Update dependency lucide-static to v1.64.0

Release-Bump: minor

.dockerignore

@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 .git
-# Load-bearing: a stray copy would bake in at /app/node_modules and shadow /node_modules.
+# Load-bearing both ways: a stray copy would bake in at /app/node_modules and shadow /node_modules,
+# and matching only the root one is what lets a baked plugin keep its own deps. Never `**/node_modules`.
 node_modules
 npm-debug.log
 *.log
 .DS_Store
 
+# A plugin's .npmrc is where a private-registry token would sit — never in a shipped image.
+plugins/**/.npmrc
+
 e2e-tests/artifacts
 # Orchestration, not test code — keep them out of the runner image (COPY e2e-tests/ ./)
 e2e-tests/Dockerfile

.gitea/workflows/registry-cleanup.yml

@@ -19,4 +19,4 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo \
             -e REGISTRY_TOKEN -e REGISTRY_USER -e REPO_TOKEN -e REPOSITORY -e SERVER_URL \
-            node:24.19.0-alpine3.24 node registry-cleanup/cleanup.ts
+            node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 node registry-cleanup/cleanup.ts

.gitea/workflows/release.yml

@@ -2,12 +2,27 @@ name: Release
 on:
   push:
     tags: ['v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+']
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      overview_version:
+        description: 'Released version to republish the overview for, without the leading v (e.g. 0.1.0)'
+        required: true
 
 jobs:
   retag-image:
+    if: github.event_name == 'push'
     runs-on: docker-host
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7.0.1
+      # Before anything is published: the contract version IS the release version, so a tag that
+      # disagrees would ship a host misreporting itself to every plugin's compatibility check.
+      - name: Refuse a tag that disagrees with HOST_API_VERSION
+        env:
+          GIT_TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 \
+            node release-tooling/contract-version.ts "$GIT_TAG" src/plugin-host/plugin.ts
       - name: Promote the commit-hash image to semver + latest
         env:
           GIT_TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
@@ -15,34 +30,77 @@ jobs:
           REGISTRY_USER: ${{ vars.DOCKER_REGISTRY_USER }}
           REPO: gitea.larvit.se/${{ github.repository }}
         run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
           COMMIT=$(git rev-parse 'HEAD^{commit}')
           VERSION=${GIT_TAG#v}
           printf '%s' "$REGISTRY_TOKEN" | docker login gitea.larvit.se -u "$REGISTRY_USER" --password-stdin
           docker pull "$REPO:$COMMIT" \
             || { echo "No image $REPO:$COMMIT - release tags must point at a commit whose branch passed the CI gate"; exit 1; }
-          for TAG in "$VERSION" "${VERSION%.*}" "${VERSION%%.*}" latest; do
+          # No bare-major tag while major is 0: a 0.x minor is a contract break, so `:0` would move
+          # across one and abort boot for everything tracking it. `:0.1` only moves across patches.
+          TAGS="$VERSION ${VERSION%.*} latest"
+          if [ "${VERSION%%.*}" != "0" ]; then TAGS="$TAGS ${VERSION%%.*}"; fi
+          for TAG in $TAGS; do
             docker tag "$REPO:$COMMIT" "$REPO:$TAG"
             docker push "$REPO:$TAG"
           done
       - name: Sync the release tags to Docker Hub
         env:
-          DOCKERHUB_REPO: docker.io/${{ github.repository }}
+          DOCKERHUB_IMAGE: docker.io/${{ github.repository }}
           DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}
           DOCKERHUB_USER: ${{ vars.DOCKERHUB_USER }}
           GIT_TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
           REPO: gitea.larvit.se/${{ github.repository }}
         run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
           COMMIT=$(git rev-parse 'HEAD^{commit}')
           VERSION=${GIT_TAG#v}
           [ -n "$DOCKERHUB_USER" ] && [ -n "$DOCKERHUB_TOKEN" ] \
             || { echo "Set the DOCKERHUB_USER variable + DOCKERHUB_TOKEN secret (README -> CI/CD)"; exit 1; }
           printf '%s' "$DOCKERHUB_TOKEN" | docker login docker.io -u "$DOCKERHUB_USER" --password-stdin
-          for TAG in "$VERSION" "${VERSION%.*}" "${VERSION%%.*}" latest; do
-            docker tag "$REPO:$COMMIT" "$DOCKERHUB_REPO:$TAG"
-            docker push "$DOCKERHUB_REPO:$TAG"
+          TAGS="$VERSION ${VERSION%.*} latest"
+          if [ "${VERSION%%.*}" != "0" ]; then TAGS="$TAGS ${VERSION%%.*}"; fi
+          for TAG in $TAGS; do
+            docker tag "$REPO:$COMMIT" "$DOCKERHUB_IMAGE:$TAG"
+            docker push "$DOCKERHUB_IMAGE:$TAG"
           done
       - name: Log out of the registries
         if: always()
         run: |
-          docker logout gitea.larvit.se
-          docker logout docker.io
+          set -uo pipefail
+          # Cleanup, and the runner's Docker config is shared (AGENTS.md) — a lost race here must not
+          # fail a release that published, nor skip the overview job that follows.
+          docker logout gitea.larvit.se || true
+          docker logout docker.io || true
+
+  publish-overview:
+    if: always() && (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || needs.retag-image.result == 'success')
+    needs: [retag-image]
+    runs-on: docker-host
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7.0.1
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+      # Publish the named release's own tree, so the page never pairs one Plainpages tag with another
+      # release's sidecar pins. A version that was never released fails here.
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7.0.1
+        if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+        with:
+          ref: refs/tags/v${{ inputs.overview_version }}
+      - name: Publish the Docker Hub overview
+        env:
+          DOCKERHUB_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          DOCKERHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}
+          DOCKERHUB_USER: ${{ vars.DOCKERHUB_USER }}
+          GIT_TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+          INPUT_VERSION: ${{ inputs.overview_version }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          VERSION=${INPUT_VERSION:-${GIT_TAG#v}}
+          VERSION=${VERSION#v}
+          # An empty dispatch input falls back to the branch name, so gate this like a tag.
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 \
+            node release-tooling/contract-version.ts "$VERSION" src/plugin-host/plugin.ts
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo \
+            -e DOCKERHUB_REPO -e DOCKERHUB_TOKEN -e DOCKERHUB_USER \
+            node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 \
+            node release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.ts "$VERSION"

.gitea/workflows/renovate.yml

@@ -21,21 +21,19 @@ jobs:
             -e RENOVATE_PLATFORM=gitea \
             -e RENOVATE_REPOSITORIES=${{ github.repository }} \
             -e RENOVATE_TOKEN \
-            renovate/renovate:44.32.6
+            renovate/renovate:44.186.6
 
   # After the renovate job, cut ONE tag covering the renovate-bot commits merged to main since the
   # last tag (batch per run). Targets origin/main — the real post-merge tip; the checkout SHA is the
   # trigger-time tip and lags the merges this run made. Skips when main's tip isn't a Renovate commit
-  # (a human owns that release) or nothing new merged. ff-only merges keep the renovate commit's
+  # (a human owns that release), nothing new merged, or nothing that merged carried a `Release-Bump:`
+  # trailer — a release nobody can observe is noise. ff-only merges keep the renovate commit's
   # authorship on the tip, so the author checks are reliable. Level = highest `Release-Bump:` trailer;
-  # pre-1.0 shifts down (auto-release/next-version.ts). Tag-only — release.yml promotes the
+  # pre-1.0 shifts down (release-tooling/next-version.ts). Tag-only — release.yml promotes the
   # already-built image; pushed with renovate-bot's PAT so release.yml fires (the built-in token won't).
-  # Off until the Actions variable AUTO_RELEASE is set to 'true': Plainpages is pre-announcement and
-  # deliberately carries no tags, so an automated bump would only invent a version nobody consumes.
   auto-release:
     runs-on: docker-host
     needs: renovate
-    if: vars.AUTO_RELEASE == 'true'
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7.0.1
         with:
@@ -57,8 +55,15 @@ jobs:
           fi
           BUMPS=$(git log "${LATEST}..origin/main" --author='renovate@larvit.se' \
                   --format='%(trailers:key=Release-Bump,valueonly)' | { grep -vx '' || true; })
-          NEXT=$(docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo node:24.19.0-alpine3.24 \
-                 node auto-release/next-version.ts "$LATEST" $BUMPS)
+          if [ -z "$BUMPS" ]; then
+            echo "Renovate commits since ${LATEST}, but none carry Release-Bump — nothing reached a running Plainpages; skipping"; exit 0
+          fi
+          NEXT=$(docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 \
+                 node release-tooling/next-version.ts "$LATEST" $BUMPS)
+          # Read the constant off origin/main, not the checkout, which lags the merges this run made.
+          git show origin/main:src/plugin-host/plugin.ts \
+            | docker run -i --rm -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo node:24.22.2-alpine3.24 \
+                     node release-tooling/contract-version.ts "$NEXT" -
           echo "Releasing $LATEST -> $NEXT"
           git tag "$NEXT" origin/main
           git push "https://renovate-bot:${RENOVATE_TOKEN}@gitea.larvit.se/${REPO}.git" "$NEXT"

AGENTS.md

@@ -36,11 +36,22 @@ branch, create a PR and merge it when the CI/CD turns green.
 ## Project priorities (do not erode)
 
 1. **Simplicity** — prefer the solution that is easiest to understand, smallest, and most readable.
-2. **Few dependencies** — runtime deps stay minimal (today `ejs`, `lucide-static`, `@larvit/log`).
-   Prefer the Node standard library; justify any new dependency; do not add frameworks. The app is
-   **stateless — no database**. Auth/identity/OAuth are **Ory sidecar services** reached over their
-   REST APIs with built-in `fetch` — no SDK. New capabilities ship as **plugin folders** under
-   `plugins/` that fetch their data from upstream services, not as core code.
+   **A page is a document**: it scrolls, and the chrome scrolls with it. Nothing may bound the
+   viewport to hold content still — no `height: 100dvh` frame, no `overflow: hidden` on `body`, no
+   `position: sticky` header. Each such box buys an app-like look with CSS the next reader has to
+   reverse-engineer, and is one more thing to undo before the content under it can be reached.
+   Overlays are not this: the skip link, the mobile off-canvas nav and its scrim sit *above* the
+   document rather than holding it still, and have no other spelling — the document keeps scrolling
+   behind the open nav, accepted rather than overlooked. Only the document scroller gets keyboard
+   paging unconditionally and back/forward scroll restoration, and a page a box clips fails silently:
+   nothing in a test or a console says content is unreachable below the fold.
+2. **Few dependencies** — runtime deps stay minimal (today `ejs`, `lucide-static`, `@larvit/log`,
+   `postgres`). Prefer the Node standard library; justify any new dependency; do not add frameworks.
+   The **host is stateless — it owns no schema and stores nothing of its own**; a plugin may own a
+   Postgres database, which the host provisions but never reads or writes inside. Auth/identity/OAuth are
+   **Ory sidecar services** reached over their REST APIs with built-in `fetch` — no SDK. New
+   capabilities ship as **plugin folders** under `plugins/` that get their data from an upstream
+   service or their own database, not as core code.
 3. **Strict TypeScript** — `tsconfig.json` is strict (incl. `noUncheckedIndexedAccess`,
    `exactOptionalPropertyTypes`, `verbatimModuleSyntax`). Keep it that way. Prefer exact types;
    limit nullable and multi-option types.
@@ -67,20 +78,73 @@ Revisit only if the stated reason stops holding.
   with `server.ts`/`config.ts`/`logger.ts` and the topology-guard `*.test.ts` at the root; tests are
   co-located. Add a new module to the folder owning its concern. The core ships **no domain
   screens** — even the admin GUI is a drop-in plugin (`examples/plugins/admin/`).
-- **Plugins and config import the host only via package.json `imports`** — `#plugin-api` →
-  `src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts`, `#menu-config` → `src/ui/menu-config.ts`, never a relative
-  `../../src/*` path. These two barrels are the whole contract surface; don't "fix" a `#`-import
-  back to a relative path. Two consequences:
-  - `#plugin-api` re-exports the Ory client types (`KratosAdmin`/`KetoClient`/`HydraAdmin` + their
+- **Plugins and config import the host only through a barrel** — `@plainpages/plugin-api` →
+  `plugin-api/index.ts` → `src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts`, `#menu-config` → `src/ui/menu-config.ts`,
+  never a relative `../../src/*` path. These two barrels are the whole contract surface; don't "fix"
+  either back to a relative path. Three consequences:
+  - `@plainpages/plugin-api` re-exports the Ory client types (`KratosAdmin`/`KetoClient`/`HydraAdmin` + their
     DTOs and error classes), so those shapes are **contract-visible** — changing them needs a major
     `apiVersion` bump, not a free refactor.
-  - **A plugin/config folder must stay a plain folder — no `package.json` of its own**, which would
-    become its own scope and stop `#`-specifiers resolving. A plugin kept in its own repo therefore
-    typechecks against the barrel only when mounted under the host tree (or with a vendored stub).
+  - **The barrel is a package, not a `#`-import, so a plugin folder may carry its own
+    `package.json`** and depend on npm packages (README → Plugin dependencies). The Dockerfile links
+    it into `/node_modules`, above every plugin scope. Never let a copy reach a plugin's own
+    `node_modules`: two instances of the barrel break `instanceof` across the boundary, which
+    `plugin-api.test.ts` guards by asserting both paths reach one module.
+  - **Plugin storage hands over credentials, not a client** (README → Plugin storage). The host takes
+  `postgres` to run the provisioning DDL, and `storage-provisioning.ts` is the only module importing
+  it — `storage.ts` beside it stays pure so `web` never loads a driver (`src/postgres.test.ts` guards
+  both halves, because one value imported from the wrong module breaks it invisibly). It is never
+  re-exported through the barrel, so no driver shape enters the contract. Three properties hold the design together, so
+  don't trade one away in isolation: passwords are `HMAC-SHA256(PLUGIN_DB_SECRET, id)` rather than
+  stored, which is what keeps the host stateless — whoever holds that secret holds every plugin
+  database, so it ranks with the DB password itself; the provisioning DSN reaches `bootstrap` only
+  (`src/compose.test.ts` guards the split); and provisioning never drops anything, so uninstalling a
+  plugin cannot destroy data — boot logs the orphans instead. Because the host's copy sits in the
+  ambient `/node_modules`, a plugin can `import "postgres"` without declaring it — incidental, not a
+  packaging promise, and a plugin must still depend on its own driver.
+  - **Plugin settings are declared, not discovered** (README → Plugin settings). `settings.ts` is pure and
+  takes the env as an argument, so the whole matrix unit-tests without a stack. Four rules carry the
+  design: the prefix is `PLUGIN_SETTING_`, never bare `PLUGIN_`, because a plugin id `db` with key
+  `url` would otherwise name the host's own `PLUGIN_DB_URL`; keys are camelCase so the
+  `camelCase → SNAKE_CASE` mapping is total and no two keys collide, with the residual cross-plugin
+  collision caught by `findConflicts`; `required` and `default` are mutually exclusive, which is what
+  lets `SettingsOf` type a declared key as present rather than `T | undefined`, so no plugin author
+  casts; and a secret's value reaches the plugin but never a log, an error or `ctx.declaredSettings`
+  — not even as a mask or a length. An author mistake is refused at discovery, a bad operator value
+  refuses the boot, and a stray `PLUGIN_SETTING_` variable only warns (the orphan-database precedent).
+- **The trust boundary is the `web` process, not the plugin.** Per-plugin databases and roles bound
+  *accidents*, not hostile plugins: `PLUGIN_DB_SECRET` is in `web`'s environment during `onBoot`, and
+  a plugin already holds `ctx.system`'s Ory admin clients — so cross-plugin DB isolation is
+  containment, and README says so rather than implying a sandbox. Consistent with priority #7
+  (crash-isolation is a non-goal). `server.ts` still deletes the secret from `process.env` right
+  after `loadConfig`, which is before discovery imports any plugin module — the ordering is the whole
+  point, so move it earlier if anything, **never later**. **Valid while plugins are
+  operator-installed code, not third-party uploads.**
+- **`ory/postgres/init/init.sql` is the only home for the Ory databases' ACL** — don't re-assert the
+  `REVOKE CONNECT` from `bootstrap`. `REVOKE` only *warns* when the caller doesn't own the database,
+  so under the least-privilege provisioning account the README recommends it would report success
+  while changing nothing, and it hard-fails whenever `PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL` names a server with no
+  `kratos`. It runs only on **first init**, so a revoke added to it later never reaches a volume that
+  already exists — `docker compose down -v` is the dev remedy, a deployed install needs a migration.
+- **`bootstrap.ts` stays under `src/auth/`** even though it now provisions plugin databases as well
+  as seeding Ory. It is the one-shot service's entrypoint, not an auth module; moving it to
+  `src/bootstrap.ts` would edit `compose.yml`, five e2e compose files and `src/compose.test.ts` for a
+  rename. Reconsider when a third seeding concern lands.
+- **`BootContext.storage` keeps all six credential fields, and there is no `onShutdown` hook.** Adding
+  to the context costs a minor bump and removing one a major, so the shape errs small elsewhere. Pools
+  handed to a plugin are reaped on process exit — revisit if a plugin ever needs an orderly drain.
+- **`config/` is still a plain dir — no `package.json` of its own**, or `#menu-config` resolves
+    against that instead and boot fails loud. An operator's menu override has no use for
+    dependencies; if that changes, it needs the same package treatment.
+- **A plugin `package.json` without `"type": "module"` is refused, not warned.** Allowing it costs a
+  warning and a re-parse per file, not a break — Node detects module syntax, so even a `.js` helper
+  loads — and an operator on a read-only third-party mount cannot apply the remedy. Refused anyway
+  because the direction is safe: refuse→warn relaxes freely, warn→refuse breaks installed plugins.
+  **Valid while nothing is installed in the wild.**
 - **`examples/` mirrors the drop-in mount dirs** — `examples/plugins/<id>/` copies to
   `plugins/<id>/`, `examples/config/menu.ts` to `config/menu.ts`. Both mirrors are in
-  `tsconfig.include` and resolve the host via `#`-imports, so each typechecks in place *and* copies
-  across unchanged. Never commit real plugins/config into the root mount dirs — they ship empty.
+  `tsconfig.include` and resolve the host through the barrels, so each typechecks in place *and*
+  copies across unchanged. Never commit real plugins/config into the root mount dirs — they ship empty.
 - **`ctx.chrome` is lazily memoized — do not make it unconditional** or move it into the base request
   context. It protects the I/O-free hot path on the public, bot-hit landing (`/`).
 - **A plugin-owned render always runs on that plugin's context.** The landing slots (`home`,
@@ -123,10 +187,26 @@ Revisit only if the stated reason stops holding.
     with the e2e stacks, which bind individual plugins *inside* `/app/plugins` (a nested mount into a
     read-only parent is EROFS and the container never starts). Valid while bootstrap is the only
     writer of grants.
-  - **`actionForMethod` is plugin-local and must not migrate into `#plugin-api`.** Inside the admin
+  - **`actionForMethod` is plugin-local and must not migrate into `@plainpages/plugin-api`.** Inside the admin
     example it keeps the route table and the in-handler guard deriving from one function, so 29 routes
     × 2 gate sites cannot drift. Generalised, it would make authorization a function of the transport
     verb — a route table must answer "what does this need?" on its own.
+- **A gate is one of three, named exactly once, and `session` is a first-class one.** A route or nav
+  node names exactly one of `public`, `session`, `permission` — discovery refuses none, two, and a
+  flag spelled anything but `true`, so a forgotten gate fails the boot rather than publishing a page.
+  `src/auth/gate.ts` is the one home of the rule the plugin router, the host's own route table and
+  the menu all read. Exactly-one-gate is a discovery-time rule on manifests, not a runtime
+  invariant: `allows({}, user)` stays open **by design**, because the central override's `groups`
+  builds header nodes that carry no gate. Making `allows` fail closed would hide every
+  operator-grouped section. `session` exists because a plugin whose data is
+  the visitor's own — their upstream account, their own tokens — has no distinction a permission could
+  name; the alternative, granting every newly registered user a permission, couples the identity
+  lifecycle to a Keto write that nothing retries when it fails. A page scoped to "mine" joins on
+  `ctx.user.id`, never the email — an address is user-changeable and can be reassigned to someone
+  who would then inherit the previous holder's rows.
+- **The reference plugin's two shift pages duplicate a view model and markup on purpose.** An example
+  is read far more often than it is changed, and each page reads top to bottom on its own. **Valid
+  while `examples/plugins/scheduling` stays a teaching artifact rather than a maintained product.**
 - **A `:read`-only holder must never be shown a write affordance.** The list/detail models carry
   `canWrite` and the views drop create/save/delete/add/remove; the permission picker still renders,
   disabled, because *seeing* who holds what is the point of `:read`. A **write-intent GET** (a create
@@ -199,13 +279,20 @@ Revisit only if the stated reason stops holding.
   open-state style and the old-browser fallback both read; the partial **requires a caller-named
   `id`** and fails loud without one, since that is the `popovertarget` idref (never generate one —
   nondeterministic HTML forecloses the caching decision); and **neither `aria-expanded` nor
-  `aria-haspopup` is written**, because a zero-JS invoker cannot keep the first truthful and the
-  second would promise `role="menu"` semantics these panels don't implement. `<details>` stays where
+  `aria-haspopup` is written**: every engine maintains the first itself on a declarative
+  `popovertarget` invoker, so a hand-written one replaces a live state with a static lie, and the
+  second would promise `role="menu"` semantics these panels don't implement. **That guarantee is the
+  declarative attribute's alone** — open a panel from script and no engine applies it, so
+  "enhancing" one of these triggers is what would cost it its accessibility. `<details>` stays where
   it means disclosure rather than popup: the nav tree. `shell.ejs` hand-rolls the same block for the
   profile menu (its trigger composes escaped user values and its one item is a CSRF POST form) — keep
   the two in step.
+- **One scroller, the document** (priority 1). `.app` is `min-height: 100dvh`. `.nav`'s
+  `overflow-y: auto` and `.side-footer`'s `flex: 0 0 auto` are not leftovers of a bounded frame:
+  they are what makes the off-canvas panel usable with a long tree. `#nav-toggle` is `position: fixed` —
+  a label click focuses it, and a browser scrolls a focused element into view.
 - **`ICON_NAMES` (`src/ui/icons.ts`) is a host-owned registry, not a frozen plugin contract**, so it
-  is deliberately not re-exported from `#plugin-api`. The palette may narrow when the last reference
+  is deliberately not re-exported from `@plainpages/plugin-api`. The palette may narrow when the last reference
   to an id goes, and a plugin needing one gets it re-registered in the same change. Accepted cost: an
   unknown sprite id renders blank instead of failing loud (the `every icon <use> resolves` e2e test
   catches anything reaching the nav).
@@ -242,31 +329,23 @@ Revisit only if the stated reason stops holding.
   console message only appears in the engine that renders the page (`ORY_FREE` in
   `e2e-tests/playwright.config.ts`). The rest write users, groups and sessions to one shared backend,
   so widening them means a stack per engine.
-- **The docs-only CI skip is `*.md` anywhere in the tree, not just the root** — no test, build step or
-  workflow reads a markdown file. Both git channels in `ci.sh`'s `docs_only()` pass `--no-renames`:
-  rename detection names only the destination, so `git mv src/app.ts notes.md` would otherwise read as
-  docs and skip the gate over a source file that was gone. `src/ci-gate.test.ts` locks the flags as a
-  *text* guard — the test image ships neither `git` nor `bash`. Revisit if a `.md` ever becomes
-  load-bearing.
+- **The docs-only CI skip is `*.md` anywhere in the tree, not just the root.** Both git channels in
+  `ci.sh`'s `docs_only()` pass `--no-renames`: rename detection names only the destination, so
+  `git mv src/app.ts notes.md` would otherwise read as docs and skip the gate over a source file that
+  was gone. `src/ci-gate.test.ts` locks the flags as a
+  *text* guard — the test image ships neither `git` nor `bash`. This is why the Docker Hub overview is
+  `release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl` and not a `.md`: a release reads it and a unit test
+  guards it, so giving it a `.md` name would let a broken `{{VERSION}}` merge with its own guard
+  skipped. `README.md` is the one markdown a test reads — `release-tooling/contract-version.test.ts`
+  checks its `apiVersion` samples — and a README-only change skips that check; accepted, because
+  those samples are illustrative and the copies that matter (`examples/`, `views/`, the template) are
+  gated. **Valid while no markdown file is rendered or executed.**
 - **CI docker logins share the runner host's Docker config.** The act_runner is host-mode, so
   `docker login`/`logout` in the workflows mutate one shared `~/.docker/config.json`: concurrent jobs
   can race (one job's logout can 401 another's push — recover by re-running), and tokens sit in that
   file between login and logout. Same class: concurrent runs share the workspace dir, so ci.sh's
   web-image build races another run's container creation on the `<project>-web` tag. Accepted for a
   single-maintainer cadence; serialize with a workflow `concurrency` group if it ever bites.
-- **Plainpages is pre-announcement: no tags, no releases.** `auto-release` is gated behind the
-  `AUTO_RELEASE` Actions variable (unset ⇒ skipped, the fail-safe direction on every unknown-`vars`
-  path) — a version only communicates to consumers and there are none. Two couplings:
-  `registry-cleanup` keeps a hash image only while its commit is a branch head *or* release-tagged, so
-  with zero tags a hand-cut tag must sit on `main`'s tip; and `mirror.yml` pushes tags with `--prune`
-  (its `fetch-tags: true` is load-bearing), so a tag or Release created on GitHub is swept away and
-  releases are cut on Gitea only. Valid until the maintainer says Plainpages is ready to show people.
-- **A stricter manifest rule breaks already-copied plugins**, and while `HOST_API_VERSION` is frozen
-  the failure names a symptom rather than the cause — `checkApiVersion` would refuse a stale plugin by
-  *version*, but only once the freeze lifts. Until then a stricter rule ships with a README →
-  Upgrading entry and a re-copy hint in the discovery error. Fail-loud stays right either way: the
-  alternative is a route gating on a name nobody can be granted, i.e. a permanent silent 403.
-  **Valid while `HOST_API_VERSION` stays frozen.**
 
