Add Plugin API v3.6.0 config reload support

Implement the Config Reload request/response pair from Plugin API v3.6.0
(Launcher v2.19.0), allowing the Launcher to request plugins to reload
their configuration at runtime without restarting.

Wire protocol:
- Message type 202 for both request and response
- Response includes errorType (enum) and errorMessage (string)
- Non-streaming request-response pattern

SDK changes:
- Add ConfigReloadErrorType enum with Unknown/None/Load/Validate/Save
- Add ConfigReloadRequest/ConfigReloadResponse protocol types
- Add ConfigReloadablePlugin optional interface (ReloadConfig method)
- Add ConfigReloadError type for classified error reporting
- Auto-respond with success for plugins that don't implement the interface
- Export RequestFromJSON for test access to protocol deserialization

Testing:
- Protocol serialization/deserialization tests
- Handler dispatch tests (not implemented, success, typed error,
  plain error, wrapped error)
- ConfigReloadErrorType.String() tests
- Mock ResponseWriter support for config reload

Documentation:
- Update version references (v3.5 → v3.6) across docs
- Add configuration reloading section to GUIDE.md
- Update CHANGELOG.md with feature description

Author: dmortondev

AGENTS.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## Project Overview
 
-Go SDK for building Launcher plugins that integrate job schedulers (Slurm, Kubernetes, PBS, cloud platforms, etc.) with Posit Workbench and Posit Connect. Implements Launcher Plugin API v3.5.0.
+Go SDK for building Launcher plugins that integrate job schedulers (Slurm, Kubernetes, PBS, cloud platforms, etc.) with Posit Workbench and Posit Connect. Implements Launcher Plugin API v3.6.0.
 
 **Language:** Go 1.24+
 **License:** MIT

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,17 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+- **Plugin API 3.6.0**: Config reload support. The Launcher can now request plugins to reload configuration at runtime without restarting.
+  - `ConfigReloadablePlugin` optional interface in `launcher` package — plugins implement `ReloadConfig(ctx context.Context) error` to handle reload requests
+  - `ConfigReloadError` type for classified reload failures (Load, Validate, Save)
+  - `ConfigReloadErrorType` enum in `api` package with `String()` method
+  - Plugins that do not implement `ConfigReloadablePlugin` automatically send a success response
+  - `MockResponseWriter.WriteConfigReload` and `ConfigReloadResult` in `plugintest` for testing reload implementations
+- Protocol support for config reload request/response (message type 202) in `internal/protocol`
+- Exported `protocol.RequestFromJSON` for use in handler tests
+- Unit tests for `internal/protocol` and `launcher` packages
+
 ### Changed
 - **BREAKING**: `cache.NewJobCache` no longer accepts a `dir` parameter. The SDK now defaults to in-memory caching, which aligns with how Launcher plugins are expected to work: the scheduler owns job state, and plugins populate the cache during `Bootstrap()` and keep it in sync via periodic polling.
 - **BREAKING**: Add `context.Context` as the first parameter to all non-streaming `Plugin` methods (`SubmitJob`, `GetJob`, `GetJobs`, `ControlJob`, `GetJobNetwork`, `ClusterInfo`) and extension interfaces (`Bootstrap`, `GetClusters`). Streaming methods already accepted context.

README.md

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ The Launcher Go SDK provides a complete framework for building plugins that conn
 - Conformance testing - Automated behavioral tests that verify your plugin against Posit product contracts
 - Testing utilities - Mock response writers, job builders, and assertion helpers
 - Comprehensive examples - In-memory example and scheduler design guide
-- Type-safe API - Strongly typed interfaces matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.5
+- Type-safe API - Strongly typed interfaces matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.6
 
 ## Quick start
 
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ func TestSubmitJob(t *testing.T) {
 
 ## API version
 
-This SDK implements **Launcher Plugin API v3.5.0**.
+This SDK implements **Launcher Plugin API v3.6.0**.
 
