# Plugin Development Guide

StellaOps services expose restart-time plug-in hooks so operators can extend functionality (connectors, analyzers, notification channels). This guide covers common patterns when implementing plug-ins against `StellaOps.Plugin`.

## 1. Concepts

- **Manifest** – describes the plug-in assembly, supported capabilities, and minimum host version.
- **Registration** – plug-ins export DI registration classes discovered by `StellaOps.Plugin` at host startup.
- **Isolation** – plug-ins load from a dedicated directory with ordered manifests; hosts enforce allow-lists and capability checks.

## 2. Authoring Steps

1. Reference `StellaOps.Plugin` and implement `IPluginRegistration`.
2. Provide a manifest (`manifest.json`) describing assembly name, version, and capabilities.
3. Add unit tests covering registration and integration (use `StellaOps.Plugin.Tests` helpers).
4. Package plug-in binaries under `plugins/<host>/` with checksum manifest for offline kits.

## 3. Security & Determinism

- Avoid global state or non-deterministic behaviour; plug-ins must be restart-safe.
- Do not perform network access unless explicitly allowed by host configuration.
- Use dependency injection to receive configuration and shared services.

## 4. Resources

- `src/__Libraries/StellaOps.Plugin`
- `docs/modules/platform/architecture-overview.md`
- Host-specific docs (e.g., `docs/modules/scanner/architecture.md`, `docs/modules/notify/architecture.md`)

## 5. Testing & Deployment

- Run host integration tests to ensure plug-in loads correctly.
- Provide sample configuration snippets for Helm/Compose/Offline kits.
- Document plug-in versioning and compatibility requirements.