 ## Docker only — no host tooling
 
@@ -315,14 +394,34 @@ one-time setup. A file-map or table row gets a clause, not a paragraph.
 - Pin all dependencies and Docker images to exact, human-readable **semantic versions** — never
   ranges (`^`, `~`) and never digests. npm deps via `.npmrc` (`save-exact=true`) + `npm ci`; images
   by tag.
-- **`HOST_API_VERSION` is frozen at 1.0.0 until the first external install**, even for additive
-  contract changes. With no third-party plugin in the wild a bump can only produce noise. The
-  promotion trigger is the first external plugin — from then on follow the versioning table in
-  README → Contract versioning. **The frozen surface includes `views/partials/*.ejs`**: the view
-  resolver makes every core partial an `include()` root for a plugin's views, so their option names
-  and emitted markup are author-visible. Know the hole that leaves — discovery fails loud on a bad
-  `apiVersion`, but `include("menu", { open: true })` silently ignores a dropped option. Promotion
-  must cover the partial vocabulary too.
+- **Touching dependencies means revisiting `renovate.json`.** `Release-Bump` is an *allowlist*: its
+  rules name exactly what carries the trailer, so a dependency outside them never escalates the
+  release version and nothing fails to say so. A new manifest, compose file, custom manager or dep
+  type is a decision: can it reach a running Plainpages? If yes it needs a rule; if no, record nothing
+  and let it ride the next patch.
+- **`HOST_API_VERSION` *is* the release version.** Its `major.minor` must equal the release tag's, and
+  both release paths refuse a tag that disagrees (`release-tooling/contract-version.ts`). The patch
+  digit may lag on purpose: `checkApiVersion`
+  ignores patch, and auto-release cuts patch releases with no commit to bump a constant in. So a
+  dependency update big enough to force a **minor** is plugin-visible by definition — `auto-release`
+  stops rather than tagging, and the fix is to bump `HOST_API_VERSION` to that `X.Y.0` in a PR, merge
+  it, then tag. Never bump it to "catch up" with a patch release. **The contract surface
+  includes `views/partials/*.ejs`** — the view resolver makes every core partial an `include()` root
+  for a plugin's views, so their option names and emitted markup are author-visible. Know the hole
+  that leaves: discovery fails loud on a bad `apiVersion`, but `include("menu", { open: true })`
+  silently ignores a dropped option, so the partial vocabulary is a surface the version check cannot
+  police for you.
+- **The contract surface also includes the packaging promises** (README → Plugin dependencies): the
+  barrel is ambient at `/node_modules` with nothing for a plugin to declare, `"type": "module"` is
+  mandatory, and the host neither upgrades nor dedupes a plugin's dependencies. Same hole as the
+  partials — move the publish point, rename the package or start hoisting and every installed plugin
+  breaks with no version signal. Note the promise is deliberately *not* "your deps are yours alone":
+  build-time dedupe for baked images stays open, module-instance sharing stays unpromised.
+- **Publishing `@plainpages/plugin-api` to a registry is deferred, not rejected.** Today it is
+  `private` and shaped as a shim — `index.ts` re-exports `../src/…`, so `npm pack` would ship a
+  broken tree. The trigger is the first plugin author outside this repo — the first who cannot
+  typecheck against a mounted host tree. Whoever does it must first make the artifact self-contained
+  (types-only `.d.ts`, or move the barrel into `plugin-api/`).
 - A plugin's `apiVersion` is a **hand-written literal** semver — the host version it was built
   against — bumped by hand on rebuild, **never** the host's `HOST_API_VERSION` constant. Importing
   the constant makes every plugin always equal the host, so `checkApiVersion` can never fire.
@@ -348,9 +447,12 @@ one-time setup. A file-map or table row gets a clause, not a paragraph.
   same rule in their own language. An unmapped Kratos id renders Kratos' own wording — map the id when
   it matters. **Held by the author, never by a test:** slightly different wording is often the right
   call, and a build-failing check takes that judgment away.
-- Use well formed, standard compliant, rich URIs. Prefer state in the URL over POSTing it, for
-  example on list pages with filters and pagination. Do `ids=x&ids=y`, not `ids[]=x&ids[]=y` and not
-  `ids=x,y`.
+- Use well formed, standard compliant, rich URIs. **State lives in the URL or on the server, never in
+  a cookie.** Prefer state in the URL over POSTing it, for example on list pages with filters and
+  pagination. A message for the page a redirect lands on rides its query string — `info-msg`,
+  `warn-msg`, `error-msg` — since a fragment never reaches the server. A cookie carries only what
+  must be bound to the browser: the session (`plainpages_jwt`) and the CSRF token (`plainpages_csrf`).
+  Do `ids=x&ids=y`, not `ids[]=x&ids[]=y` and not `ids=x,y`.
 
 ## Comments
 

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Changelog
+
+The release version **is** the plugin contract version (`HOST_API_VERSION`), so a minor is a
+contract break: a plugin's `apiVersion` must match the host's `major.minor` or discovery refuses it
+at boot. Entries start at 0.3.0.
+
+## 0.4.0
+
+**Breaking.** Set `apiVersion: "0.4.0"`. The app shell no longer bounds the content column, so a page
+that relied on filling it scrolls the document instead.
+
+### The document scrolls, and the chrome scrolls with it
+
+`.app` was a `100dvh` box with `overflow: hidden`, so a page was only reachable below the fold if its
+own wrapper was a flex child with `overflow-y: auto`. `.table-wrap` and `.shell-auth` were; nothing
+else was, and a long page in `.form-page` clipped everything past the window in every engine.
+
+Now the shell is `min-height: 100dvh` and nothing bounds the viewport. The sidebar and topbar scroll
+with the page, and keyboard paging, back/forward scroll restoration and find-in-page work without a
+page doing anything.
+
+The sticky `thead` on `data-table` goes with it: a header only sticks to a scrollport that moves, and
+there is no longer one. A plugin that wants a full-height pane owns that in its own stylesheet; the
+shell offers no opt-out, per the simplicity priority in `AGENTS.md`.
+
+### Upgrading a plugin
+
+1. Set `apiVersion: "0.4.0"`.
+2. A page that scrolled the whole window needs no change — it now scrolls the document.
+3. A page holding a region that filled the content column (`flex: 1 1 auto; min-height: 0` with its
+   own `overflow`) no longer gets a bounded column to fill, so that region grows and the page scrolls.
+   Either let it, or give the region its own height in the plugin's stylesheet.
+4. A `data-table` no longer scrolls its rows in a bounded region: the page scrolls, and the header
+   scrolls with it.
+
+The sidebar stretches the whole document, so on a long page its footer — theme, language, profile and
+**Sign out** — sits at the end of that page rather than the bottom of the screen.
+
+## 0.3.0
+
+**Breaking.** Set `apiVersion: "0.3.0"`, and name a gate on every route and nav node.
+
+### A session is a gate of its own
+
+`session: true` takes any signed-in user, with no grant to hold — for a page whose data is the
+visitor's own (their upstream account, their own tokens), where there is no distinction a permission
+could name. An anonymous visitor is bounced to `/login` with the page as `return_to`, exactly as a
+permission gate does.
+
+Every route and nav node now names **exactly one** of `public: true`, `session: true` or
+`permission: "<resource>:<action>"`, and a gate is spelled `true`:
+
+- Naming **none** is refused. It used to mean public, so a forgotten gate published a page; it now
+  fails the boot instead.
+- Naming **two** is refused, as before.
+- Spelling one anything but `true` is refused — `public: false` and `session: "yes"` both set no gate
+  while reading as if they set one.
+
+A section header gates nothing itself, so it takes `public: true` and lets each child decide; the
+host still drops a header whose children all filtered out.
+
+`Gate` is exported from `@plainpages/plugin-api`, and `Route` and `NavNode` extend it.
+
+### Filter bars take a multi-select
+
+The `filter-bar` partial gains a `multiselect` control — the same checkboxes on the same query
+parameter as `chips`, but behind a button once the list is too long to lay on the bar. Config is
+`{ name, legend?, note?, value?, options }`, and the panel says what a capped list left out.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- An identity carrying no email no longer yields a session at all. Login used to mint a JWT for one,
+  which every later request then rejected as anonymous — leaving the browser holding a dead cookie
+  and no way to tell why.
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Node 24.20.0.
+
+### Upgrading a plugin
+
+1. Set `apiVersion: "0.3.0"`.
+2. Give every route and nav node a gate. Anything that relied on omitting one was public — say
+   `public: true` outright.
+
+A page that scopes rows to the signed-in visitor should join on `ctx.user.id`. An email address is
+user-changeable and can be reassigned to someone else, who would then inherit the previous holder's
+rows. The reference plugin's new `/scheduling/mine` page shows the shape.

Dockerfile

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Node 24 runs TypeScript directly (type stripping) — no build step. Pinned exact tag.
-FROM node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
+FROM node:24.22.2-alpine3.24
 
 # Above WORKDIR so dev's `.:/app` bind mount can't shadow them; a volume at /app/node_modules
 # instead leaves a root-owned dir in the checkout (the daemon creates mount destinations as root).
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ FROM node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
 COPY package.json package-lock.json .npmrc /deps/
 RUN cd /deps && npm ci && mv node_modules /node_modules && rm -rf /deps
 
+# The barrel as a package, so a plugin folder can own a package.json. Linked because it re-exports /app.
+RUN mkdir -p /node_modules/@plainpages && ln -s /app/plugin-api /node_modules/@plainpages/plugin-api
+
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY . .
 

README.md

@@ -44,10 +44,10 @@ one-shot `bootstrap` service, and only `up` re-runs it. See
 folder under `plugins/` goes live after a restart. Create `plugins/hello/plugin.ts`:
 
 ```ts
-import { definePlugin } from "#plugin-api";
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0",
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",
   nav: [{ href: "/hello", id: "hello", label: "Hello", public: true }],
   routes: [
     { method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: "<h1>Hello from my plugin</h1>" }) },
@@ -88,6 +88,9 @@ From here, render real pages against the app shell and fetch upstream data — s
   - [conflict rules](#conflict-rules)
   - [hooks](#hooks)
   - [where they live & mounting](#where-plugins-live-and-how-to-mount-them)
+  - [dependencies](#plugin-dependencies)
+  - [settings](#plugin-settings)
+  - [storage](#plugin-storage)
   - [local dev & test](#local-dev--test-story)
 - [The menu system](#the-menu-system)
 - [Building blocks](#building-blocks)
@@ -105,7 +108,7 @@ From here, render real pages against the app shell and fetch upstream data — s
   - [security model](#security-model)
 - [Email](#email)
 - [Architecture](#architecture)
-  - [Stateless](#stateless)
+  - [Stateless core](#stateless-core)
 - [Testing](#testing)
   - [end-to-end](#end-to-end-playwright)
   - [the full gate](#the-full-gate-one-command)
@@ -228,6 +231,7 @@ Against the reference plugins' actual routes:
 | Request | Gate | alice | bob | carol | anonymous |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 | `GET /scheduling` | `public: true` | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| `GET /scheduling/mine` | `session: true` | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | → `/login` |
 | `GET /scheduling/shifts` | `scheduling:read` | ✅ | ✅ | 403 | → `/login` |
 | `GET /scheduling/shifts/new` | `scheduling:write` | ✅ | 403 | 403 | → `/login` |
 | `POST /scheduling/shifts` | `scheduling:write` | ✅ | 403 | 403 | → `/login` |
@@ -312,6 +316,8 @@ plugins/things/          # the plugin folder — its name is the id AND the moun
     en-US.ts             #   the baseline; sv-SE.ts et al are written against its type
   handlers.ts            # your code, any names/layout — host never looks here; plugin.ts imports it
   service.ts             #   e.g. route handlers, upstream calls, domain helpers — design as you wish
+  package.json           # optional — only if you depend on npm packages (see Plugin dependencies)
+  node_modules/          #   yours, installed from your own lockfile
 ```
 
 **Only `plugin.ts` is required.** `views/`, `public/` and `i18n/` are fixed folder *names* the host
@@ -332,21 +338,21 @@ Installing a plugin is "drop the folder, restart"; removing one is "delete the f
 