 ## Stability
 

api/types.go

@@ -835,7 +835,41 @@ type Version struct {
 
 // APIVersion is the Launcher plugin API version supported by the types defined
 // in this package.
-var APIVersion = Version{Major: 3, Minor: 5, Patch: 0}
+var APIVersion = Version{Major: 3, Minor: 6, Patch: 0}
+
+// ConfigReloadErrorType classifies config reload errors.
+type ConfigReloadErrorType int
+
+const (
+	// ReloadErrorUnknown indicates an unclassified reload error.
+	ReloadErrorUnknown ConfigReloadErrorType = -1
+	// ReloadErrorNone indicates the reload succeeded.
+	ReloadErrorNone ConfigReloadErrorType = 0
+	// ReloadErrorLoad indicates an error loading configuration files.
+	ReloadErrorLoad ConfigReloadErrorType = 1
+	// ReloadErrorValidate indicates a validation error in the configuration.
+	ReloadErrorValidate ConfigReloadErrorType = 2
+	// ReloadErrorSave indicates an error saving configuration state.
+	ReloadErrorSave ConfigReloadErrorType = 3
+)
+
+// String returns a human-readable description of the error type.
+func (e ConfigReloadErrorType) String() string {
+	switch e {
+	case ReloadErrorUnknown:
+		return "unknown error"
+	case ReloadErrorNone:
+		return "none"
+	case ReloadErrorLoad:
+		return "load error"
+	case ReloadErrorValidate:
+		return "validation error"
+	case ReloadErrorSave:
+		return "save error"
+	default:
+		return "unknown error"
+	}
+}
 
 // Parsing errors.
 var (

api/types_test.go

@@ -173,6 +173,30 @@ func TestErrCode_String(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestConfigReloadErrorType_String(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		code ConfigReloadErrorType
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"unknown", ReloadErrorUnknown, "unknown error"},
+		{"none", ReloadErrorNone, "none"},
+		{"load", ReloadErrorLoad, "load error"},
+		{"validate", ReloadErrorValidate, "validation error"},
+		{"save", ReloadErrorSave, "save error"},
+		{"invalid value", ConfigReloadErrorType(99), "unknown error"},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := tt.code.String()
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("String() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestJobID(t *testing.T) {
 	// Test that JobID is a distinct type
 	var id JobID = "test-123"

docs/API.md

@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ Container image configuration.
 
 Import path: `github.com/posit-dev/launcher-go-sdk/api`
 
-The api package contains all type definitions matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.5.
+The api package contains all type definitions matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.6.
 
 ### Type: Job
 

docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ type DefaultOptions struct { /* ... */ }
 
 #### `api` - Type Definitions
 
-Contains all types matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.5:
+Contains all types matching the Launcher Plugin API v3.6:
 
 ```go
 type Job struct { /* 30+ fields */ }

docs/GUIDE.md

@@ -977,6 +977,74 @@ func (p *MyPlugin) SyncNodes(nodes []api.Node) {
 }
 ```
 
