## Overview Following the successful implementation of the MVP plugin framework (PR #642), this research ticket aims to identify and prioritize the next steps for expanding the plugin ecosystem. The MVP delivered core functionality with prompt hooks, and now we need to determine which features will provide the most value for users and maintainers. ## Current State (MVP Complete) - ✅ Plugin framework foundation with lifecycle management - ✅ 2 hook points implemented (prompt pre/post fetch) - ✅ 3 example plugins (SearchReplace, DenyList, PIIFilter) - ✅ YAML-based configuration with conditional execution - ✅ Priority ordering and execution modes ## Research Areas to Investigate ## Tickets to integrate with plugin system - [Feature Request]: Tag support with editing and validation across all APIs endpoints and UI #586 ### 1. Hook System Expansion **Potential implementations:** - Tool hooks (`tool_pre_invoke` / `tool_post_invoke`) - Resource hooks (`resource_pre_fetch` / `resource_post_fetch`) - Server hooks (`server_pre_register` / `server_post_register`) - Auth hooks (`auth_pre_check` / `auth_post_check`) - Federation hooks (`federation_pre_sync` / `federation_post_sync`) - Completion hooks for LLM request/response processing - Cache hooks for cache manipulation - Stream hooks for real-time data processing - Error hooks for custom error handling **Research needed:** Which hooks would provide immediate value? Survey users for priority. ### 2. Plugin Discovery & Loading **Potential implementations:** - Auto-discovery from `plugin_dirs` - Dynamic loading without restart - Package management integration (pip/poetry) - Remote plugin loading from URLs/registries - Plugin manifest validation - Dependency resolution - Plugin isolation (separate venvs) - Lazy loading mechanisms **Research needed:** What's the preferred plugin distribution model? Local files vs package registry? ### 3. Versioning & Compatibility **Potential implementations:** - Version compatibility checks - Semantic versioning enforcement - Migration system for configs/data - Deprecation warnings - Version constraints (min/max framework) - Backward compatibility layers - Plugin upgrade paths - Rollback capability **Research needed:** How critical is backward compatibility? What's the expected update frequency? ### 4. Configuration & Validation **Potential implementations:** - JSON Schema validation - Config inheritance with environment overrides - Secret management (Vault/AWS Secrets) - Config versioning and history - Config templates for common use cases - Config linting tools - Live config reload - Backup/restore functionality - Environment-specific configs - Config encryption for sensitive data **Research needed:** What configuration patterns are most common? Integration priorities? ### 5. Security & Sandboxing **Potential implementations:** - Plugin sandboxing/isolation - Permission system (capabilities) - Resource limits (CPU/memory/network) - Plugin signing and verification - Audit logging - Threat detection - Network isolation - File system restrictions - Secure plugin marketplace **Research needed:** What's the threat model? Trust boundaries? Performance impact acceptable? ### 6. Performance & Monitoring **Potential implementations:** - Metrics collection (Prometheus/OpenTelemetry) - Performance profiling - Resource monitoring - SLA enforcement - Distributed tracing - Health check endpoints - Performance baselines - Alerting integration - Dashboard templates - Capacity planning tools **Research needed:** What metrics matter most? Existing monitoring stack to integrate with? ### 7. Plugin Communication & State **Potential implementations:** - Inter-plugin communication - Shared state store (Redis/etcd) - Event bus (pub/sub) - Plugin pipelines/chains - Data transformation flows - State persistence - Distributed state sync - Transaction support - Compensation logic - Circuit breakers **Research needed:** Are plugins independent or do they need to communicate? State requirements? ### 8. External Integration **Potential implementations:** - LLMGuard completion - OPA (Open Policy Agent) - HashiCorp Vault - Webhook plugins - gRPC plugins - GraphQL integration - Message queues (Kafka/RabbitMQ) - Database plugins - Cloud service plugins (AWS/Azure/GCP) - AI service plugins (OpenAI/Anthropic) **Research needed:** Which integrations are most requested? Build vs buy decisions? ### 9. Developer Experience **Potential implementations:** - Plugin CLI tool (`mcp-plugin`) - Scaffolding generator - Testing framework - Debugger support - Plugin simulator - Documentation generator - Type hints/stubs - IDE integration - Examples repository - Development guide **Research needed:** What's the target developer audience? Skill level assumptions? ### 10. Management & Operations **Potential implementations:** - Plugin API endpoints - Admin UI - Marketplace UI - Role-based access - Approval workflows - A/B testing - Canary deployments - Feature flags - Analytics - Cost tracking **Research needed:** Self-service vs managed? UI requirements? ### 11. Critical Gaps Not Yet Identified **Areas to explore:** - Plugin debugging and troubleshooting tools - Plugin performance benchmarking suite - Plugin quality scoring/rating system - Plugin dependency conflict resolution - Plugin resource allocation strategies - Plugin failure recovery mechanisms - Plugin update notification system - Plugin telemetry and usage analytics - Plugin security vulnerability scanning - Plugin license compliance checking - Plugin documentation standards - Plugin testing requirements - Plugin certification process - Plugin support model - Plugin monetization framework (if applicable) ## Key Questions to Answer 1. **User Priorities:** What features do users need most urgently? 2. **Use Cases:** What are the primary use cases driving plugin adoption? 3. **Performance:** What performance overhead is acceptable? 4. **Security:** What security guarantees are required? 5. **Scale:** How many plugins do we expect in a typical deployment? 6. **Distribution:** How should plugins be packaged and distributed? 7. **Compatibility:** How do we handle breaking changes? 8. **Support:** What level of support can we provide? 9. **Community:** How do we foster a plugin developer community? 10. **Governance:** Who decides which plugins are "official"? ## Success Metrics to Define - Plugin adoption rate - Plugin development velocity - Plugin reliability (error rates) - Plugin performance impact - Developer satisfaction - Time to develop new plugin - Plugin marketplace growth - Community contribution rate ## Deliverables from This Research 1. **Priority Matrix:** Rank features by value vs effort 2. **Technical Roadmap:** Phased implementation plan 3. **Architecture Decisions:** Key design choices to make 4. **Risk Assessment:** Technical and operational risks 5. **Resource Requirements:** Team/time/infrastructure needs 6. **Success Criteria:** How we measure progress ## Next Steps 1. Survey current users about plugin needs 2. Analyze similar plugin systems (Jenkins, Grafana, VSCode) 3. Create proof-of-concepts for high-risk items 4. Define plugin developer personas 5. Establish plugin governance model 6. Create technical roadmap based on findings --- **Labels:** `research`, `plugins`, `architecture`, `roadmap` **Assignee:** TBD **Milestone:** Plugin Framework Phase 2 Planning