 ### The manifest
 
-A plugin imports its host surface from one module — **`#plugin-api`**, a Node [subpath
-import](https://nodejs.org/api/packages.html#subpath-imports) mapped to `src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts`
-in the root `package.json` (`definePlugin`, the manifest/handler types, `RequestContext`, the guards,
-and the body/CSRF/list-query helpers). That barrel **is** the contract boundary — never a relative
-`../../src/...` path; the host refactors everything behind it freely. Keep your plugin a plain folder
-with no `package.json` of its own, or `#plugin-api` resolves against that instead.
+A plugin imports its host surface from one module — **`@plainpages/plugin-api`** (`definePlugin`, the
+manifest/handler types, `RequestContext`, the guards, and the body/CSRF/list-query helpers). The host
+publishes it as a package, so it resolves from any depth and from a plugin folder that has a
+`package.json` of its own ([Plugin dependencies](#plugin-dependencies)). That barrel **is** the
+contract boundary — never a relative `../../src/...` path; the host refactors everything behind it
+freely.
 
 ```ts
-import { definePlugin } from "#plugin-api";
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { listThings, createThings } from "./handlers.ts";
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0",                // semver string of the host contract this plugin was built against (see Versioning)
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",                // semver string of the host contract this plugin was built against (see Versioning)
 
-  // Nav fragment, merged into the global menu and permission-filtered per user.
+  // Nav fragment, merged into the global menu and gate-filtered per user.
   // `icon` is a Lucide icon by its sprite id (src/ui/icons.ts).
   nav: [{ href: "/things", icon: "i-cal", id: "things:list", label: "Things", permission: "things:read" }],
 
@@ -356,7 +362,7 @@ export default definePlugin({
     { description: "Create and edit things", name: "things:write" },
   ],
 
-  // Route handlers, mounted under the plugin's path (/things). `permission` gates first.
+  // Route handlers, mounted under the plugin's path (/things). The gate runs first.
   routes: [
     { method: "GET",  path: "/", permission: "things:read",  handler: listThings },
     { method: "POST", path: "/", permission: "things:write", handler: createThings },
@@ -373,22 +379,24 @@ folder-derived `id` to produce the loaded `Plugin`.
 | `apiVersion` | yes | Semver string of the host contract the plugin was built against. See [Versioning](#contract-versioning). |
 | `home` | no | A `RouteHandler` that owns the **public** landing `/`. At most one plugin may declare it. See [The landing pages](#the-landing-pages-home--dashboard). |
 | `dashboard` | no | A `RouteHandler` that owns the **gated** app home `/dashboard`. At most one plugin may declare it. See [The landing pages](#the-landing-pages-home--dashboard). |
-| `nav` | no | `NavNode[]` fragment (same shape `composeNav` consumes). `icon` is a Lucide sprite id (`src/ui/icons.ts`); node `id`s must be globally unique. A `label` that names a catalog key is [translated](#languages-i18n); anything else renders as written. |
+| `nav` | no | `NavNode[]` fragment (same shape `composeNav` consumes). Every node names [exactly one gate](#public-pages--menu-items). `icon` is a Lucide sprite id (`src/ui/icons.ts`); node `id`s must be globally unique. A `label` that names a catalog key is [translated](#languages-i18n); anything else renders as written. |
 | `permissions` | no | Permissions this plugin gates on. See [Nav & permission gates](#nav--permission-gates). |
 | `routes` | no | See [Routes & handlers](#routes--handlers). |
 | `hooks` | no | See [Hooks](#hooks). |
+| `settings` | no | Configuration this plugin accepts, one `PLUGIN_SETTING_<ID>_<KEY>` variable per key, resolved and validated at boot and handed to `onBoot`. See [Plugin settings](#plugin-settings). |
+| `storage` | no | `true` ⇒ the host provisions a Postgres database and login role for this plugin and hands the credentials to `onBoot`. See [Plugin storage](#plugin-storage). |
 
 A plugin may be routes-only, nav-only, or hooks-only — every collection field is optional.
 
 ### Routes & handlers
 
-A route is `{ method, path, permission?, public?, handler }`. `path` is **relative to the plugin's
+A route is `{ method, path, handler }` plus [exactly one gate](#public-pages--menu-items) —
+`permission`, `public: true` or `session: true`. `path` is **relative to the plugin's
 mount path `/<id>`** (so `path: "/:id"` in the `things` plugin serves `/things/:id`); the host matches
 `method` + the resolved full path, extracts `:name` segments into `ctx.params.name`, runs the
-`permission` gate ([a coarse JWT-claim check](#nav--permission-gates)), then calls the handler with
+gate ([a coarse JWT-claim check](#nav--permission-gates)), then calls the handler with
 the [request context](#requestcontext). A failed gate redirects an **anonymous** visitor to `/login`
 with the page as `return_to`; a **signed-in** user lacking the permission gets the **403** page.
-`public: true` means no gate at all (see [Public pages](#public-pages--menu-items)).
 
 `method` is one of `GET HEAD POST PUT PATCH DELETE`. A `GET` route also answers `HEAD`.
 
@@ -412,7 +420,7 @@ type RouteResult =
 
 ```ts
 // handlers.ts
-import { parseListQuery, type RequestContext } from "#plugin-api";
+import { parseListQuery, type RequestContext } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 export async function listThings(ctx: RequestContext) {
   const q = parseListQuery(ctx.url);
@@ -425,12 +433,12 @@ export async function listThings(ctx: RequestContext) {
   nested names like `"things/edit"` work, out-of-bounds names are refused. The template may
   `include()` the core building-block partials and its own. To load the plugin's own CSS, pass its
   `/public/<id>/x.css` href in the shell's `styles` slot — see the reference's `views/shifts.ejs`.
-- **Finer authorization than the route `permission`** uses the guards from `#plugin-api`:
+- **Finer authorization than the route `permission`** uses the guards from `@plainpages/plugin-api`:
   `requireSession(ctx)`, `can(ctx, permission)` (coarse JWT-claim check, zero I/O), and
   `check(keto, ctx, {namespace, object, relation})` (a live Keto check; anonymous ⇒ denied). Throw
   `new GuardError(403, …)` after a failed `can`/`check` to render the 403 page.
-- The handler **fetches its own data** from upstream; plugins hold no state (see
-  [Stateless](#stateless)).
+- The handler **fetches its own data** — from upstream, or from the plugin's own
+  [storage](#plugin-storage); the host holds none of it (see [Stateless core](#stateless-core)).
 - Default status: `200` for `view`/`html`/`json`, `303` for `redirect`.
 
 #### Escaping & the trust boundary
@@ -443,9 +451,9 @@ The host does not sandbox plugin output, so a handler **owns the safety of the d
 - **Text is auto-escaped; URLs are not scheme-checked.** A URL field — nav `href`, a table cell
   link, a menu item, a breadcrumb, `brand.logo` — is emitted as-is inside the attribute, so a
   `javascript:` or `data:` URL from upstream data becomes live XSS. Pass any URL you don't control
-  through **`safeUrl()`** from `#plugin-api`; it collapses anything but relative/`http(s):` to `"#"`:
+  through **`safeUrl()`** from `@plainpages/plugin-api`; it collapses anything but relative/`http(s):` to `"#"`:
   ```ts
-  import { safeUrl } from "#plugin-api";
+  import { safeUrl } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
   return { view: "list", data: { rows: rows.map((r) => ({ ...r, href: safeUrl(r.href) })) } };
   ```
 
@@ -459,11 +467,11 @@ The host has two replaceable landing slots, and a plugin may own either or both:
 | `dashboard` | `/dashboard` | **signed-in session** (anonymous → `/login`, with `/dashboard` as `return_to`) | The built-in mock-data People list. |
 
 ```ts
-import { definePlugin } from "#plugin-api";
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { landing, board } from "./pages.ts";
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0",
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",
   home: landing,     // owns "/" — the public front page
   dashboard: board,  // owns "/dashboard" — the post-login app home
 });
@@ -537,7 +545,7 @@ ones may be added within it. `req`/`res` are the raw Node escape hatch — prefe
 Most plugins fetch their own data from an upstream service they configure. A **system plugin** — one
 that administers *Plainpages' own* identity stack — needs the host's Ory admin clients and the
 instant-revoke hook instead. The host exposes those on **`ctx.system`**, and re-exports the client
-types + their error classes from `#plugin-api`:
+types + their error classes from `@plainpages/plugin-api`:
 
 ```ts
 interface SystemCapabilities {          // every field optional — present only when the host wired it
@@ -562,20 +570,28 @@ system plugins you author or vendor. An ordinary domain plugin ignores it.
 
 A plugin's `nav` fragment is merged into the global menu by `composeNav` (`src/ui/nav.ts`), which
 applies the central override and then **filters per user** by the permissions in the session JWT: a
-node shows iff it is `public`, declares no `permission`, or the user holds that name. A node's `icon`
-is a **Lucide icon** by sprite id (e.g. `i-cal` → lucide `calendar`); the available ids are
-`ICON_NAMES` in `src/ui/icons.ts`, and adding one means registering its lucide name there.
+node shows iff it is `public`, is `session` and someone is signed in, or names a `permission` the
+user holds. A node's `icon` is a **Lucide icon** by sprite id (e.g. `i-cal` → lucide `calendar`); the
+available ids are `ICON_NAMES` in `src/ui/icons.ts`, and adding one means registering its lucide name
+there.
 
 **Gating a section header.** A `permission` on the header takes the whole subtree with it. When the
-children need *different* permissions, leave the header ungated and gate each child — `composeNav`
-drops a header whose children all filtered out. That only works while the header carries **no
-`href`**: give it one and it survives as an ungated leaf, visible to everyone.
+children need *different* permissions, mark the header `public: true` — it then gates nothing, each
+child decides, and `composeNav` drops a header whose children all filtered out. That only works while
+the header carries **no `href`**: give it one and it survives as a leaf, visible to everyone.
 
 #### Public pages & menu items
 
-A route or nav node marked **`public: true`** is reachable by anyone and shows in everyone's menu.
-That is the same as omitting `permission`, but stated outright so public is a deliberate choice
-rather than a forgotten gate. The two are **mutually exclusive** — declaring both is refused at boot.
+A route or nav node marked **`public: true`** is reachable by anyone and shows in everyone's menu —
+open stated outright, so it is a deliberate choice rather than a forgotten gate.
+
+**`session: true`** takes any signed-in user, with no grant to hold — for a plugin whose data is the
+visitor's own. An anonymous visitor is bounced to `/login` with the page as `return_to`, exactly as a
+permission gate does.
+
+Every route and nav node names **exactly one** of the three, spelled `true` (or a permission name).
+Naming none, naming two, or spelling one `false` is refused at boot — so a forgotten gate fails the
+plugin instead of publishing a page.
 
 A public page still renders in the native shell; for an anonymous visitor `ctx.user` is `null`, the
 shell shows a **Sign in** link in place of the profile block, the gated **Dashboard** link is hidden,
@@ -588,22 +604,30 @@ works without editing host config.
 
 ### Contract versioning
 
-Each manifest declares `apiVersion` — a **semver** string naming the host contract it was built
-against — against the host's `HOST_API_VERSION`. The host bumps **major** on a breaking
-manifest/handler change and **minor** on an additive one. At discovery it parses both with
-`parseSemver` (strict: no ranges, `v` prefixes, or leading zeros) and applies provider/consumer
-semantics in `checkApiVersion`:
+Each manifest declares `apiVersion` — a **semver** string naming the **Plainpages release** it was
+built against. The host's `HOST_API_VERSION` *is* its release version, so a plugin author reads one
+version off the image they run and writes it down — there is no separate contract number. Both
+release paths refuse a tag whose `major.minor` disagrees with the constant, so the two cannot drift.
+
+Patch releases are invisible here — `checkApiVersion` ignores the patch digit, which is what lets
+dependency updates ship continuously without touching any plugin. At discovery the host parses both
+versions with `parseSemver` (strict: no ranges, `v` prefixes, or leading zeros) and applies
+provider/consumer semantics in `checkApiVersion`:
 
 | Plugin `apiVersion` vs host | Result | Host action |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | same major, same minor (patch ignored) | `ok` | load |
-| same major, plugin minor **<** host minor | `warn` | load, log — additive-compatible, newer features exist |
+| **major `0`**, plugin minor **<** host minor | `refuse` | **abort boot** — pre-1.0 the minor is the breaking slot |
+| same major, plugin minor **<** host minor | `warn` | load, log — built against an older release; check that release's notes |
 | same major, plugin minor **>** host minor | `refuse` | **abort boot** — plugin needs a newer host |
 | different major | `refuse` | **abort boot** — incompatible contract |
 | missing / not a valid semver | `refuse` | **abort boot** — must be declared |
 
 The plugin pins one exact version (no ranges, per the project's pinning rules); the *host* supplies
-the caret-style compatibility.
+the compatibility. One digit carries the whole release, so a **minor** means either the plugin
+contract changed or a dependency moved far enough to warrant one.
+[`CHANGELOG.md`](CHANGELOG.md) is what a minor sends you to: what broke, and what to change.
+
 
 ### Conflict rules
 
@@ -621,7 +645,7 @@ The host detects collisions across all discovered plugins with `findConflicts` a
 Mount-path uniqueness needs no rule of its own — it follows from the id check. Discovery also
 rejects **per-manifest shape errors**: a non-array `nav`/`routes`/`permissions`, a non-function
 `home`/`dashboard`, a permission name that isn't [`<resource>:<action>`](#naming-a-permission), or a
-route/nav node setting both `public` and `permission`.
+route/nav node that does not name [exactly one gate](#public-pages--menu-items).
 
 ### Hooks
 
@@ -629,10 +653,13 @@ Optional, for reacting to system actions. A plugin's `hooks` may implement:
 
 | Hook | When | May |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| `onBoot()` | after discovery, before the server listens | warm caches, validate upstream config |
+| `onBoot(host)` | after discovery, before the server listens | warm caches, validate upstream config, open a [storage](#plugin-storage) connection |
 | `onRequest(ctx)` | before route matching | inspect, or **short-circuit** by returning a `RouteResult` |
 | `onResponse(ctx, result)` | after the handler | observe/log; cannot change the response |
 
+`onBoot`'s `host` is a `BootContext`, carrying `storage` for a plugin that declared it. A hook
+written without a parameter stays valid.
+
 Hooks run in **discovery order** (plugins sorted by id). `onRequest` fires on every request that
 reaches routing (static assets bypass it); the **first** hook to return a `RouteResult` short-circuits
 — later hooks and the route handler are skipped, and that result renders against its own plugin's
@@ -650,7 +677,7 @@ getting its folder there.
 bind-mounts the whole tree (`compose.override.yml`: `.:/app`), so a restart picks it up.
 
 **2. A plugin kept in its own repo, or added to a prebuilt image.** Bind-mount the plugin
-folder onto `/app/plugins/<id>` with a small compose override. Plugins are stateless, so
+folder onto `/app/plugins/<id>` with a small compose override. A plugin folder is code, not data —
 mount it read-only:
 
 ```yaml
@@ -671,11 +698,187 @@ docker compose -f compose.yml -f compose.plugins.yml up -d
 A named volume works the same way (target `/app/plugins/<id>`). For a **baked** production image,
 keep the plugin in the build context and it is `COPY`'d in at build time.
 
-`#plugin-api` resolves against the *nearest* `package.json`, which at runtime must be the host's at
-`/app` — so a mounted `plugins/<id>/` must **not** contain a `package.json` of its own, or boot fails
-loud. A plugin kept in its own repo therefore mounts as just its subfolder, its `package.json` left
-outside the mount. To typecheck it there, typecheck it mounted under the host tree, or vendor a type
-stub of the barrel and map `#plugin-api` to that.
+A plugin kept in its own repo mounts whole, `package.json` and all — see below.
+
+### Plugin dependencies
+
+A plugin may depend on npm packages. It owns them completely: its `package.json`, its lockfile and
+its `node_modules` live in the plugin folder, and nothing about them reaches the host's — installing
+a plugin is still just getting its folder to `/app/plugins/<id>`.
+
+Write the manifest yourself — `"type": "module"` is required, and the host refuses a plugin without
+it, because that file (not the host's) is what tells Node how to parse everything beside it:
+
+```json
+{ "name": "things", "version": "0.0.0", "type": "module" }
+```
+
+Add a `plugins/things/.npmrc` too. The root one does not reach a `--prefix`, so without it npm writes
+ranges rather than the exact pins this project keeps everywhere:
+
+```ini
+save-exact=true
+```
+
+Then install into the folder:
+
+```bash
+# The uid keeps the files it writes yours rather than root's.
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" web npm install --prefix plugins/things ms
+```
+
+A plugin in its own repo runs its own `npm ci` instead and mounts the result — `node_modules`
+included, since the plugin folder *is* the repo. A baked image needs no extra step: the plugin's
+`node_modules` is part of the build context and is `COPY`'d in with the rest of the folder.
+
+- **Never ship a copy of `@plainpages/plugin-api`.** The host publishes it into `/node_modules`,
+  above every plugin, and a plugin resolves it from there — nothing to declare, just import it. A
+  copy inside your plugin's own `node_modules` would shadow it with a *second* instance of the host's
+  contract, turning a sign-in redirect into a 500, so discovery refuses one there at boot.
+- **The host never upgrades or dedupes your dependencies.** Two plugins depending on the same package
+  each get their own copy at their own version, so neither can break the other by upgrading — and
+  keeping yours current, and audited, is yours to own. Renovate here watches every manifest in this
+  repo, the example plugins included — a plugin in its own repo needs its own.
+- **Depend on packages that ship JavaScript.** Node refuses to strip types under `node_modules`, so a
+  dependency whose entry is `.ts` fails at import with `ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING`.
+
+`npm run typecheck` covers `plugins/`, so a dependency shipping no types of its own needs its
+`@types/…` in your plugin's `devDependencies`. Typechecking a plugin repo standalone still needs the
+barrel's types on disk: typecheck it mounted under the host tree, or vendor a type stub **outside
+`node_modules`** and point tsconfig `paths` at it — a stub inside is the shadowing copy discovery
+refuses, and it would travel with the folder you mount.
+
+### Plugin settings
+
+A plugin declares the configuration it accepts, and the host resolves it from the environment at
+boot. Each key becomes one variable — `PLUGIN_SETTING_<ID>_<KEY>`, the id's dashes and the key's
+camel humps both becoming underscores — so `upstream` on the `scheduling` plugin is set by
+`PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM`.
+
+```ts
+export default definePlugin({
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",
+  settings: [
+    { key: "upstream", type: "url", required: true, description: "Base URL of the backend" },
+    { key: "pageSize", type: "number", default: 25 },
+    { key: "mode", type: "enum", values: ["strict", "lenient"], default: "strict" },
+    { key: "apiKey", type: "string", secret: true, default: "dev-insecure-key" },
+  ],
+  hooks: {
+    onBoot: ({ settings }) => {
+      settings.upstream; // string  — required, so the boot already refused without it
+      settings.pageSize; // number  — defaulted, so always present
+      start(settings);
+    },
+  },
+});
+```
+
+`type` is one of `string`, `number`, `boolean`, `enum` (with `values`) or `url`. A declared type is
+coerced and checked at boot, so a mistyped value names the plugin, the key and the variable instead
+of surfacing later as a broken page.
+
+**`required` and `default` are mutually exclusive** — a default means the setting can never fail, so
+declaring both is refused at discovery. That leaves three cases, and the type `onBoot` receives
+follows them exactly: `required: true` is always present, a `default` is always present, and a
+setting with neither is `T | undefined`, so the plugin has to handle its absence.
+
+**Secrets.** `secret: true` marks a value the host reads but never renders — not in a boot log, not
+in an error, not on the admin screen, which shows only whether it resolved and from where. With
+`REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS=true` a secret that is unset, or still equal to its declared default, refuses
+the boot — the same rule the host applies to its own secrets.
+
+**Where it fails, and where it warns.** A malformed declaration is refused at discovery; a missing
+`required` value or a value that will not coerce refuses the boot. A `PLUGIN_SETTING_` variable no
+installed plugin declares is only *reported* — it is usually a typo in the one the operator meant to
+set, and naming it turns two unrelated-looking errors into one. Declaring settings without an
+`onBoot` warns too: they resolve, but nothing receives them.
+
+**Reading what a deployment is configured with.** The admin plugin's **Plugin settings** screen
+(`plugin-settings:read`) lists every installed plugin, its declared keys, the variable that sets
+each, and whether the value came from the environment or the declared default.
+
+### Plugin storage
+
+A plugin that needs to keep data sets `storage: true`. The host then provisions a Postgres
+**database and login role of its own** — both named `plugin_<id>` — and hands the credentials to
+`onBoot`:
+
+```ts
+import postgres from "postgres";              // your dependency, not the host's
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
+
+let sql: ReturnType<typeof postgres>;
+
+export default definePlugin({
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",
+  storage: true,
+  hooks: {
+    onBoot: async (boot) => {
+      if (!boot.storage) throw new Error("things: storage was not provisioned");
+      sql = postgres(boot.storage.url);
+      // Every web instance runs onBoot, and concurrent CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS is an error in
+      // Postgres — the lock is released when the transaction ends.
+      await sql.begin(async (tx) => {
+        await tx`SELECT pg_advisory_xact_lock(hashtext('things:schema'))`;
+        await tx`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS things (id uuid PRIMARY KEY, name text NOT NULL)`;
+      });
+    },
+  },
+});
+```
+
+`boot.storage` is a `StorageCredentials` — `database`, `host`, `password`, `port`, `user`, and `url`,
+the same values pre-assembled as a DSN, which most clients take directly. It is typed optional, so
+the guard above is expected of every storage plugin rather than a sign something is wrong.
+
+**Credentials, not a client.** The host has no opinion on how you reach Postgres: depend on
+`postgres`, `pg`, a query builder or an ORM ([Plugin dependencies](#plugin-dependencies)). No driver
+is part of the contract, so upgrading yours is yours alone to time. The flip side is that pool sizing
+is yours too — keep yours under `PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT` (default 10), the per-role ceiling the
+host sets so one plugin cannot exhaust the Postgres this stack shares with Ory.
+
+**The schema is yours, migrations included.** The host creates the database empty, never reads or
+writes inside it, and ships no migration machinery — evolving your tables compatibly (expand, then
+contract, so a rolled-back version still runs) is yours to own. Create your tables in `onBoot`: it
+runs before the server listens, so a failure aborts boot instead of surfacing later as a broken page.
+
+What the host does guarantee:
+
+- **One database and one role per plugin**, with `CONNECT` revoked from `PUBLIC`. This bounds
+  *accidents* — a wrong database name, a mistyped DSN, a stray query — and it is not a security
+  boundary: plugins share the `web` process, so a plugin that goes looking can reach another's
+  credentials. Install plugins you trust ([Security model](#security-model)).
+- **Provisioning is idempotent and runs every boot**, so a plugin dropped in later is picked up by
+  the next `docker compose up -d` — the same rule as permission seeding. Each boot re-applies the
+  role's password, connection limit, and `NOCREATEDB`/`NOCREATEROLE`.
+- **Your data is never dropped.** Removing a plugin folder leaves its database untouched; deleting it
+  is a deliberate act by an operator. Each boot logs any `plugin_*` database no installed plugin
+  claims, so what you left behind stays findable — read that list before dropping anything, since a
+  second Plainpages stack sharing this server will have its databases named there too.
+
+**Passwords are derived, never stored** — each is `HMAC-SHA256(PLUGIN_DB_SECRET, <plugin id>)`, so
+`bootstrap` and `web` compute the same value independently and nothing has to be written down.
+Rotate every plugin's password by changing `PLUGIN_DB_SECRET` and running `docker compose up -d`,
+which re-applies each role's password and leaves the data alone — restart every `web` instance as
+part of it, since one still holding the old secret can open no new connections. Treat the secret as
+you would a database password: whoever holds it holds every plugin database. Under
+`REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` a missing, empty or throwaway secret is refused — in `bootstrap` before it
+creates any role, so no database is ever given a password derivable from a constant in this repo.
+
+**Only `bootstrap` holds provisioning credentials.** It alone gets `PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL`, an account
+with `CREATEDB` and `CREATEROLE` (superuser works but is more than it needs; the dev stack simply
+reuses Ory's). Keep using the same account: Postgres gives a `CREATEROLE` account admin rights only
+over the roles it created itself, so if you swap it for a fresh one, grant that one `ADMIN OPTION` on
+the existing `plugin_*` roles first, or the next boot cannot re-apply their passwords. `web` gets `PLUGIN_DB_URL`, which names the server and must carry no credentials —
+supply one with a username or password and boot fails, rather than leaving a privileged password in
+the process that runs plugin code. Set both, plus `PLUGIN_DB_SECRET`
+([Configuration](#configuration)); the dev stack sets them for you.
+
+Storage stays off until `PLUGIN_DB_URL` is set, and a plugin declaring it while that is unset
+**aborts boot** naming itself — rather than serving pages without its data. One naming limit: a
+storage plugin's folder may be at most **56 characters**, so `plugin_<id>` fits Postgres' 63-byte
+identifier.
 
 ### Local dev & test story
 
@@ -712,16 +915,16 @@ The menu is **driven entirely by config** and assembled from two sources:
    in or bind-mounting your own dir onto `/app/config` (a commented example sits in
    `compose.override.yml`). The file imports its typed builder from **`#menu-config`** (the
    subpath import mapped to `src/ui/menu-config.ts`), so it resolves wherever it's mounted
-   (keep the mounted `config/` a plain dir — no `package.json` of its own — or `#menu-config`
-   resolves against that instead and boot fails loud):
+   (keep the mounted `config/` a plain dir — no `package.json` of its own):
    ```ts
    import { defineMenu } from "#menu-config";
    export default defineMenu({ branding: { name: "Acme Ops" }, override: { hide: ["teams"] } });
    ```
 
-Every nav item may carry a `permission`; the rendered tree is **filtered per user** from the session
-JWT (no per-request authz call), so the menu only shows what that person can reach. An item may
-instead be **`public: true`** to show it to everyone — mutually exclusive with `permission`.
+Every nav node a **plugin** declares names one gate — a `permission`, **`public: true`** (everyone)
+or **`session: true`** (anyone signed in); a header this override groups takes none, and shows
+whenever a child does. The rendered tree is **filtered per user** from the session JWT (no
+per-request authz call), so the menu only shows what that person can reach.
 Branding (name, logo, default theme) renders in the app shell.
 
 **One menu, one shell, everywhere.** A single menu (`src/ui/chrome.ts` `buildPluginChrome`) renders
@@ -730,6 +933,11 @@ recovery / front pages — so it looks identical signed in or out and just shows
 anonymous visitor. The sidebar collapses to a burger on a narrow screen; a page wanting a
 chrome-free layout opts out with the shell's `menu: false`.
 
+**The document scrolls, and the chrome scrolls with it.** Nothing bounds the viewport, so a page is
+reachable below the fold without adding a scroll region of its own, and browser paging, scroll
+restoration and find-in-page work without a page doing anything. A plugin that wants a full-height
+pane owns that in its own stylesheet.
+
 ## Building blocks
 
 Plainpages is a **component library, not a page generator** — reusable EJS partials + TS helpers,
@@ -753,6 +961,16 @@ underneath it — cramped, but nothing is unreachable. List state
 (`?q=…&status=…&sort=…&page=…`) lives **in the URL**, so a view is bookmarkable and shareable; the
 URL is the only state the UI keeps.
 
+**A field whose options depend on another field is asked for in steps, one GET form each**, so every
+choice is in the URL, and nothing typed is lost to one because nothing is typed until they are made.
+Once the query names a value, that field renders read-only (`field` with `readonly`, and a `link` back
+to the URL without it) above the next step's form, which carries the earlier choices as hidden inputs,
+plus `locale` from `localeParam`. The form that writes comes last and posts to the URL naming every
+choice, so its handler reads them from `ctx.query`, never from the body; a value the query names that
+the step does not offer is that step's error, never a silent fallback. Don't redraw a half-filled form
+through a submit that writes nothing instead: a `required` field blocks it, and the choice never
+reaches the URL.
+
 Plugins that genuinely need it — live dashboards, bulk actions, client-side validation — may **opt
 into progressive enhancement** (htmx, Alpine, vanilla JS) on top of working server-rendered HTML.
 The baseline never depends on it.
@@ -801,13 +1019,13 @@ points the picker at this path when it answers GET, else the page the form was s
 **Writing a catalog.** `en-US.ts` exports the object and its type; every other locale is written
 against that type, so a missing or misspelled key is a type error before the app ever boots. For a
 language of your own: copy `src/i18n/locales/en-US.ts` into `locales/<tag>.ts`, type it
-`CoreMessages` (from `#plugin-api`), and translate. The `as PluralMessage` cast below is required —
+`CoreMessages` (from `@plainpages/plugin-api`), and translate. The `as PluralMessage` cast below is required —
 without it the inferred type pins the plural forms to English's two, and a locale that selects more
 (Polish, Arabic) becomes unwritable:
 