+### Configuration reloading
+
+The Launcher can ask plugins to reload their configuration at runtime without restarting (API v3.6.0+). At minimum, plugins should reload user profiles and resource profiles. Reloading additional configuration is permitted but not required.
+
+Implement `ConfigReloadablePlugin` to support this:
+
+```go
+func (p *MyPlugin) ReloadConfig(ctx context.Context) error {
+    profiles, err := loadProfiles(p.profilePath)
+    if err != nil {
+        return &launcher.ConfigReloadError{
+            Type:    api.ReloadErrorLoad,
+            Message: fmt.Sprintf("failed to load profiles: %v", err),
+        }
+    }
+    if err := profiles.Validate(); err != nil {
+        return &launcher.ConfigReloadError{
+            Type:    api.ReloadErrorValidate,
+            Message: fmt.Sprintf("invalid profiles: %v", err),
+        }
+    }
+    p.mu.Lock()
+    p.profiles = profiles
+    p.mu.Unlock()
+    return nil
+}
+```
+
+Plugins that do not implement this interface automatically send a success response. Error types help the Launcher classify failures: `ReloadErrorLoad` for file read errors, `ReloadErrorValidate` for invalid configuration, and `ReloadErrorSave` for errors persisting state. Returning a plain `error` (instead of `*ConfigReloadError`) defaults to `ReloadErrorUnknown`.
+
+**Best practice: preserve last-known-good configuration.** When reloading file-based configuration, only replace your in-memory state after the new files have been successfully loaded and validated. This ensures that a malformed config file doesn't leave the plugin in a broken state — the previous working configuration stays active. The first-party plugins take this further by writing hidden backup copies of each profile file (e.g., `.launcher.local.profiles.conf.active`) at two points: once at startup after the initial successful load, and again after every successful reload. The startup copy seeds the backup so it exists before any reload is attempted. If your plugin uses file-based profiles, consider adopting the same pattern:
+
+```go
+func (p *MyPlugin) Bootstrap(ctx context.Context) error {
+    // ... load jobs from scheduler, etc.
+
+    // Seed last-known-good copies from the config we just booted with.
+    writeBackupCopy(p.profilePath)
+    return nil
+}
+
+func (p *MyPlugin) ReloadConfig(ctx context.Context) error {
+    // Load and validate BEFORE replacing anything.
+    newProfiles, err := loadProfiles(p.profilePath)
+    if err != nil {
+        return &launcher.ConfigReloadError{
+            Type:    api.ReloadErrorLoad,
+            Message: fmt.Sprintf("failed to load profiles: %v", err),
+        }
+    }
+    if err := newProfiles.Validate(); err != nil {
+        return &launcher.ConfigReloadError{
+            Type:    api.ReloadErrorValidate,
+            Message: fmt.Sprintf("invalid profiles: %v", err),
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Swap in the validated config.
+    p.mu.Lock()
+    p.profiles = newProfiles
+    p.mu.Unlock()
+
+    // Update the backup with the new known-good config.
+    writeBackupCopy(p.profilePath)
+    return nil
+}
+```
+
 ### User profiles
 
 System administrators may want to set default or maximum values for certain features on a per-user or per-group basis. For example, different groups of users could have different memory limits or CPU counts.

internal/protocol/rpc.go

@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ type Request interface {
 	Type() int
 }
 
-func requestFromJSON(buf []byte) (Request, error) {
+// RequestFromJSON parses a JSON-encoded request message into the appropriate
+// concrete request type.
+func RequestFromJSON(buf []byte) (Request, error) {
 	var base BaseRequest
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(buf, &base); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: %v", ErrMsgInvalid, err) //nolint:errorlint // intentionally wrapping only the sentinel error
@@ -75,6 +77,8 @@ func requestForType(rt requestType) (interface{}, error) {
 		return &MultiClusterInfoRequest{}, nil
 	case requestSetLoadBalancerNodes:
 		return &SetLoadBalancerNodesRequest{}, nil
+	case requestConfigReload:
+		return &ConfigReloadRequest{}, nil
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: %d", ErrUnknownRequestType, rt)
 	}
@@ -95,6 +99,7 @@ const (
 	requestClusterInfo
 	requestMultiClusterInfo     requestType = 17
 	requestSetLoadBalancerNodes requestType = 201
+	requestConfigReload         requestType = 202
 )
 
 // BaseRequest contains base fields shared by all request types.
@@ -207,6 +212,11 @@ type MultiClusterInfoRequest struct {
 	BaseUserRequest
 }
 
