and the eval-coverage gate. Use when a plugin fails to load or validate, when reviewing a plugin before it enters the catalog, or when diagnosing which hard rule a plugin manifest breaks. (A stale or drifted marketplace.json is building-the-catalog's territory.) |
Validating plugins (the rule reference)
Validation proves a plugin loads and is gated; it is the floor the eval gate sits on. The rules below are enforced by registry-core (validateAll) and the eval harness — /validate runs them.
Hard load errors (Claude Code rejects the plugin)
name is kebab-case, required, and unique in the catalog.repository is a string, never an object.keywords is an array, never a string.- Components live at the plugin root —
commands/, agents/, skills/, hooks/. .claude-plugin/ holds only plugin.json.
- Marketplace
name is kebab-case and not on Anthropic's reserved list.
Catalog invariants (the seam)
marketplace.json is a build artifact — derived by deriveCatalog, never hand-edited. Every plugin dir maps to exactly one catalog entry and vice-versa (no stale, no duplicate, no orphan).- After changing a plugin, re-derive with
bun run build:marketplace; bun run check:catalog fails if the committed file drifts.
Gate invariants (beyond loading)
- Every catalog entry has a description (output eval) — an entry with none is invisible in
/plugin.
- Every skill has a positive activation case (coverage eval) — a skill with no case targeting it would enter the catalog ungated.
- Every activation case routes correctly (activation eval) — positives fire the intended skill; negatives, including confusability negatives, fire nothing.
Order of operations
Structural validation (does it load?) → coverage (is every skill gated?) → activation (do the skills actually fire?). A plugin is catalog-ready only when all three are green.