 ```ts
 // plugins/shop/i18n/en-US.ts
-import type { PluralMessage } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { PluralMessage } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 const messages = {
   "shop.title": "Shop",
@@ -836,7 +1054,7 @@ render in `en-US`), never one the host doesn't have.
 return { data: { title: ctx.t("shop.title"), lead: ctx.t("shop.greeting", { name }) }, view: "shop" };
 
 // a pure view model built outside a request (its unit test) defaults to the plugin's own English:
-import { englishTranslator, type Translate } from "#plugin-api";
+import { englishTranslator, type Translate } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import enUS from "./i18n/en-US.ts";
 const EN: Translate = englishTranslator(enUS); // your catalog, then the host's
 ```
@@ -890,7 +1108,7 @@ The app is **environment-agnostic**: no `NODE_ENV`, every behaviour its own expl
 | `PORT` | `3000` | web listen port |
 | `CACHE_TEMPLATES` | `false` | cache compiled EJS templates (`true` in prod) |
 | `SECURE_COOKIES` | `false` | mark our session/CSRF cookies `Secure` (`true` in prod https; off in dev http) |
-| `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` | `false` | when `true`, `CSRF_SECRET` must be supplied and differ from the dev throwaway |
+| `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` | `false` | when `true`, `CSRF_SECRET` — and `PLUGIN_DB_SECRET` once storage is configured, and every plugin setting declared `secret` — must be supplied and differ from the dev throwaway |
 | `LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | min severity logged: `error`/`warn`/`info`/`verbose`/`debug`/`silly`/`none` |
 | `LOG_FORMAT` | `text` | log line format: `text` (human-readable, dev) or `json` (structured, prod) |
 | `SERVICE_NAME` | `plainpages` | OTLP `service.name` on every log + span — brand it as your own deployment |
@@ -906,6 +1124,11 @@ The app is **environment-agnostic**: no `NODE_ENV`, every behaviour its own expl
 | `REVOCATION_DENYLIST` | `false` | when `true`, enable the optional [instant permission/session revoke denylist](#instant-revoke-the-optional-denylist) |
 | `REVOCATION_TTL_SEC` | `900` | how long a revoke entry lives; keep ≥ tokenizer TTL (10m) + clock skew |
 | `CSRF_SECRET` | dev throwaway | signs our double-submit CSRF token; enforced by `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` |
+| `PLUGIN_DB_URL` | _unset_ (dev: `postgres://postgres:5432`) | credential-free Postgres base URL for [plugin storage](#plugin-storage); unset ⇒ storage off, and a plugin declaring it aborts boot |
+| `PLUGIN_SETTING_<ID>_<KEY>` | per declaration | one variable per key a plugin declares in `settings`; see [Plugin settings](#plugin-settings) |
+| `PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL` | _unset_ (dev: the bundled superuser) | the DSN that provisions each plugin's database and role — read by the one-shot `bootstrap` service **only**, never by `web` |
+| `PLUGIN_DB_SECRET` | dev throwaway | derives each plugin's database password; `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` enforces it in `web` once `PLUGIN_DB_URL` is set, and in `bootstrap` whenever a plugin declares storage |
+| `PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT` | `10` | per-role Postgres connection ceiling, so one plugin's pools cannot exhaust the server Ory shares; read by `bootstrap` when provisioning |
 
 ### Canonical host (one public URL)
 
@@ -1036,8 +1259,8 @@ records that subject as revoked-now; the hot path then rejects every token for i
 the revoke and forces a re-mint — which re-reads permissions from Keto, or clears a dead session. A
 fresh re-login passes, so a downgrade lands immediately without locking the account.
 
-It is an in-memory, auto-evicting map — no database, so it stays inside the stateless model — and
-the check is pure CPU, keeping Keto off the hot path. Entries self-evict after `REVOCATION_TTL_SEC`
+It is an in-memory, auto-evicting map — host-owned state would break the [stateless
+core](#stateless-core) — and the check is pure CPU, keeping Keto off the hot path. Entries self-evict after `REVOCATION_TTL_SEC`
 (default 900s ≥ the 10m token TTL + skew). Two bounds: it is instant only on the **single instance**
 that handled the revoke (elsewhere the guarantee falls back to the token TTL — back it with a shared
 store for hard multi-instance revoke), and a **group** membership change is transitive across many
@@ -1099,6 +1322,11 @@ obey `SECURE_COOKIES`; the Kratos one takes its flags from Kratos' own config.
 **Offboarding is not instant by default** — a revoked permission or deactivated identity lands
 within one token TTL, unless the [denylist](#instant-revoke-the-optional-denylist) is on.
 
+**A plugin, and every package it depends on, runs with the host's full privileges** — in the process
+holding the JWT signing key and `ctx.system`'s Ory admin clients, on the network that reaches the
+unauthenticated Ory ports. Install only what you trust, and let the plugin's own lockfile
+([Plugin dependencies](#plugin-dependencies)) pin the tree you audited.
+
 Hardening a real deploy is `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS=true`, `SECURE_COOKIES=true`, and replacing
 **every** committed dev secret ([what you must supply](#what-you-must-supply-the-only-manual-prep)).
 `REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS` guards only `CSRF_SECRET`; nothing fails loud if you ship Ory's, Postgres'
@@ -1147,18 +1375,21 @@ of it over their **REST APIs using Node's built-in `fetch`** — no SDK dependen
 In **dev** the host-facing Ory ports are published — Kratos public `4433` and Hydra public `4444`;
 prod keeps them internal.
 
-Runtime deps stay tiny and pinned: **`ejs`**, **`lucide-static`**, and **`@larvit/log`**. Auth,
-sessions, SSO and OAuth2 add *services*, not npm packages.
+Runtime deps stay tiny and pinned: **`ejs`**, **`lucide-static`**, **`@larvit/log`**, and
+**`postgres`** — the last one has no sub-dependencies of its own and is used in a single module, to
+provision [plugin storage](#plugin-storage) at boot. Auth, sessions, SSO and OAuth2 add *services*,
+not npm packages.
 
-### Stateless
+### Stateless core
 
-Plainpages holds **no state of its own**. The only database in the stack is **Postgres**, used by
-Ory; the `web` app never connects to it.
+The host holds **no state of its own**: it owns no schema and keeps nothing between requests. The
+stack's **Postgres** backs Ory, and gives every plugin that asks for one a database of its own
+([Plugin storage](#plugin-storage)) — which the host provisions but never reads or writes.
 
-A plugin reads and writes state by **calling an upstream service** from its route handler — a REST
-API, an ERP, a plant historian, the customer's own backend — and renders the response with the
-building blocks. That keeps `web` trivially scalable and crash-safe: any instance can serve any
-request, because the session lives in Kratos and the data lives upstream.
+So a plugin gets its data one of two ways: by **calling an upstream service** from its route handler
+— a REST API, an ERP, a plant historian, the customer's own backend — or from **its own database**.
+Either keeps `web` trivially scalable and crash-safe: any instance can serve any request, because the
+session lives in Kratos and the data lives outside the process.
 
 ## Testing
 
@@ -1227,10 +1458,10 @@ Gitea Actions (`.gitea/workflows/`) runs the pipeline; the test job runs
 | Workflow | Trigger | Does |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `ci.yml` | push, any branch except `main` | the full gate (`bash ci.sh`, a no-op on a docs-only branch), then build + push the app image |
-| `release.yml` | push of a `vX.Y.Z` tag | re-tag that commit's image as `X.Y.Z`, `X.Y`, `X`, `latest`; sync those tags to Docker Hub |
+| `release.yml` | push of a `vX.Y.Z` tag, or manual | check the tag against `HOST_API_VERSION`, re-tag that commit's image as `X.Y.Z`, `X.Y`, `latest` (plus `X` once major ≥ 1), sync those tags to Docker Hub; a second job publishes the Hub overview, and runs alone on a manual trigger |
 | `mirror.yml` | push to `main` or any tag, or manual | force-push `main` + tags (pruning deleted ones) to the [GitHub mirror](https://github.com/larvit/plainpages) |
 | `registry-cleanup.yml` | nightly cron, or manual | delete registry images that are neither release-tagged nor a branch head |
-| `renovate.yml` | nightly cron, or manual | open dependency-update PRs, automerge them once the gate is green; the release-tag job only runs when `AUTO_RELEASE` is `true` |
+| `renovate.yml` | nightly cron, or manual | open dependency-update PRs, automerge them once the gate is green, then cut a release tag for what merged |
 
 `main` is not re-tested on push — its commits are meant to arrive already green from a
 gated branch, so the status check to gate a merge on is `CI / full-gate (push)`.
@@ -1252,11 +1483,27 @@ pattern-based org cleanup rule for this package — its age/count heuristics can
 release tags and would delete images the workflow protects.
 
 **Releases** — pushing a semver git tag (`git tag v1.2.3 && git push origin v1.2.3`) runs
-`release.yml`, which pulls that commit's hash image and re-tags it `1.2.3`, `1.2`, `1`, `latest`;
-nothing is rebuilt, so the released image is byte-identical to the gated one. It fails loud if no
+`release.yml`, which pulls that commit's hash image and re-tags it `1.2.3`, `1.2`, `latest` and —
+once the major reaches `1` — `1`; nothing is rebuilt, so the released image is byte-identical to the
+gated one. While the major is `0` the bare-major tag is skipped, because a `0.x` minor is a contract
+break and a moving `:0` would carry one. It fails loud if no
 hash image exists — release tags must point at a commit that went through the gate. The same four
-tags sync to [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/larvit/plainpages), releases only. The Docker Hub
-repository **description** is maintained by hand from [`README-dockerhub.md`](README-dockerhub.md).
+tags sync to [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/larvit/plainpages), releases only.
+
+The [contract check](#contract-versioning) guards the tag before anything is published, refusing one
+whose `major.minor` disagrees with `HOST_API_VERSION` and naming the value to set.
+
+**The Docker Hub overview** is published by a separate `publish-overview` job from
+[`release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl`](release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl), with
+`{{VERSION}}` rendered to the release, so the Plainpages tag it tells adopters to pull cannot go
+stale. Its sidecar pins are Renovate-managed and gated against this repo's own compose files, so the
+quick start stays a topology CI has actually run.
+It is its own job for two reasons: the images are already pushed and irreversible by then, so a Hub
+outage leaves the promotion green and the images untouched; and the page has its own door — run the
+workflow manually with an `overview_version` input to republish it without cutting a release. That
+input goes through the same contract check as a tag: a non-semver value, or one whose `major.minor`
+disagrees with the tree being published, is refused. It uses
+the same `DOCKERHUB_TOKEN` the image push uses, which is why that token needs the **delete** scope.
 
 **GitHub mirror** — [github.com/larvit/plainpages](https://github.com/larvit/plainpages) is
 read-only; after every merge `mirror.yml` force-pushes `main` and all tags, overwriting any drift.
@@ -1272,18 +1519,19 @@ images, and the Playwright runner + its browser image — and every bump keeps t
 exact. Each PR runs the normal gate on its `renovate/*` branch and automerges once
 `CI / full-gate (push)` is green; only a red gate needs a human.
 
-**Releases are paused.** Plainpages is pre-announcement: the repository carries **no tags**, so
-neither `release.yml` nor Docker Hub has a version to promote. Turn releasing back on by setting the
-Actions variable `AUTO_RELEASE` to `true`, or cut a `vX.Y.Z` tag by hand **on `main`'s tip** — with
-nothing tagged the nightly cleanup keeps only branch-head images, so an older commit's image is
-already gone and `release.yml` would fail loud.
-
-**Auto-release on dependency updates** — a second job in `renovate.yml` (`auto-release`, gated on
-`AUTO_RELEASE`) cuts **one** `vX.Y.Z` tag per run covering the renovate-bot commits merged to `main`
-since the last tag, and **skips** when the tip isn't a Renovate commit or nothing new merged.
-Renovate stamps each commit with a `Release-Bump: <updateType>` trailer and
-[`auto-release/next-version.ts`](auto-release/next-version.ts) turns the highest one into the next
-version — pre-1.0 it never auto-crosses into `1.0.0`. It is **tag-only**: the tag hands off to
+**Auto-release on dependency updates** — a second job in `renovate.yml` (`auto-release`) cuts **one**
+`vX.Y.Z` tag per run covering the renovate-bot commits merged to `main` since the last tag, and
+**skips** when the tip isn't a Renovate commit, nothing new merged, or nothing that merged carried a
+trailer — a dependency update that cannot reach the app releases nothing. Renovate stamps a
+`Release-Bump: <updateType>` trailer onto the updates that reach a running Plainpages — the rules in
+[`renovate.json`](renovate.json) name them — and
+[`release-tooling/next-version.ts`](release-tooling/next-version.ts) turns the highest one into the next
+version; pre-1.0 it never auto-crosses into `1.0.0`. Because the contract version *is* the release
+version, an update big enough to reach a **minor** stops the job rather than tagging: bump
+`HOST_API_VERSION` in a PR, merge, then tag by hand. Pre-1.0 that covers a dependency *major*, since
+`nextVersion` shifts it down to a `0.x` minor. `updateType` rates the *dependency's* own jump,
+so the trailer is an allowlist: an update outside those rules carries none and rides the next patch
+release instead of escalating it. It is **tag-only**: the tag hands off to
 `release.yml`, and is pushed with renovate-bot's PAT so that workflow actually fires (a tag pushed by
 the built-in Actions token wouldn't trigger it). `HOST_API_VERSION` is never touched here.
 
@@ -1292,7 +1540,7 @@ the built-in Actions token wouldn't trigger it). `HOST_API_VERSION` is never tou
 | Actions var / secret | Value |
 | --- | --- |
 | `DOCKER_REGISTRY_USER` (var) + `DOCKER_REGISTRY_TOKEN` (secret) | A Gitea account with package write in the `larvit` org, and its access token with `read:package` + `write:package`. Reused by `registry-cleanup.yml`. |
-| `DOCKERHUB_USER` (var) + `DOCKERHUB_TOKEN` (secret) | The public `larvit/plainpages` Docker Hub repo, and a read/write token **scoped to that repository** (an org access token, or one on a dedicated account — an account-wide PAT can push to every repo under it). |
+| `DOCKERHUB_USER` (var) + `DOCKERHUB_TOKEN` (secret) | The public `larvit/plainpages` Docker Hub repo, and a **read/write/delete** token **scoped to that repository** (an org access token, or one on a dedicated account — an account-wide PAT reaches every repo under it, and delete is destructive). Delete is what publishing the overview needs; pushing images alone would not. |
 | `MIRROR_GITHUB_TOKEN` (secret) | A fine-grained PAT (Contents: read & write) for a GitHub machine account with write access to the mirror. Its `main` must not block force-pushes and must carry no tag protection, which would reject the prune. |
 | `RENOVATE_TOKEN` (secret) | The shared `renovate@larvit.se` bot's Gitea PAT, with write access to this repo. |
 | `RENOVATE_GITHUB_TOKEN` (secret) | A **scopeless** (read-only) github.com PAT, so Renovate's lookups of github.com-hosted deps run authenticated instead of tripping the anonymous 60-req/hour limit. |
@@ -1320,6 +1568,11 @@ the one-shot bootstrap) — and mounts no source. Secrets come from the environm
 running insecure. Before going live, supply the production secrets and any SSO credentials — the
 **only** manual prep ([What you must supply](#what-you-must-supply-the-only-manual-prep)).
 
+**Back up the `pgdata` volume.** Once a plugin declares [storage](#plugin-storage), Postgres holds
+business data that exists nowhere else, alongside Ory's identities — the stack stops being
+reproducible from the image and config alone. Snapshot the volume, or `pg_dump` each database on a
+schedule, and rehearse the restore.
+
 Every response carries security headers (`src/http/security-headers.ts`): a strict
 `Content-Security-Policy` (the core is zero-JS — `script-src 'self'`, no inline scripts),
 `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff`, `X-Frame-Options: DENY` + `frame-ancestors 'none'`,
@@ -1352,9 +1605,9 @@ docker compose up -d --build
 ```
 
 Do the same for any other folder you copied out of `examples/`. A plugin you wrote yourself needs the
-manifest change the error names. Once [`HOST_API_VERSION`](#contract-versioning) starts moving a
-stale plugin will be refused by **version** instead; it is frozen at `1.0.0` until the first external
-plugin exists, so for now the error names the rule it tripped.
+manifest change the error names. A host contract change big enough to move
+[`HOST_API_VERSION`](#contract-versioning) shows up earlier and more precisely — discovery refuses the
+plugin by **version** before any rule gets a chance to trip.
 