+// ConfigReloadRequest is the config reload request.
+type ConfigReloadRequest struct {
+	BaseUserRequest
+}
+
 type responseType int
 
 const (
@@ -222,6 +232,7 @@ const (
 	responseClusterInfo
 	responseMultiClusterInfo     responseType = 17
 	responseSetLoadBalancerNodes responseType = 201
+	responseConfigReload         responseType = 202
 )
 
 type responseBase struct {
@@ -440,3 +451,16 @@ func NewSetLoadBalancerNodesResponse(requestID, responseID uint64) *SetLoadBalan
 		responseSetLoadBalancerNodes, requestID, responseID,
 	}
 }
+
+// ConfigReloadResponse is the config reload response.
+type ConfigReloadResponse struct {
+	responseBase
+	ErrorType    api.ConfigReloadErrorType `json:"errorType"`
+	ErrorMessage string                    `json:"errorMessage"`
+}
+
+// NewConfigReloadResponse creates a new config reload response.
+func NewConfigReloadResponse(requestID, responseID uint64, errorType api.ConfigReloadErrorType, errorMessage string) *ConfigReloadResponse {
+	base := responseBase{responseConfigReload, requestID, responseID}
+	return &ConfigReloadResponse{responseBase: base, ErrorType: errorType, ErrorMessage: errorMessage}
+}

internal/protocol/rpc_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package protocol
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/posit-dev/launcher-go-sdk/api"
+)
+
+func TestRequestFromJSON_ConfigReload(t *testing.T) {
+	input := `{"messageType": 202, "requestId": 42, "requestUsername": "admin", "username": "testuser"}`
+
+	req, err := RequestFromJSON([]byte(input))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RequestFromJSON() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cr, ok := req.(*ConfigReloadRequest)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected *ConfigReloadRequest, got %T", req)
+	}
+
+	if cr.ID() != 42 {
+		t.Errorf("ID() = %d, want 42", cr.ID())
+	}
+	if cr.Username != "testuser" {
+		t.Errorf("Username = %q, want %q", cr.Username, "testuser")
+	}
+	if cr.ReqUsername != "admin" {
+		t.Errorf("ReqUsername = %q, want %q", cr.ReqUsername, "admin")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewConfigReloadResponse_Success(t *testing.T) {
+	resp := NewConfigReloadResponse(42, 7, api.ReloadErrorNone, "")
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(resp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("json.Marshal() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var got map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("json.Unmarshal() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if mt := int(got["messageType"].(float64)); mt != 202 {
+		t.Errorf("messageType = %d, want 202", mt)
+	}
+	if rid := uint64(got["requestId"].(float64)); rid != 42 {
+		t.Errorf("requestId = %d, want 42", rid)
+	}
+	if resID := uint64(got["responseId"].(float64)); resID != 7 {
+		t.Errorf("responseId = %d, want 7", resID)
+	}
+	if et := int(got["errorType"].(float64)); et != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("errorType = %d, want 0", et)
+	}
+	if em := got["errorMessage"].(string); em != "" {
+		t.Errorf("errorMessage = %q, want empty", em)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewConfigReloadResponse_ErrorTypes(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		errorType api.ConfigReloadErrorType
+		wantCode  int
+	}{
+		{"Unknown", api.ReloadErrorUnknown, -1},
+		{"Load", api.ReloadErrorLoad, 1},
+		{"Validate", api.ReloadErrorValidate, 2},
+		{"Save", api.ReloadErrorSave, 3},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			resp := NewConfigReloadResponse(10, 3, tt.errorType, "error msg")
+
+			data, err := json.Marshal(resp)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("json.Marshal() error = %v", err)
+			}
+
+			var got map[string]interface{}
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &got); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("json.Unmarshal() error = %v", err)
+			}
+
+			if et := int(got["errorType"].(float64)); et != tt.wantCode {
+				t.Errorf("errorType = %d, want %d", et, tt.wantCode)
+			}
+			if em := got["errorMessage"].(string); em != "error msg" {
+				t.Errorf("errorMessage = %q, want %q", em, "error msg")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}