 Two paths in the checkout are load-bearing and must stay clear of root-owned leftovers:
 `node_modules/` must not exist (deps live at `/node_modules`, and anything at `/app/node_modules`
@@ -1469,11 +1722,13 @@ src/                 The app — strict tsc, no build step. *.test.ts sit beside
                      fetch-timeout)
   i18n/              catalog (parity rules) · locale (resolution) · translate · load · runtime ·
                      english · view-locals · locales/ (the core en-US + sv-SE catalogs)
-  plugin-host/       plugin.ts (the contract) · plugin-api.ts (the `#plugin-api` barrel) · system.ts
-                     (ctx.system) · discovery · router · hooks · view-resolver
+  plugin-host/       plugin.ts (the contract) · plugin-api.ts (the `@plainpages/plugin-api` barrel) · system.ts
+                     (ctx.system) · discovery · router · hooks · view-resolver · storage (the rules) ·
+                     storage-provisioning (the DDL; bootstrap-only, holds the driver)
   ui/                chrome (the one global menu) · shell-context · dashboard · nav (composeNav) ·
                      menu-config (`#menu-config`) · icons (lucide sprite builder) · list-query · paginate
 
+plugin-api/          The `@plainpages/plugin-api` package — the author barrel, linked into /node_modules
 views/               Core EJS in the one app shell: home, index, auth, oauth-consent, error, 403/404/500/503,
                      and partials/ (shell, nav tree, filter bar, data table, pagination, field, auth card,
                      alert, menu/popover, theme switch, language picker, icon sprite). Domain screens live
@@ -1488,9 +1743,12 @@ examples/            Copy-in reference mirroring the mount dirs: plugins/schedul
                      config/menu.ts, and shifts-upstream/ (the dev mock backend)
 e2e-tests/           Playwright specs + their Dockerfile and compose.{visual,auth,oauth,full,devstack}.yml;
                      proxy.ts (same-origin gateway) and mock-oidc.ts back full-flow
+release-tooling/     Everything the release runs: next-version (the bump math), contract-version
+                     (the HOST_API_VERSION↔tag gate), dockerhub-overview (+ its .md.tmpl)
+registry-cleanup/    Nightly image pruning — the Gitea client plus what survives (select-versions.ts)
+CHANGELOG.md         What changed per release, and how to upgrade a plugin across a minor
 ci.sh                The full gate: typecheck → unit tests → every E2E suite on a fresh stack
 .gitea/workflows/    Gitea Actions — see CI/CD
-README-dockerhub.md  The Docker Hub repository description, pasted over by hand when it changes
 ```
 
 ## Extending the core
@@ -1498,7 +1756,8 @@ README-dockerhub.md  The Docker Hub repository description, pasted over by hand
 - **New page in a plugin:** add a route + handler to the plugin manifest and a template in
   its `views/`.
 - **Static asset:** drop it in the plugin's `public/`; served at `/public/<plugin>/<path>`.
-- **New dependency:** deps live in the image, so update the manifest + lockfile and rebuild —
+- **New dependency in a plugin:** the plugin owns it — see [Plugin dependencies](#plugin-dependencies).
+- **New dependency in the core:** deps live in the image, so update the manifest + lockfile and rebuild —
   `--package-lock-only` writes nothing into the checkout, `--user` keeps the two files yours.
   Keep deps minimal — prefer the Node standard library, and an Ory REST call over an SDK.
 

ci.sh

@@ -60,6 +60,33 @@ echo "$units" | grep -E '^. (tests|pass|fail) ' || true
 count=$(echo "$units" | grep -oE 'tests [0-9]+' | grep -oE '[0-9]+' | head -1 || true)
 [ "${count:-0}" -ge 50 ] || { echo "only ${count:-0} unit tests ran — test glob broken?"; exit 1; }
 
+# Plugin storage against a real Postgres. The step above runs --no-deps, so this suite's integration
+# test skips there — and it is the only thing proving the DDL actually grants what it claims, rather
+# than that the SQL text is the text we wrote. `node --test` counts a skip, so the floor won't catch it.
+step "Plugin storage (real Postgres)"
+# Own project name, like every E2E suite below: the default project is the DEV stack, so a bare
+# `down -v` here would delete the operator's pgdata — Ory identities and every plugin database.
+# --wait, because initdb on a cold volume outlasts the suite's connect timeout.
+storage_rc=0
+storage_proj=plainpages-storage
+storage_files=(-p "$storage_proj" -f compose.yml) # no override merge, like the e2e suites below
+storage_dsn="postgres://${POSTGRES_USER:-ory}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-ory}@postgres:5432/ory"
+storage_out=""
+docker compose "${storage_files[@]}" up -d --wait postgres >/dev/null || storage_rc=$?
+# `if`, not `&&`: a false `&&` returns non-zero, which under `set -e` would exit before teardown.
+if [ "$storage_rc" -eq 0 ]; then
+	# --build like the e2e suites: this stack mounts no source, so without it the step would test
+	# whatever `web` image that project last baked.
+	storage_out=$(docker compose "${storage_files[@]}" run --build --rm --no-deps \
+		-e "PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL=$storage_dsn" \
+		web node --test src/plugin-host/storage.test.ts 2>&1) || storage_rc=$?
+fi
+docker compose "${storage_files[@]}" down -v >/dev/null 2>&1 || true # also covers a failed `up`
+echo "$storage_out" | grep -E '^. (tests|pass|fail|skipped) ' || true
+[ "$storage_rc" -eq 0 ] || { echo "$storage_out"; echo "plugin storage integration tests failed (exit $storage_rc)"; exit "$storage_rc"; }
+# A skip here exits 0 and proves nothing — the same trap the unit floor above guards against.
+echo "$storage_out" | grep -qE '^. skipped 0$' || { echo "storage integration test skipped — PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL not wired through"; exit 1; }
+
 # Run one E2E suite against its OWN named stack, then always tear it down (even on failure). The
 # per-suite project name keeps a flaky teardown from leaking containers/volumes into the next suite.
 # --user: the runner writes screenshots + the report into the checkout, so they must belong to

compose.override.yml

@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Development overrides, merged automatically by `docker compose up`.
 # Mounts the source for live editing and restarts on change via `node --watch`.
+
+# web connects with it and bootstrap provisions against it, so the two must agree — one home.
+x-plugin-db-url: &plugin-db-url postgres://postgres:5432
+
 services:
   web:
     command: node --watch src/server.ts
@@ -13,9 +17,12 @@ services:
       CACHE_TEMPLATES: "false"
       LOG_FORMAT: "text" # human-readable logs in dev (base sets json for prod log pipelines)
       LOG_LEVEL: "debug" # verbose by default while developing (base defaults to info)
+      # Point plugin storage at the bundled Postgres, so a dropped-in plugin declaring `storage`
+      # works with no further config; the secret falls back to the dev throwaway (config.ts).
+      PLUGIN_DB_URL: *plugin-db-url
       REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "false"
       SECURE_COOKIES: "false" # dev serves http — Secure cookies wouldn't be sent
-      SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM: "http://shifts-upstream:4000" # backs the reference plugin once you copy it into plugins/
+      PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM: "http://shifts-upstream:4000" # backs the reference plugin once you copy it into plugins/
     volumes:
       - .:/app
       # Mount your own menu/branding override into the empty config/ dir (defaults apply otherwise):
@@ -29,15 +36,20 @@ services:
   # It belongs here and not in the base file, where it would desynchronise prod and collide with the
   # e2e stacks, which bind individual plugins *inside* /app/plugins.
   bootstrap:
+    # Provisions the plugin databases web connects to above, as the dev superuser.
+    environment:
+      PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL: postgres://${POSTGRES_USER:-ory}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-ory}@postgres:5432/ory
+      PLUGIN_DB_URL: *plugin-db-url
+      REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "false" # dev derives from the throwaway, as web does
     volumes:
       - .:/app
 
   # Mock backend ready for the reference plugin (examples/plugins/scheduling): plugins/ ships empty, so
   # the plugin is opt-in — `cp -r examples/plugins/scheduling plugins/scheduling`, restart, and this
-  # backs it (SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM above points here). Stand-in for the customer's real service —
-  # stdlib-only, in-memory, no auth. Prod points SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM at the real backend instead.
+  # backs it (PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM above points here). Stand-in for the customer's real service —
+  # stdlib-only, in-memory, no auth. Prod points PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM at the real backend instead.
   shifts-upstream:
-    image: node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
+    image: node:24.22.2-alpine3.24
     command: node /srv/server.ts
     restart: unless-stopped
     volumes:
@@ -46,7 +58,7 @@ services:
   # Dev mail catcher — Kratos recovery/verification emails land here (web UI on 8025).
   # kratos.yml points the courier at smtp://mailpit:1025; prod uses a real SMTP via env.
   mailpit:
-    image: axllent/mailpit:v1.30.7
+    image: axllent/mailpit:v1.32.0
     ports:
       - "8025:8025"
     restart: unless-stopped

compose.yml

@@ -17,10 +17,16 @@ services:
       CACHE_TEMPLATES: "true"
       CSRF_SECRET: ${CSRF_SECRET:-dev-insecure-csrf-secret}
       LOG_FORMAT: "json" # structured logs for prod pipelines; set OTLP_ENDPOINT to also export to a collector
+      # Per-plugin Postgres storage. Explicit toggle: unset ⇒ off, and a plugin declaring `storage`
+      # refuses to boot rather than run without its data. The URL carries no credentials — each
+      # plugin's own password is derived from the secret (README → Plugin storage).
+      PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: ${PLUGIN_DB_SECRET:-}
+      PLUGIN_DB_URL: ${PLUGIN_DB_URL:-}
       REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "true"
       SECURE_COOKIES: "true" # prod serves https — mark session/CSRF cookies Secure
     # Wait for the services the app talks to (kratos + keto + hydra for the OAuth2 login/
-    # consent handler) + the one-shot bootstrap (admin + JWKS seed).
+    # consent handler) + the one-shot bootstrap (admin + JWKS seed). Postgres too: a plugin that
+    # declares `storage` opens its connection in onBoot, before the server listens.
     depends_on:
       bootstrap:
         condition: service_completed_successfully
@@ -30,14 +36,17 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
       hydra:
         condition: service_healthy
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
     # verifier reads the same tokenizer JWKS Kratos signs with (config.ts JWKS_URL).
     # Read-only — bootstrap is the only writer.
     volumes:
       - ./ory/kratos/tokenizer:/etc/config/kratos/tokenizer:ro
     restart: unless-stopped
 
-  # Ory's storage only (Kratos/Keto/Hydra) — the web app never connects here.
-  # init/init.sql creates one database per service. Dev defaults below; supply
+  # The stack's storage: one database per Ory service (init/init.sql), plus one per plugin that
+  # declares `storage` — bootstrap creates those at boot, since only it holds superuser credentials.
+  # A plugin connects as its own role from inside web. Dev defaults below; supply
   # POSTGRES_USER/PASSWORD via env in production.
   postgres:
     image: postgres:18.6-alpine3.23
@@ -127,6 +136,8 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
       keto:
         condition: service_healthy
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
     environment:
       ADMIN_EMAIL: ${ADMIN_EMAIL:-admin@plainpages.local}
       ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ADMIN_PASSWORD:-admin}
@@ -137,6 +148,13 @@ services:
       JWKS_FILE: /etc/config/kratos/tokenizer/jwks.json
       KETO_WRITE_URL: http://keto:4467
       KRATOS_ADMIN_URL: http://kratos:4434
+      # The superuser DSN that creates each plugin's database and role lives ONLY here — never in
+      # web, so plugin code cannot read it out of its own environment. Unset ⇒ a plugin declaring
+      # `storage` fails the seed loudly. The secret must match web's; both derive the same passwords.
+      PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL: ${PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL:-}
+      PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: ${PLUGIN_DB_SECRET:-}
+      PLUGIN_DB_URL: ${PLUGIN_DB_URL:-} # only to refuse a mismatch: what bootstrap creates, web connects to
+      REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "true" # refuse the throwaway secret here too, before any role is created
     volumes:
       - ./ory/kratos/tokenizer:/etc/config/kratos/tokenizer
     command: node src/auth/bootstrap.ts

e2e-tests/Dockerfile

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Playwright runner — browsers preinstalled, pinned to match @playwright/test in e2e-tests/.
 # Built/run via e2e-tests/compose.visual.yml; targets the `web` service over the network.
-FROM mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.62.1-noble
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.64.1-noble
 
 WORKDIR /e2e-tests
 

e2e-tests/compose.full.yml

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ services:
 
   # The reference plugin's upstream (examples/shifts-upstream) so /scheduling/shifts shows real rows.
   shifts-upstream:
-    image: node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
+    image: node:24.22.2-alpine3.24
     command: ["node", "/server.ts"]
     volumes:
       - ./examples/shifts-upstream/server.ts:/server.ts:ro
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ services:
   # Mock OIDC provider for the SSO login test — stdlib Node, auto-approves, signs an id_token Kratos
   # verifies via its jwks. Reachable as the same host (mock-oidc:9000) by both the browser and Kratos.
   mock-oidc:
-    image: node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
+    image: node:24.22.2-alpine3.24
     command: ["node", "/mock-oidc.ts"]
     environment:
       ISSUER: http://mock-oidc:9000
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ services:
 
   # Same-origin gateway: Kratos-owned paths → kratos, everything else → web (e2e-tests/proxy.ts).
   proxy:
-    image: node:24.19.0-alpine3.24
+    image: node:24.22.2-alpine3.24
     command: ["node", "/proxy.ts"]
     depends_on:
       web:

e2e-tests/full-flow.spec.ts

@@ -193,6 +193,23 @@ test.describe.serial("authenticated admin journey", () => {
     await page.goto("/scheduling/shifts");
     await expect(page.locator("h1")).toHaveText("Shifts");
     await expect(page.locator("table")).toContainText("Morning — Front desk"); // seeded by the mock upstream
+
+    // The admin owns none of the demo's rows, so an empty page is the no-leak assertion.
+    await page.goto("/scheduling/mine");
+    await expect(page.locator("h1")).toHaveText("My shifts");
+    await expect(page.getByText("No shifts are assigned to admin@plainpages.local")).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(page.locator("table")).not.toContainText("Morning — Front desk");
+  });
+
+  test("plugin settings: the screen names the variable that sets each declared key", async () => {
+    await page.goto("/admin/plugin-settings");
+    await expect(page.locator("h1")).toHaveText("Plugin settings");
+    // The reference plugin's one declared setting, and the variable an operator would set for it.
+    const scheduling = page.locator("table").filter({ hasText: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM" });
+    await expect(scheduling).toContainText("upstream");
+    await expect(scheduling).toContainText("http://shifts-upstream:4000"); // resolved, and its source shown
+    // Every installed plugin gets a section, so "declares none" is distinguishable from "not installed".
+    await expect(page.locator("h2", { hasText: "admin" })).toHaveCount(1);
   });
 
   test("logout: signing out ends the session and returns to the login page", async () => {

e2e-tests/package-lock.json

@@ -1,24 +1,22 @@
 {
   "name": "plainpages-e2e",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "plainpages-e2e",
-      "version": "0.1.0",
       "devDependencies": {
-        "@playwright/test": "1.62.1"
+        "@playwright/test": "1.64.1"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@playwright/test": {
-      "version": "1.62.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@playwright/test/-/test-1.62.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-DTcUc8qii+cpHvtOwggMtBRMjKZHXYWdw8syRYu2vtzuq4Wxphqq4NfCs5Zt44L6mA8rfDfj+PHnxFc/FeK6mQ==",
+      "version": "1.64.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@playwright/test/-/test-1.64.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-IaYGml/nSOiZWROfPtuIL7neuu9qDOZ3TNvNljUIrhDMxiGTgPjzj/g9p9RxpS2tSepPDRY+UwAaEeiKtUvIAg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
-        "playwright": "1.62.1"
+        "playwright": "1.64.1"
       },
       "bin": {
         "playwright": "cli.js"
@@ -27,44 +25,26 @@
         "node": ">=20"
       }
     },
-    "node_modules/fsevents": {
-      "version": "2.3.2",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fsevents/-/fsevents-2.3.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-xiqMQR4xAeHTuB9uWm+fFRcIOgKBMiOBP+eXiyT7jsgVCq1bkVygt00oASowB7EdtpOHaaPgKt812P9ab+DDKA==",
-      "dev": true,
-      "hasInstallScript": true,
-      "license": "MIT",
-      "optional": true,
-      "os": [
-        "darwin"
-      ],
-      "engines": {
-        "node": "^8.16.0 || ^10.6.0 || >=11.0.0"
-      }
-    },
     "node_modules/playwright": {
-      "version": "1.62.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/playwright/-/playwright-1.62.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-0M+L3LAD8/nm554LOla9Ayx0j0tmFZ0FBcoQ7F1VuVHpM/XpiC8RcDzBQB8W5+hA8L22THxELzeF+2WcUzvcLg==",
+      "version": "1.64.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/playwright/-/playwright-1.64.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-HCrVhHr5QQuwYoswEUGTb7gGp522yflbv/ST8nF4sFWGuLjQCt17Q/EubpGGSNKYn1tsTCPZxqHhHCfVURu7UA==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
-        "playwright-core": "1.62.1"
+        "playwright-core": "1.64.1"
       },
       "bin": {
         "playwright": "cli.js"
       },
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=20"
-      },
-      "optionalDependencies": {
-        "fsevents": "2.3.2"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/playwright-core": {
-      "version": "1.62.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/playwright-core/-/playwright-core-1.62.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-wPYSwEBJY9GHraISXqyqtx0na0LpO3XEX7jNDhntbex7tzUS7kLnZsOlFruFJB4Hi/rhDMjXGqHewDZ68nYZVw==",
+      "version": "1.64.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/playwright-core/-/playwright-core-1.64.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-BC4s8y6SEVA6Q1rSxZTto8hI1KUI3xXlHGZgvGqP4IqPdI/a6FX9H29IDNz7vKo9l21b6LfYosScPL6M3xxyDQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "bin": {

e2e-tests/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "plainpages-e2e",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Playwright E2E: design-system parity (visual), auth refresh, OAuth2 login/consent, and the full browser flow (login/menu/CRUD/plugin/logout).",
   "type": "module",
@@ -8,6 +7,6 @@
     "test": "playwright test"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@playwright/test": "1.62.1"
+    "@playwright/test": "1.64.1"
   }
 }

e2e-tests/visual.spec.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,45 @@ test.beforeEach(async ({ context }) => {
   await context.addCookies([{ name: SESSION_COOKIE, url: BASE_URL, value: devSession() }]);
 });
 
+// A key press, not scrollIntoView (a script can scroll a box no reader can) and not the wheel
+// (Firefox's synthetic event never reaches the document).
+for (const [name, path, tail] of [
+  ["the starter dashboard", "/dashboard", ".form-actions .btn"],
+  ["the public landing", "/", ".landing-actions .btn"],
+] as const) {
+  for (const width of [1280, 390]) {
+    test(`${name} scrolls to its end at ${width}px wide`, async ({ page }) => {
+      await page.setViewportSize({ width, height: 200 });
+      await page.goto(path);
+
+      const overflows = await page.evaluate(() => document.documentElement.scrollHeight > window.innerHeight);
+      expect(overflows, "the page must overflow, or it proves nothing").toBe(true);
+      await page.keyboard.press("End");
+      await expect(page.locator(tail).last()).toBeInViewport({ ratio: 1 });
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+// Green only while #nav-toggle is position: fixed — a label tap focuses it, and focus scrolls into view.
+test("closing the mobile drawer leaves the reader where the scrim found them", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 390, height: 200 });
+  await page.goto("/dashboard");
+
+  await page.locator(".hamburger").click();
+  await expect(page.locator("#nav-toggle")).toBeChecked();
+  // Scripted, because a key press with focus on the toggle does not scroll in every engine — and
+  // what is under test is closing the drawer, not how the reader got down the page.
+  await page.evaluate(() => window.scrollTo(0, 120));
+  const at = await page.evaluate(() => window.scrollY);
+  expect(at, "the page must have somewhere to scroll behind the scrim").toBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+  // The exposed strip beside the 264px panel: the scrim spans the viewport, so its centre is under
+  // the drawer and a centre click lands on the panel instead.
+  await page.locator(".scrim").click({ position: { x: 340, y: 100 } });
+  await expect(page.locator("#nav-toggle")).not.toBeChecked();
+  expect(await page.evaluate(() => window.scrollY), "closing the drawer must not move the page").toBe(at);
+});
+
 test("captures the live pages for review", async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto("/dashboard");
   await expect(page.locator(".sidebar")).toBeVisible();
@@ -94,6 +133,7 @@ test("a popover menu sits on its trigger and closes on an outside click or Esc
   await expect(panel).toBeVisible();
   await page.keyboard.press("Escape");
   await expect(panel).toBeHidden();
+  await expect(trigger).toBeFocused(); // the browser returns focus, so no trigger needs a tabindex
 });
 
 test("mobile layout hides the sidebar off-canvas behind the hamburger", async ({ page }) => {
@@ -142,11 +182,11 @@ test("unknown routes serve the 404 page (a real user-facing flow, covered end-to
   await expect(page.getByRole("link", { name: "Back home" })).toBeVisible();
 });
 
-// The reference plugin (plugins/scheduling) ships discovered in the image. Its public Overview is
-// reachable by anyone and its menu header shows for everyone; the shifts list stays permission-gated,
-// so an anonymous visitor is bounced to sign in. The authenticated list/form flow is the full
-// E2E (full-flow.spec). Side-effect-free.
-test("the reference plugin: public Overview is open to all, the gated Shifts redirects to /login", async ({ page, request }) => {
+// The reference plugin (plugins/scheduling) ships discovered in the image, and shows all three
+// gates: the public Overview is reachable by anyone, My shifts takes any session, and the shifts
+// list needs a permission. The authenticated list/form flow is the full E2E (full-flow.spec).
+// Side-effect-free.
+test("the reference plugin: public Overview is open to all, My shifts takes any session, the gated Shifts redirects to /login", async ({ page, request }) => {
   // `request` is the isolated API context — it doesn't carry the beforeEach session cookie, so these
   // probes are genuinely anonymous.
   // The public overview is reachable with no session (200), not bounced to sign in.
@@ -165,10 +205,23 @@ test("the reference plugin: public Overview is open to all, the gated Shifts red
   expect(res.status()).toBe(303);
   expect(res.headers()["location"]).toBe("/login?return_to=%2Fscheduling%2Fshifts");
 
+  // A `session: true` route bounces an anonymous visitor the same way — no permission involved.
+  const mine = await request.get("/scheduling/mine", { maxRedirects: 0 });
+  expect(mine.status()).toBe(303);
+  expect(mine.headers()["location"]).toBe("/login?return_to=%2Fscheduling%2Fmine");
+
   // The signed-in member (no scheduling permission) sees the public Scheduling → Overview leaf in the nav,
   // but the gated Shifts leaf is filtered out.
   await page.goto("/dashboard");
   await expect(page.locator('.sidebar a[href="/dashboard"]')).toHaveCount(1); // the one unified menu renders
   await expect(page.locator('.sidebar a[href="/scheduling"]')).toHaveCount(1); // public Overview shown
   await expect(page.locator('.sidebar a[href="/scheduling/shifts"]')).toHaveCount(0); // gated leaf filtered out
+  await expect(page.locator('.sidebar a[href="/scheduling/mine"]')).toHaveCount(1); // session gate: a session is enough
+
+  // No shifts upstream on this stack, so this also pins the degraded page: the reason, never a 500
+  // and never a claim about what is assigned.
+  await page.goto("/scheduling/mine");
+  await expect(page.getByRole("heading", { name: "My shifts" })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByText("Couldn't reach the scheduling service")).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByText("No shifts are assigned to")).toHaveCount(0);
 });

examples/README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ across (or bind-mount your own) and restart.
 
 | Path | Copy into | Example of |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| [`plugins/scheduling/`](plugins/scheduling/) | `plugins/scheduling/` | The reference plugin: a list page over an upstream REST service, a CSRF-guarded form that forwards a write, and permission-gated nav — built from the core building blocks, holding no state. Imports the host surface as `#plugin-api`. See its [README](plugins/scheduling/README.md) and the [plugin contract](../README.md#building-plugins). |
+| [`plugins/scheduling/`](plugins/scheduling/) | `plugins/scheduling/` | The reference plugin: a list page over an upstream REST service, a CSRF-guarded form that forwards a write, and permission-gated nav — built from the core building blocks, holding no state. Imports the host surface as `@plainpages/plugin-api`. See its [README](plugins/scheduling/README.md) and the [plugin contract](../README.md#building-plugins). |
 | [`plugins/admin/`](plugins/admin/) | `plugins/admin/` | The system-admin plugin: the Users / Groups / Permissions / OAuth2-clients screens for running Plainpages itself. A *system* plugin — it administers the Ory identity stack via the privileged [`ctx.system`](../README.md#system-capabilities-the-ctxsystem-surface) surface instead of its own upstream. Copy it in to get a GUI for user & group admin. See its [README](plugins/admin/README.md). |
 | [`config/menu.ts`](config/menu.ts) | `config/menu.ts` | The central menu override + branding template (rename/group/order/hide nav, set app name/logo/theme). Imports its typed builder as `#menu-config`; `config/` ships empty, so defaults apply until you copy this in. See [The menu system](../README.md#the-menu-system). |
-| [`shifts-upstream/`](shifts-upstream/) | — (dev service) | A throwaway mock backend the reference plugin reads/writes — stdlib-only, in-memory, no auth. Stands in for your real service so `docker compose up` shows the plugin working out of the box; in production you point `SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM` at the real thing instead. |
+| [`shifts-upstream/`](shifts-upstream/) | — (dev service) | A throwaway mock backend the reference plugin reads/writes — stdlib-only, in-memory, no auth. Stands in for your real service so `docker compose up` shows the plugin working out of the box; in production you point `PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM` at the real thing instead. |

examples/plugins/admin/admin-clients.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 // PRG redirect (mirrors the Users "trigger recovery" one-time code). Below the builders are thin
 // per-route handlers (keyed on ctx.params) over a shared `withClients` gate — admin-only, CSRF-guarded.
 
-import { can, type HydraAdmin, HydraError, type OAuth2Client, paginate, parseListQuery, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "#plugin-api";
+import { can, type HydraAdmin, HydraError, type OAuth2Client, paginate, parseListQuery, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { ADMIN_CLIENTS_BASE, ADMIN_EN, type AdminAction, buildConfirmModel, guardedForm, notFound, permissionName, requirePermission, unavailable } from "./admin-shared.ts";
 import type { FieldConfig } from "./admin-users.ts";
 

examples/plugins/admin/admin-grants.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // two screens render from it. The Keto writes and the HTTP round trip are covered in app.test.ts.
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
-import type { PermissionDecl } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { PermissionDecl } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { buildPermissionPicker, grantDiff, grantTuple, groupSubject, userSubject } from "./admin-grants.ts";
 
 const declared: PermissionDecl[] = [

examples/plugins/admin/admin-grants.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 // what the installed plugins declare in code. Nothing here invents a name, which is why the old
 // Permissions screen is gone: a grant is a property of a user or a group, edited where they are.
 
-import type { KetoClient, PermissionDecl, RelationTuple, SubjectSet, Translate } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { KetoClient, PermissionDecl, RelationTuple, SubjectSet, Translate } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 const PERMISSION_NS = "Permission";
 const GRANTED = "granted";

examples/plugins/admin/admin-groups.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
   memberView,
   parseSubject,
 } from "./admin-groups.ts";
-import type { RelationTuple } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { RelationTuple } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 const uid = (n: number) => `01902d5e-7b6c-7e3a-9f21-3c8d1e0a4b${String(n).padStart(2, "0")}`;
 const userTuple = (group: string, n: number): RelationTuple =>

examples/plugins/admin/admin-groups.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 // per-route handlers (keyed on ctx.params) over a shared `withGroups` gate — admin-only, CSRF-guarded,
 // each returning a RouteResult.
 
-import { can, type KetoClient, type KratosAdmin, paginate, parseListQuery, type RelationQuery, type RelationTuple, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type SubjectSet, type Translate, type User } from "#plugin-api";
+import { can, type KetoClient, type KratosAdmin, paginate, parseListQuery, type RelationQuery, type RelationTuple, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type SubjectSet, type Translate, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { applyGrants, buildPermissionPicker, effectivePermissions, grantDiff, grantTuple, groupSubject, heldPermissions, type PermissionPicker, PERMISSIONS_FIELD } from "./admin-grants.ts";
 import { ADMIN_EN, type AdminAction, ADMIN_GROUPS_BASE, buildConfirmModel, guardedForm, notFound, permissionName, requirePermission, unavailable } from "./admin-shared.ts";
 import type { FieldConfig } from "./admin-users.ts";

examples/plugins/admin/admin-plugin-settings.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+import type { PageChrome, PluginSettings } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
+import { buildPluginSettingsModel } from "./admin-plugin-settings.ts";
+
+const CHROME: PageChrome = { brand: { name: "Test" }, csrfToken: "tok", nav: [], signInHref: "/login", user: { email: "", initials: "T", name: "Tester" } };
+
+const CATALOG: readonly PluginSettings[] = [
+  {
+    pluginId: "scheduling",
+    settings: [
+      { description: "Where shifts come from", envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM", key: "upstream", required: true, secret: false, source: "env", type: "url", value: "https://shifts.test" },
+      { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_MODE", key: "mode", required: false, secret: false, source: "default", type: "enum", value: "strict", values: ["strict", "lenient"] },
+      { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_NOTE", key: "note", required: false, secret: false, source: "unset", type: "string" },
+    ],
+  },
+  { pluginId: "quiet", settings: [] },
+];
+
+test("a row carries the variable to set and where the value came from", () => {
+  const model = buildPluginSettingsModel({ chrome: CHROME, settings: CATALOG });
+  const rows = model.groups[0]?.table.rows ?? [];
+  assert.deepEqual(rows.map((r) => r.name), ["upstream", "mode", "note"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(rows[0]?.cells, [
+    { rowHeader: { text: "upstream" } }, "Where shifts come from", "url", "Yes", "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM", "Environment", "https://shifts.test",
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(rows[1]?.cells[2], "enum (strict, lenient)"); // the choices are the useful half of the type
+  assert.equal(rows[2]?.cells[5], "Not set");
+});
+
+test("a plugin declaring nothing still gets a section, so it is visibly installed", () => {
+  const model = buildPluginSettingsModel({ chrome: CHROME, settings: CATALOG });
+  assert.deepEqual(model.groups.map((g) => g.pluginId), ["scheduling", "quiet"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(model.groups[1]?.table.rows, []);
+  assert.match(model.groups[1]?.emptyText ?? "", /no settings/i);
+});
+
+test("a secret renders as set-or-not, never as a value, a mask or a length", () => {
+  const settings: readonly PluginSettings[] = [{
+    pluginId: "billing",
+    settings: [
+      { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_BILLING_API_KEY", key: "apiKey", required: false, secret: true, source: "env", type: "string" },
+      { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_BILLING_WEBHOOK_KEY", key: "webhookKey", required: false, secret: true, source: "unset", type: "string" },
+    ],
+  }];
+  const rows = buildPluginSettingsModel({ chrome: CHROME, settings }).groups[0]?.table.rows ?? [];
+  assert.equal(rows[0]?.cells[6], "Secret — set");
+  assert.equal(rows[1]?.cells[6], "Secret — not set");
+});
+
+test("two tables on one page need distinct row-action id stems", () => {
+  const model = buildPluginSettingsModel({ chrome: CHROME, settings: CATALOG });
+  const stems = model.groups.map((g) => g.table.actionsId);
+  assert.equal(new Set(stems).size, stems.length);
+});

examples/plugins/admin/admin-plugin-settings.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+// Plugin settings admin screen: what each installed plugin declares it can be configured with, the
+// variable that sets it, and how each key resolved. Read-only — the host reads settings from the
+// environment at boot, so changing one is a deploy, not a form.
+
+import { type PageChrome, type PluginSettings, type RouteHandler, type SettingSummary, type Translate } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
+import { ADMIN_EN, requirePermission } from "./admin-shared.ts";
+
+interface SettingsGroup {
+  emptyText: string;
+  pluginId: string;
+  table: {
+    actionsId: string;
+    caption: string;
+    columns: { label: string }[];
+    rows: { cells: (string | { rowHeader: { text: string } })[]; name: string }[];
+  };
+}
+
+// One group per installed plugin, including those declaring nothing — an operator who cannot find
+// their plugin here has not installed it, which is the other half of what this screen answers.
+export function buildPluginSettingsModel(opts: { chrome: PageChrome; settings: readonly PluginSettings[]; t?: Translate }) {
+  const t = opts.t ?? ADMIN_EN;
+  return {
+    breadcrumbs: [{ label: t("admin.pluginSettings.title") }],
+    chrome: opts.chrome,
+    groups: opts.settings.map((plugin): SettingsGroup => ({
+      emptyText: t("admin.pluginSettings.none"),
+      pluginId: plugin.pluginId,
+      table: {
+        actionsId: `settings-${plugin.pluginId}`, // two tables share this page, so the stem must differ
+        caption: t("admin.pluginSettings.caption", { plugin: plugin.pluginId }),
+        columns: [
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.key") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.description") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.type") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.required") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.variable") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.source") },
+          { label: t("admin.pluginSettings.column.value") },
+        ],
+        rows: plugin.settings.map((setting) => ({
+          cells: [
+            { rowHeader: { text: setting.key } },
+            setting.description ?? "",
+            typeLabel(setting),
+            t(setting.required ? "admin.pluginSettings.yes" : "admin.pluginSettings.no"),
+            setting.envName,
+            t(`admin.pluginSettings.source.${setting.source}`),
+            valueLabel(setting, t),
+          ],
+          name: setting.key,
+        })),
+      },
+    })),
+    title: t("admin.pluginSettings.title"),
+  };
+}
+
+// An enum's choices are the useful half of its type — they are what the operator must pick from.
+function typeLabel(setting: SettingSummary): string {
+  return setting.type === "enum" && setting.values ? `${setting.type} (${setting.values.join(", ")})` : setting.type;
+}
+
+// A secret never renders its value — not the value, not a mask of it, not its length. Whether it
+// resolved and from where is what an operator needs, and the source column already says the rest.
+function valueLabel(setting: SettingSummary, t: Translate): string {
+  if (setting.secret) return t(setting.source === "unset" ? "admin.pluginSettings.secretUnset" : "admin.pluginSettings.secretSet");
+  return setting.value ?? t("admin.pluginSettings.unset");
+}
+
+// GET /admin/plugin-settings
+export const pluginSettingsList: RouteHandler = (ctx) => {
+  requirePermission(ctx, "plugin-settings");
+  return { data: { chrome: ctx.chrome, model: buildPluginSettingsModel({ chrome: ctx.chrome, settings: ctx.declaredSettings, t: ctx.t }) }, view: "plugin-settings" };
+};

examples/plugins/admin/admin-shared.test.ts

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 // Direct units for the admin plugin's shared nav + auth helpers. They're security-critical
 // (requirePermission/guardedForm gate every admin write) and reused across all three screens, so pin the
 // contract here in isolation; the HTTP routing/gate/CSRF is exercised end-to-end in src/http/app.test.ts.
-// Import only from the #plugin-api barrel — the same contract boundary the plugin code uses.
+// Import only from the @plainpages/plugin-api barrel — the same contract boundary the plugin code uses.
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import type { IncomingMessage, ServerResponse } from "node:http";
 import { Readable } from "node:stream";
 import { test } from "node:test";
-import { GuardError, isValidPermissionName, type Log, type PageChrome, type RequestContext, type User } from "#plugin-api";
+import { GuardError, isValidPermissionName, type Log, type PageChrome, type RequestContext, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { ADMIN_EN, ADMIN_NAV, ADMIN_USERS_BASE, actionForMethod, buildConfirmModel, guardedForm, permissionName, requirePermission } from "./admin-shared.ts";
 
 const reader: User = { email: "ada@x.io", id: "u1", permissions: ["users:read"] };
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ function fakeCtx(opts: { body?: string; method?: string; user?: User | null; ver
   const req = Readable.from(opts.body != null ? [Buffer.from(opts.body)] : []) as unknown as IncomingMessage;
   req.method = opts.method ?? "GET";
   return {
-    chrome: CHROME, declaredPermissions: [], user: opts.user ?? null, locale: "en-US", localeHref: (href) => href, locales: ["en-US"], log: {} as Log, params: {},
+    chrome: CHROME, declaredPermissions: [], declaredSettings: [], user: opts.user ?? null, locale: "en-US", localeHref: (href) => href, locales: ["en-US"], log: {} as Log, params: {},
     query: url.searchParams, req, res: {} as ServerResponse, permissions: opts.user?.permissions ?? [], t: ADMIN_EN, url,
     verifyCsrf: opts.verifyCsrf ?? (() => true),
   };
@@ -27,21 +27,21 @@ function fakeCtx(opts: { body?: string; method?: string; user?: User | null; ver
 
 // ---- nav fragment ----
 
-test("ADMIN_NAV: an ungated Admin header whose three screens each gate on their own read permission", () => {
+test("ADMIN_NAV: an ungated Admin header whose screens each gate on their own read permission", () => {
   assert.equal(ADMIN_NAV.id, "admin");
   // No gate on the header: a user may hold one screen's permission and not another's. composeNav
-  // drops a header left with no visible children, so holding none of the three hides the section.
+  // drops a header left with no visible children, so holding none of them hides the section.
   // Both halves matter — give the header an `href` and it survives the filter as a visible leaf,
   // ungated, for anonymous visitors included.
   assert.equal(ADMIN_NAV.permission, undefined);
   assert.equal(ADMIN_NAV.href, undefined);
   assert.equal(ADMIN_NAV.open, undefined); // the host current-marks + opens; the fragment stays static
-  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.href), ["/admin/users", "/admin/groups", "/admin/clients"]);
-  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.permission), ["users:read", "groups:read", "oauth2-clients:read"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.href), ["/admin/users", "/admin/groups", "/admin/clients", "/admin/plugin-settings"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.permission), ["users:read", "groups:read", "oauth2-clients:read", "plugin-settings:read"]);
   // Labels are catalog keys; the host translates them with this plugin's catalog when it composes
   // the menu, so what a visitor sees is the en-US (or sv-SE …) wording behind these keys.
-  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.label), ["admin.nav.users", "admin.nav.groups", "admin.nav.clients"]);
-  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => ADMIN_EN(c.label)), ["Users", "Groups", "OAuth2 clients"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => c.label), ["admin.nav.users", "admin.nav.groups", "admin.nav.clients", "admin.nav.pluginSettings"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(ADMIN_NAV.children?.map((c) => ADMIN_EN(c.label)), ["Users", "Groups", "OAuth2 clients", "Plugin settings"]);
   assert.ok(ADMIN_NAV.children?.every((c) => c.current === undefined));
 });
 

examples/plugins/admin/admin-shared.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 // Shared plumbing for the admin example plugin: the section nav fragment, the screen gate, the
 // CSRF-guarded form reader, the destructive-confirm model builder, and small RouteResult helpers.
-// Everything imports the host only through the #plugin-api barrel.
+// Everything imports the host only through the @plainpages/plugin-api barrel.
 
-import { can, CSRF_FIELD, englishTranslator, GuardError, type NavNode, readFormBody, type RequestContext, requireSession, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "#plugin-api";
+import { can, CSRF_FIELD, englishTranslator, GuardError, type NavNode, readFormBody, type RequestContext, requireSession, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import enUS from "./i18n/en-US.ts";
 
 // This plugin's English — its catalog, then the host's — for a view model built outside a request,
@@ -12,12 +12,13 @@ export const ADMIN_EN: Translate = englishTranslator(enUS);
 export const ADMIN_USERS_BASE = "/admin/users";
 export const ADMIN_GROUPS_BASE = "/admin/groups";
 export const ADMIN_CLIENTS_BASE = "/admin/clients";
+export const ADMIN_PLUGIN_SETTINGS_BASE = "/admin/plugin-settings";
 
 // One resource per screen — the `<resource>` half of every permission this plugin gates on.
 // `oauth2-clients` rather than `clients` because permission names are one global namespace.
 // There is no `permissions` resource: permissions are declared in plugin code, not created here, so
 // holding a grant is a property of a user or a group and is edited on those two screens.
-export type AdminResource = "groups" | "oauth2-clients" | "users";
+export type AdminResource = "groups" | "oauth2-clients" | "plugin-settings" | "users";
 
 export type AdminAction = "read" | "write";
 
@@ -34,19 +35,20 @@ export function actionForMethod(method: string): AdminAction {
   return verb === "GET" || verb === "HEAD" ? "read" : "write";
 }
 
-// The plugin's nav fragment: an ungated "Admin" header + its three screens, each gated on its own
-// read permission. The header carries no `permission` because a user may hold one screen's and not
-// another's; composeNav drops a header left with no visible children, so a user holding none of the
-// three never sees the section. The host current-marks the active item — no `current`/`open` here.
+// The plugin's nav fragment: the "Admin" header + its four screens, each gated on its own read
+// permission. composeNav drops a header left with no visible children, so a user holding none of
+// them never sees the section. The host current-marks the active item — no `current`/`open` here.
 export const ADMIN_NAV: NavNode = {
   children: [
     { href: ADMIN_USERS_BASE, icon: "i-users", id: "users", label: "admin.nav.users", permission: permissionName("users", "read") },
     { href: ADMIN_GROUPS_BASE, icon: "i-layers", id: "groups", label: "admin.nav.groups", permission: permissionName("groups", "read") },
     { href: ADMIN_CLIENTS_BASE, icon: "i-globe", id: "clients", label: "admin.nav.clients", permission: permissionName("oauth2-clients", "read") },
+    { href: ADMIN_PLUGIN_SETTINGS_BASE, icon: "i-sliders", id: "plugin-settings", label: "admin.nav.pluginSettings", permission: permissionName("plugin-settings", "read") },
   ],
   icon: "i-shield",
   id: "admin",
   label: "admin.nav.section", // a key in this plugin's catalog; the host translates nav labels
+  public: true, // the header gates nothing; every child needs a permission, and an empty header is dropped
 };
 
 // The screen gate: a signed-in user holding this request's `<resource>:<action>`. Each route already

examples/plugins/admin/admin-users.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // routing/gate/CSRF + live Kratos calls are exercised over HTTP in src/http/app.test.ts.
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
-import type { Identity } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { Identity } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import {
   buildUserFormModel,
   buildUsersListModel,

examples/plugins/admin/admin-users.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // into building-block view models; below them are thin per-route handlers keyed on ctx.params, over
 // a shared `withUser` gate.
 
-import { can, type Identity, type KetoClient, type KratosAdmin, KratosError, paginate, parseListQuery, type RecoveryCode, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "#plugin-api";
+import { can, type Identity, type KetoClient, type KratosAdmin, KratosError, paginate, parseListQuery, type RecoveryCode, type RequestContext, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult, type Translate, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { applyGrants, buildPermissionPicker, effectivePermissions, grantDiff, heldPermissions, type PermissionPicker, PERMISSIONS_FIELD, userSubject } from "./admin-grants.ts";
 import { ADMIN_EN, type AdminAction, ADMIN_USERS_BASE, buildConfirmModel, guardedForm, notFound, permissionName, requirePermission, unavailable } from "./admin-shared.ts";
 

examples/plugins/admin/i18n/en-US.ts

@@ -83,9 +83,29 @@ const messages = {
 
   "admin.nav.clients": "OAuth2 clients",
   "admin.nav.groups": "Groups",
+  "admin.nav.pluginSettings": "Plugin settings",
   "admin.nav.section": "Admin",
   "admin.nav.users": "Users",
 
+  "admin.pluginSettings.caption": "Settings declared by {{plugin}}",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.description": "Description",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.key": "Key",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.required": "Required",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.source": "Source",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.type": "Type",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.value": "Value",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.variable": "Variable",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.no": "No",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.none": "This plugin declares no settings.",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.secretSet": "Secret — set",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.secretUnset": "Secret — not set",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.default": "Default",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.env": "Environment",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.unset": "Not set",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.title": "Plugin settings",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.unset": "—",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.yes": "Yes",
+
   "admin.notFound.message": "That item doesn't exist.",
   "admin.notFound.title": "Not found",
 

examples/plugins/admin/i18n/sv-SE.ts

@@ -83,9 +83,29 @@ const messages: AdminMessages = {
 
   "admin.nav.clients": "OAuth2-klienter",
   "admin.nav.groups": "Grupper",
+  "admin.nav.pluginSettings": "Tilläggsinställningar",
   "admin.nav.section": "Administration",
   "admin.nav.users": "Användare",
 
+  "admin.pluginSettings.caption": "Inställningar som {{plugin}} deklarerar",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.description": "Beskrivning",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.key": "Nyckel",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.required": "Obligatorisk",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.source": "Källa",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.type": "Typ",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.value": "Värde",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.column.variable": "Variabel",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.no": "Nej",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.none": "Det här tillägget deklarerar inga inställningar.",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.secretSet": "Hemlighet — satt",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.secretUnset": "Hemlighet — inte satt",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.default": "Standardvärde",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.env": "Miljövariabel",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.source.unset": "Inte satt",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.title": "Tilläggsinställningar",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.unset": "—",
+  "admin.pluginSettings.yes": "Ja",
+
   "admin.notFound.message": "Objektet finns inte.",
   "admin.notFound.title": "Hittades inte",
 

examples/plugins/admin/plugin.test.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // with nothing in the logs to explain it. Pin the two halves against each other here.
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
-import { isValidPermissionName } from "#plugin-api";
+import { isValidPermissionName } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import manifest from "./plugin.ts";
 
 const routes = manifest.routes ?? [];
@@ -35,17 +35,20 @@ test("every nav permission is one the manifest declares", () => {
     }
   };
   walk(manifest.nav);
-  assert.equal(navPermissions.length, 3);
+  assert.equal(navPermissions.length, 4);
   for (const name of navPermissions) assert.ok(declared.includes(name), `nav gates on undeclared ${name}`);
 });
 
 test("every declared permission is <resource>:<action>, and reads and writes are split per resource", () => {
   for (const name of declared) assert.ok(isValidPermissionName(name), name); // the host's rule, not a copy of it
-  // Three screens × read/write. There is deliberately no `permissions:` pair: permissions are
-  // declared in plugin code, so holding one is edited on the user or group that holds it.
+  // Three CRUD screens × read/write, plus read-only plugin settings — a screen that never writes
+  // declares no `:write`, since a permission nothing gates on is one an operator can only mis-grant.
+  // There is deliberately no `permissions:` pair either: permissions are declared in plugin code, so
+  // holding one is edited on the user or group that holds it.
   assert.deepEqual([...declared].sort(), [
     "groups:read", "groups:write",
     "oauth2-clients:read", "oauth2-clients:write",
+    "plugin-settings:read",
     "users:read", "users:write",
   ]);
 });
@@ -58,5 +61,5 @@ test("GET routes gate on read and mutations on write, so a reader can open a scr
     const action = route.method === "GET" && !writeIntent(route.path) ? "read" : "write";
     assert.ok(route.permission?.endsWith(`:${action}`), `${route.method} ${route.path} → ${route.permission}`);
   }
-  assert.equal(routes.filter((r) => r.method === "GET" && writeIntent(r.path)).length, 6); // 2 per screen
+  assert.equal(routes.filter((r) => r.method === "GET" && writeIntent(r.path)).length, 6); // 2 per CRUD screen; plugin settings has none
 });

examples/plugins/admin/plugin.ts

@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
 // It is a *system* plugin: its handlers reach the host's Ory admin clients and the instant-revoke
 // hook via ctx.system. Where a capability is absent the screen degrades to a themed 503.
 
-import { definePlugin, type HttpMethod, type Route, type RouteHandler } from "#plugin-api";
+import { definePlugin, type HttpMethod, type Route, type RouteHandler } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import { clientsCreate, clientsDeleteConfirm, clientsDelete, clientsDetail, clientsList, clientsNewForm } from "./admin-clients.ts";
 import { groupsAddMember, groupsCreate, groupsDelete, groupsDeleteConfirm, groupsDetail, groupsList, groupsNewForm, groupsPermissions, groupsRemoveMember } from "./admin-groups.ts";
+import { pluginSettingsList } from "./admin-plugin-settings.ts";
 import { usersCreate, usersDeleteConfirm, usersDelete, usersEditForm, usersList, usersNewForm, usersPermissions, usersRecovery, usersState, usersUpdate } from "./admin-users.ts";
 import { ADMIN_NAV, actionForMethod, type AdminAction, type AdminResource, permissionName } from "./admin-shared.ts";
 
@@ -24,9 +25,10 @@ const on = (resource: AdminResource) => (method: HttpMethod, path: string, handl
 const users = on("users");
 const groups = on("groups");
 const clients = on("oauth2-clients");
+const pluginSettings = on("plugin-settings");
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0", // the host contract this was built against — a literal, never HOST_API_VERSION
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0", // the host contract this was built against — a literal, never HOST_API_VERSION
 
   nav: [ADMIN_NAV],
 
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ export default definePlugin({
     { description: "Create and delete groups, and change their members and permissions", name: "groups:write" },
     { description: "View OAuth2 clients", name: "oauth2-clients:read" },
     { description: "Register and delete OAuth2 clients", name: "oauth2-clients:write" },
+    { description: "View the settings each installed plugin declares, and how they resolved", name: "plugin-settings:read" },
   ],
 
   routes: [
@@ -68,5 +71,7 @@ export default definePlugin({
     clients("GET", "/clients/:id", clientsDetail),
     clients("GET", "/clients/:id/delete", clientsDeleteConfirm, "write"),
     clients("POST", "/clients/:id/delete", clientsDelete),
+    // Plugin settings — read-only, so no :write route and no write-intent GET.
+    pluginSettings("GET", "/plugin-settings", pluginSettingsList),
   ],
 });

examples/plugins/admin/views/plugin-settings.ejs

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<%#
+  Plugin settings admin list: one section per installed plugin, each a table of what it declares
+  and how each key resolved (admin-plugin-settings.ts). Read-only — no actions, no forms.
+%><%
+  const nav = include("partials/nav-tree", { nodes: chrome.nav });
+  let body = "";
+  for (const group of model.groups) {
+    // A plugin id is the folder name, which discovery constrains to [a-z0-9-] — no escaping needed.
+    body += '<h2 class="h2">' + group.pluginId + "</h2>";
+    body += group.table.rows.length === 0
+      ? '<p class="muted">' + group.emptyText + "</p>"
+      : include("partials/data-table", group.table);
+  }
+-%>
+<%- include("partials/shell", {
+  body,
+  brand: chrome.brand,
+  breadcrumbs: model.breadcrumbs,
+  csrfToken: chrome.csrfToken,
+  nav,
+  theme: chrome.theme,
+  title: model.title,
+  user: chrome.user,
+}) %>

examples/plugins/scheduling/README.md

@@ -15,8 +15,12 @@ What it demonstrates:
   `POST /scheduling/shifts` CSRF-verifies it (`ctx.verifyCsrf`) and forwards the create upstream,
   then POST-redirect-GET. The form body lives in the plugin's own `views/partials/shift-form.ejs`,
   reusing the core `field` partial.
-- **Permission-gated nav** — the "Shifts" nav leaf and routes are gated on `scheduling:read` /
-  `scheduling:write`; the whole "Scheduling" section is invisible to anyone without the grant.
+- **All three route gates** — the Overview is `public` (anyone), "My shifts" is `session` (any
+  signed-in visitor, showing only rows assigned to them), and "Shifts" is gated on `scheduling:read` /
+  `scheduling:write`; a leaf whose gate a visitor fails is invisible in the menu.
+- **Ownership joined on the identity id** — "My shifts" asks the upstream for `assigneeId=ctx.user.id`,
+  the opaque subject id, and renders the row's separate `assignee` display name. An email address is
+  user-changeable and can be reassigned to someone else, who would then inherit those rows.
 - **Its own translations** — every string comes from `i18n/en-US.ts` (`sv-SE.ts` beside it), including
   the nav labels, which are catalog keys in the manifest. `shifts.count` shows a plural message, and
   the views carry the visitor's language onto their links with `localeHref()`.
@@ -27,7 +31,7 @@ The plugin holds **no state** — data lives upstream (README → *Stateless*).
 
 ## Upstream
 
-Set `SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM` to your backend's base URL. The dev compose points it at a tiny in-memory
+Set `PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM` to your backend's base URL. The dev compose points it at a tiny in-memory
 mock (`examples/shifts-upstream/`) so `docker compose up` shows the plugin working out of the box.
 A malformed/non-http URL fails the boot loudly (the plugin's `onBoot` hook).
 
@@ -38,9 +42,14 @@ Your backend must expose two routes; the plugin treats any non-2xx as a recovera
 
 | Route | Request | Success | Response body |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
-| `GET /shifts` | `Accept: application/json` | `200` | JSON array of `{ id, title, assignee, start, end }` (all strings; missing fields coerce to `""`) |
+| `GET /shifts` | `Accept: application/json`, optional `?assigneeId=<id>` | `200` | JSON array of `{ id, title, assignee, assigneeId, start, end }` (all strings; missing fields coerce to `""`). With `assigneeId`, only that person's rows |
 | `POST /shifts` | JSON body `{ title, assignee, start, end }` | `2xx` | ignored (the plugin POST-redirect-GETs back to the list) |
 
+`POST /shifts` carries the assignee as a **display name only**, so a shift created through this
+plugin's form belongs to nobody and surfaces on no one's "My shifts" — don't go hunting for it
+there. Resolving a name to an identity id needs a directory this demo has none of; a real backend
+does that join at create time and stores the `assigneeId` alongside the name.
+
 Domain rules (overlap, capacity, time ordering) live in your backend — reject with a 4xx and the
 form re-renders. The plugin only validates that `title` and `assignee` are non-empty.
 
@@ -50,6 +59,8 @@ cosmetically) — normalise to your backend's format there if it matters.
 
 ## Granting access
 
-A user sees Scheduling once they hold the `scheduling:read` permission in Keto (and `scheduling:write`
-to create). The one-command bootstrap grants both to the demo admin, so the seeded
-`admin@plainpages.local` can use it immediately.
+A user sees the shift list once they hold the `scheduling:read` permission in Keto (and
+`scheduling:write` to create). The one-command bootstrap grants both to the demo admin, so the seeded
+`admin@plainpages.local` can use it immediately. "My shifts" needs no grant at all — signing in is
+its whole gate; it lists the rows this demo upstream holds against the signed-in visitor's id, and
+the demo's seeded rows belong to three made-up people, so a freshly seeded admin sees it empty.

examples/plugins/scheduling/i18n/en-US.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // looked up here first and fall back to the host's, so a plugin owns its words without prefixing
 // them, and `shifts.count` shows the plural form (host: README → Translating).
 
-import type { PluralMessage } from "#plugin-api";
+import type { PluralMessage } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 const messages = {
   "scheduling.field.assignee": "Assignee",
@@ -13,12 +13,16 @@ const messages = {
   "scheduling.filter.searchLabel": "Search shifts",
   "scheduling.filter.searchPlaceholder": "Search title or assignee…",
   "scheduling.form.submit": "Create shift",
+  "scheduling.mine.empty": "No shifts are assigned to {{email}}.",
+  "scheduling.mine.title": "My shifts",
+  "scheduling.nav.mine": "My shifts",
   "scheduling.nav.overview": "Overview",
   "scheduling.nav.section": "Scheduling",
   "scheduling.nav.shifts": "Shifts",
   "scheduling.new.title": "New shift",
   "scheduling.overview.lead":
     "Scheduling coordinates shifts across your team. Anyone can read this overview; the shift list itself is available to people with the <code>scheduling:read</code> permission.",
+  "scheduling.overview.mine": "See my shifts",
   "scheduling.overview.signIn": "Sign in to view shifts",
   "scheduling.overview.title": "Scheduling",
   "scheduling.overview.view": "View shifts",

examples/plugins/scheduling/i18n/sv-SE.ts

@@ -9,12 +9,16 @@ const messages: SchedulingMessages = {
   "scheduling.filter.searchLabel": "Sök pass",
   "scheduling.filter.searchPlaceholder": "Sök på namn eller person…",
   "scheduling.form.submit": "Skapa pass",
+  "scheduling.mine.empty": "Inga pass är tilldelade {{email}}.",
+  "scheduling.mine.title": "Mina pass",
+  "scheduling.nav.mine": "Mina pass",
   "scheduling.nav.overview": "Översikt",
   "scheduling.nav.section": "Schemaläggning",
   "scheduling.nav.shifts": "Pass",
   "scheduling.new.title": "Nytt pass",
   "scheduling.overview.lead":
     "Schemaläggningen samordnar teamets pass. Alla kan läsa den här översikten; själva passlistan kräver behörigheten <code>scheduling:read</code>.",
+  "scheduling.overview.mine": "Visa mina pass",
   "scheduling.overview.signIn": "Logga in för att se passen",
   "scheduling.overview.title": "Schemaläggning",
   "scheduling.overview.view": "Visa pass",

examples/plugins/scheduling/plugin.ts

@@ -2,20 +2,21 @@
 // data, a CSRF-guarded form that forwards a write upstream, and permission-gated nav. Copy this
 // folder, rename it, point it at your own backend. Full contract: README.md → Building plugins.
 
-import { definePlugin } from "#plugin-api";
-import { assertHttpUrl, createShift, createUpstream, listShifts, newShiftForm, overview, READ, SCHEDULING_PATH, SHIFTS_PATH, WRITE } from "./shifts.ts";
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
+import { createShift, createUpstream, listShifts, MINE_PATH, myShifts, newShiftForm, overview, READ, SCHEDULING_PATH, SHIFTS_PATH, WRITE } from "./shifts.ts";
 
 // The upstream this plugin reads/writes — a stand-in for your real backend (the plugin is
-// stateless). Configure via env; the dev compose points it at a tiny mock (examples/shifts-upstream).
-const upstreamUrl = process.env["SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"] ?? "http://shifts-upstream:4000";
-const upstream = createUpstream(upstreamUrl);
+// stateless). Its URL is a declared setting, so it is resolved and validated before onBoot hands it
+// over — which is after this manifest is built, hence the getter.
+let upstreamUrl = "";
+const upstream = createUpstream(() => upstreamUrl);
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0", // the host contract this was built against — a literal, never HOST_API_VERSION
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0", // the host contract this was built against — a literal, never HOST_API_VERSION
 
-  // onBoot runs after discovery, before the server listens: validate the plugin's own config so a
-  // typo'd SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM fails the boot loudly instead of degrading every request later.
-  hooks: { onBoot: () => assertHttpUrl(upstreamUrl, "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM") },
+  // onBoot runs after discovery, before the server listens — where a plugin receives its resolved
+  // settings. A malformed URL already failed the boot by then; the host validated the declared type.
+  hooks: { onBoot: ({ settings }) => { upstreamUrl = settings.upstream; } },
 
   // Merged into the global menu + filtered per user. Labels are keys in this plugin's own catalog
   // (i18n/<locale>.ts) — a plain string works too, it just isn't translated. "Overview" is `public`, so the "Scheduling"
@@ -24,11 +25,13 @@ export default definePlugin({
   nav: [{
     children: [
       { href: SCHEDULING_PATH, id: "scheduling:overview", label: "scheduling.nav.overview", public: true },
+      { href: MINE_PATH, id: "scheduling:mine", label: "scheduling.nav.mine", session: true },
       { href: SHIFTS_PATH, id: "scheduling:shifts", label: "scheduling.nav.shifts", permission: READ },
     ],
     icon: "i-cal",
     id: "scheduling",
     label: "scheduling.nav.section",
+    public: true, // the header gates nothing; each child names its own gate, and an empty header is dropped
   }],
 
   // Roles this plugin introduces (docs + Keto seeding). Namespaced `<id>:<action>`.
@@ -37,12 +40,22 @@ export default definePlugin({
     { description: "Create and edit shifts", name: WRITE },
   ],
 
-  // Mounted under /scheduling; `permission` gates before the handler runs. The overview is `public`
-  // (anyone may reach /scheduling, signed in or not); the rest need a permission.
   routes: [
     { handler: overview(), method: "GET", path: "/", public: true },
+    { handler: myShifts(upstream), method: "GET", path: "/mine", session: true },
     { handler: listShifts(upstream), method: "GET", path: "/shifts", permission: READ },
     { handler: newShiftForm(), method: "GET", path: "/shifts/new", permission: WRITE },
     { handler: createShift(upstream), method: "POST", path: "/shifts", permission: WRITE },
   ],
+
+  // Operator-supplied config: one PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM variable, validated as a URL at
+  // boot. The default points at the mock backend the dev compose runs (examples/shifts-upstream).
+  settings: [
+    {
+      default: "http://shifts-upstream:4000",
+      description: "Base URL of the backend this plugin reads shifts from and writes them to",
+      key: "upstream",
+      type: "url",
+    },
+  ],
 });

examples/plugins/scheduling/shifts.test.ts

@@ -2,31 +2,31 @@ import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import type { IncomingMessage, ServerResponse } from "node:http";
 import { Readable } from "node:stream";
 import test from "node:test";
-// Import only from the #plugin-api barrel — the same contract boundary shifts.ts uses (the host may
+// Import only from the @plainpages/plugin-api barrel — the same contract boundary shifts.ts uses (the host may
 // refactor any deeper src/* freely behind it); the test models the dev/test story the contract preaches.
-import { englishTranslator, GuardError, Log, type PageChrome, type RequestContext, type RouteResult } from "#plugin-api";
+import { englishTranslator, GuardError, Log, type PageChrome, type RequestContext, type RouteResult, type User } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import enUS from "./i18n/en-US.ts";
 import {
-  assertHttpUrl, buildFormModel, createShift, createUpstream, listShifts, newShiftForm, overview, readInput,
+  buildFormModel, createShift, createUpstream, listShifts, myShifts, newShiftForm, overview, readInput,
   SHIFTS_PATH, type Shift, type ShiftInput, type ShiftsUpstream, UpstreamError, validate,
 } from "./shifts.ts";
 
 const t = englishTranslator(enUS); // this plugin's catalog then the host's, as the host would chain them
 const CHROME: PageChrome = { brand: { name: "Test" }, csrfToken: "tok", nav: [], signInHref: "/login", user: { email: "", initials: "T", name: "Tester" } };
 
-function fakeCtx(opts: { body?: string; permissions?: string[]; url?: string; verifyCsrf?: (s: string | null | undefined) => boolean } = {}): RequestContext {
+function fakeCtx(opts: { body?: string; permissions?: string[]; url?: string; user?: User; verifyCsrf?: (s: string | null | undefined) => boolean } = {}): RequestContext {
   const url = new URL(opts.url ?? "http://localhost/scheduling/shifts");
   const req = Readable.from(opts.body != null ? [Buffer.from(opts.body)] : []) as unknown as IncomingMessage;
   return {
-    chrome: CHROME, declaredPermissions: [], user: null, locale: "en-US", localeHref: (href) => href, locales: ["en-US"], log: new Log("none"), params: {},
+    chrome: CHROME, declaredPermissions: [], declaredSettings: [], user: opts.user ?? null, locale: "en-US", localeHref: (href) => href, locales: ["en-US"], log: new Log("none"), params: {},
     query: url.searchParams, req, res: {} as ServerResponse, permissions: opts.permissions ?? [], t, url,
     verifyCsrf: opts.verifyCsrf ?? (() => true),
   };
 }
 
 const SHIFTS: Shift[] = [
-  { assignee: "Avery Kline", end: "12:00", id: "1", start: "08:00", title: "Morning desk" },
-  { assignee: "Blair Mora", end: "17:00", id: "2", start: "12:00", title: "Afternoon support" },
+  { assignee: "Avery Kline", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-3f27-7c41-9a6e-2b1d4f8e05a3", end: "12:00", id: "1", start: "08:00", title: "Morning desk" },
+  { assignee: "Blair Mora", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-4a83-7de2-8f05-6c93a71be4d8", end: "17:00", id: "2", start: "12:00", title: "Afternoon support" },
 ];
 const fakeUpstream = (over: Partial<ShiftsUpstream> = {}): ShiftsUpstream => ({ create: async () => {}, list: async () => SHIFTS, ...over });
 
@@ -35,27 +35,25 @@ const asView = (r: RouteResult | void) => {
   return r as { data: Record<string, unknown>; status?: number; view: string };
 };
 
-// ---- upstream config validation (the onBoot hook) ----
+// ---- the upstream URL as a declared setting ----
 
-test("assertHttpUrl accepts http(s) and fails loud on a malformed or non-http upstream URL", () => {
-  assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertHttpUrl("http://shifts-upstream:4000", "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"));
-  assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertHttpUrl("https://api.example.com/v1", "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"));
-  assert.throws(() => assertHttpUrl("not a url", "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"), /SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM.*valid URL/); // unparseable
-  assert.throws(() => assertHttpUrl("shifts-upstream:4000", "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"), /SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM.*http/); // missing // → parsed as a bogus scheme
-  assert.throws(() => assertHttpUrl("ftp://host/x", "SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"), /SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM.*http/); // wrong scheme
+test("the manifest declares its upstream as a URL setting the host validates", async () => {
+  const manifest = (await import("./plugin.ts")).default;
+  assert.deepEqual(manifest.settings?.map((s) => s.key), ["upstream"]);
+  assert.equal(manifest.settings?.[0]?.type, "url"); // so a typo'd URL fails the boot, not every request
+  assert.equal(manifest.settings?.[0]?.default, "http://shifts-upstream:4000"); // the dev compose's mock
+  assert.equal(typeof manifest.hooks?.onBoot, "function"); // without it the resolved value never arrives
 });
 
-test("the manifest's onBoot hook validates SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM (the binding, not just the helper)", async () => {
-  const prev = process.env["SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"];
-  process.env["SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"] = "nope://bad"; // read at import time below
-  try {
-    const manifest = (await import("./plugin.ts")).default;
-    assert.equal(typeof manifest.hooks?.onBoot, "function");
-    assert.throws(() => manifest.hooks!.onBoot!(), /SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM/); // bad upstream → boot fails loud
-  } finally {
-    if (prev === undefined) delete process.env["SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"];
-    else process.env["SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM"] = prev;
-  }
+test("the client re-reads its base URL, so onBoot can bind it after the manifest is built", async () => {
+  let baseUrl = "http://first:4000";
+  const seen: string[] = [];
+  const http = (async (url) => { seen.push(String(url)); return new Response("[]", { status: 200 }); }) as typeof fetch;
+  const upstream = createUpstream(() => baseUrl, http);
+  await upstream.list();
+  baseUrl = "http://second:4000";
+  await upstream.list();
+  assert.deepEqual(seen, ["http://first:4000/shifts", "http://second:4000/shifts"]);
 });
 
 // ---- upstream client (fetch injected) ----
@@ -65,23 +63,23 @@ test("createUpstream.list fetches /shifts, asks for JSON, and maps the rows", as
   const http = (async (url, init) => {
     seen = String(url);
     assert.equal((init?.headers as Record<string, string>).accept, "application/json");
-    return new Response(JSON.stringify([{ assignee: "A", end: "2", id: "x", start: "1", title: "T", extra: "ignored" }]), { status: 200 });
+    return new Response(JSON.stringify([{ assignee: "A", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-5b6e-7a90-b3c7-84f01d2ea9b6", end: "2", id: "x", start: "1", title: "T", extra: "ignored" }]), { status: 200 });
   }) as typeof fetch;
-  const shifts = await createUpstream("http://up:4000/", http).list(); // trailing slash trimmed
+  const shifts = await createUpstream(() => "http://up:4000/", http).list(); // trailing slash trimmed
   assert.equal(seen, "http://up:4000/shifts");
-  assert.deepEqual(shifts, [{ assignee: "A", end: "2", id: "x", start: "1", title: "T" }]);
+  assert.deepEqual(shifts, [{ assignee: "A", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-5b6e-7a90-b3c7-84f01d2ea9b6", end: "2", id: "x", start: "1", title: "T" }]);
 });
 
 test("createUpstream throws UpstreamError carrying the status on a non-2xx", async () => {
   const http = (async () => new Response("nope", { status: 503 })) as typeof fetch;
-  await assert.rejects(createUpstream("http://up:4000", http).list(), (e: unknown) => e instanceof UpstreamError && e.status === 503);
+  await assert.rejects(createUpstream(() => "http://up:4000", http).list(), (e: unknown) => e instanceof UpstreamError && e.status === 503);
 });
 
 test("createUpstream.create POSTs the input as JSON", async () => {
   let body: unknown, method = "";
   const http = (async (_url, init) => { method = init?.method ?? ""; body = JSON.parse(String(init?.body)); return new Response(null, { status: 201 }); }) as typeof fetch;
   const input: ShiftInput = { assignee: "A", end: "2", start: "1", title: "T" };
-  await createUpstream("http://up:4000", http).create(input);
+  await createUpstream(() => "http://up:4000", http).create(input);
   assert.equal(method, "POST");
   assert.deepEqual(body, input);
 });
@@ -117,14 +115,21 @@ test("listShifts degrades to a recoverable error page when the upstream is down
 
 // ---- public overview handler (a page anyone can reach, gated data stays behind the permission) ----
 
-test("overview renders a public page for anyone; it links straight to Shifts only for a reader", async () => {
+test("overview renders a public page for anyone, and its CTA names the best gate the visitor passes", async () => {
   const anon = asView(await overview()(fakeCtx())); // user null, no permissions
   assert.equal(anon.view, "overview");
   assert.equal(anon.data["chrome"], CHROME);
   assert.equal(anon.data["canRead"], false); // anonymous → prompt to sign in, no shifts link
+  assert.equal(anon.data["signedIn"], false);
 
   const reader = asView(await overview()(fakeCtx({ permissions: ["scheduling:read"] })));
   assert.equal(reader.data["canRead"], true); // a reader gets a link straight to the shifts list
+
+  // Signed in but ungranted: the page must not invite them to sign in again.
+  const member = asView(await overview()(fakeCtx({ user: { email: "m@example.test", id: "01a06091-baa3-7a1f-9c62-0e3ab6d2f5c1", permissions: [] } })));
+  assert.equal(member.data["canRead"], false);
+  assert.equal(member.data["signedIn"], true);
+  assert.equal(member.data["mineHref"], "/scheduling/mine");
 });
 
 // ---- create handler ----
@@ -173,3 +178,38 @@ test("buildFormModel marks title/assignee required and attaches field errors", (
   assert.equal(title.error, "needed");
   assert.equal(fields.find((f) => f.name === "start")!.required, undefined);
 });
+
+// ---- the session-gated page: the visitor's own rows ----
+
+test("my shifts scopes the upstream read by the visitor's id, and names them in the empty state", async () => {
+  const user: User = { email: "Blair.Mora@example.test", id: "01a06091-baa3-71f4-a068-4879972979ff", permissions: [] };
+  const mine: Shift = { assignee: "Blair Mora", assigneeId: user.id, end: "22:00", id: "3", start: "17:00", title: "Evening on-call" };
+  let asked: { assigneeId?: string } | undefined;
+
+  const upstream = fakeUpstream({ list: async (opts) => { asked = opts; return [mine]; } });
+  const r = asView(await myShifts(upstream)(fakeCtx({ url: "http://localhost/scheduling/mine", user })));
+  assert.equal(r.view, "mine");
+  assert.deepEqual(asked, { assigneeId: "01a06091-baa3-71f4-a068-4879972979ff" }); // the id, never the address
+  const table = r.data["table"] as { emptyText: string; rows: { name: string }[] };
+  assert.deepEqual(table.rows.map((row) => row.name), ["Evening on-call"]);
+  assert.match(table.emptyText, /Blair\.Mora@example\.test/); // an empty page still says whose it is
+
+  // `requireSession` narrows `ctx.user` from `User | null` to `User` — the one part of the route's
+  // `session: true` guarantee the contract cannot state in the handler's type.
+  await assert.rejects(async () => { await myShifts(fakeUpstream())(fakeCtx()); }, GuardError);
+});
+
+test("my shifts degrades to the reason alone when the upstream is down, claiming nothing about what is assigned", async () => {
+  const user: User = { email: "Blair.Mora@example.test", id: "01a06091-baa3-71f4-a068-4879972979ff", permissions: [] };
+  const down = fakeUpstream({ list: async () => { throw new UpstreamError("down", 503); } });
+  const r = asView(await myShifts(down)(fakeCtx({ url: "http://localhost/scheduling/mine", user })));
+  assert.match(String(r.data["error"]), /scheduling service/i);
+  assert.deepEqual((r.data["table"] as { rows: unknown[] }).rows, []); // mine.ejs drops the count + table while `error` is set
+});
+
+test("my shifts drops a row the upstream returned that is not the visitor's", async () => {
+  const user: User = { email: "Blair.Mora@example.test", id: "01a06091-baa3-71f4-a068-4879972979ff", permissions: [] };
+  const theirs: Shift = { assignee: "Avery Kline", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-3f27-7c41-9a6e-2b1d4f8e05a3", end: "12:00", id: "9", start: "08:00", title: "Not mine" };
+  const r = asView(await myShifts(fakeUpstream({ list: async () => [theirs] }))(fakeCtx({ url: "http://localhost/scheduling/mine", user })));
+  assert.deepEqual((r.data["table"] as { rows: unknown[] }).rows, []); // a backend ignoring the scope must not leak through this page
+});

examples/plugins/scheduling/shifts.ts

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 // Handlers are factories bound to a ShiftsUpstream, and `fetch` is injectable, so they unit-test as
 // pure functions against a mock upstream with no network (README.md → Local dev & test story).
 
-// One import from the host's #plugin-api barrel — the stable author surface (see README.md → Building plugins).
-import { can, CSRF_FIELD, englishTranslator, GuardError, type PageChrome, parseListQuery, readFormBody, type RouteHandler, type Translate, tracedFetch } from "#plugin-api";
+// One import from the host's @plainpages/plugin-api barrel — the stable author surface (see README.md → Building plugins).
+import { can, CSRF_FIELD, englishTranslator, GuardError, type PageChrome, parseListQuery, readFormBody, requireSession, type RouteHandler, type Translate, tracedFetch } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 import enUS from "./i18n/en-US.ts";
 
 // The plugin's own English (its catalog, then the host's), for a view model built outside a request:
@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@ const EN: Translate = englishTranslator(enUS);
 
 export const SCHEDULING_PATH = "/scheduling"; // the plugin's public overview page
 export const SHIFTS_PATH = "/scheduling/shifts";
+export const MINE_PATH = "/scheduling/mine"; // the visitor's own shifts — a session is the whole gate
 export const READ = "scheduling:read"; // the permission gating the list + nav
 export const WRITE = "scheduling:write"; // the permission gating create
 
 export interface Shift {
   id: string;
-  assignee: string;
+  assignee: string; // display name, rendered in the table
+  assigneeId: string; // who the shift belongs to — an opaque id, the same one `ctx.user.id` carries
   end: string;
   start: string;
   title: string;
@@ -46,37 +48,30 @@ export class UpstreamError extends Error {
 
 export interface ShiftsUpstream {
   create(input: ShiftInput): Promise<void>;
-  list(): Promise<Shift[]>;
-}
-
-// Fail loud at boot (the plugin's onBoot hook) on a malformed/non-http upstream URL — a config
-// typo surfaces at startup, not as a degraded page later. Reachability stays a runtime concern.
-export function assertHttpUrl(value: string, name: string): void {
-  let url: URL;
-  try {
-    url = new URL(value);
-  } catch {
-    throw new Error(`${name} is not a valid URL: ${JSON.stringify(value)}`);
-  }
-  if (url.protocol !== "http:" && url.protocol !== "https:") throw new Error(`${name} must be an http(s) URL: ${JSON.stringify(value)}`);
+  // `assigneeId` scopes the read at the source, which is where an ownership rule belongs (README →
+  // Three tiers of "may I?"); without it the caller would hold everyone's rows to render one page.
+  list(opts?: { assigneeId?: string }): Promise<Shift[]>;
 }
 
 // REST client over the upstream service (a stand-in for the customer's real backend). `fetch`
 // defaults to the host's tracedFetch, so each upstream call joins the request's trace (a client
 // span + a propagated traceparent); it's injectable so handlers unit-test against a mock, no network.
-export function createUpstream(baseUrl: string, fetchImpl: typeof fetch = tracedFetch): ShiftsUpstream {
-  const base = baseUrl.replace(/\/+$/, "");
+// `baseUrl` is read per call: the plugin's settings arrive on onBoot, after the manifest that binds
+// these handlers has already been built.
+export function createUpstream(baseUrl: () => string, fetchImpl: typeof fetch = tracedFetch): ShiftsUpstream {
+  const base = (): string => baseUrl().replace(/\/+$/, "");
   return {
     async create(input) {
-      const res = await fetchImpl(`${base}/shifts`, {
+      const res = await fetchImpl(`${base()}/shifts`, {
         body: JSON.stringify(input),
         headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
         method: "POST",
       });
       if (!res.ok) throw new UpstreamError(`create shift failed (${res.status})`, res.status);
     },
-    async list() {
-      const res = await fetchImpl(`${base}/shifts`, { headers: { accept: "application/json" } });
+    async list(opts = {}) {
+      const query = opts.assigneeId == null ? "" : `?${new URLSearchParams({ assigneeId: opts.assigneeId })}`;
+      const res = await fetchImpl(`${base()}/shifts${query}`, { headers: { accept: "application/json" } });
       if (!res.ok) throw new UpstreamError(`list shifts failed (${res.status})`, res.status);
       const data: unknown = await res.json();
       return Array.isArray(data) ? data.map(toShift) : [];
@@ -88,7 +83,7 @@ const str = (v: unknown): string => (typeof v === "string" ? v : v == null ? ""
 
 function toShift(raw: unknown): Shift {
   const r = (raw ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
-  return { assignee: str(r["assignee"]), end: str(r["end"]), id: str(r["id"]), start: str(r["start"]), title: str(r["title"]) };
+  return { assignee: str(r["assignee"]), assigneeId: str(r["assigneeId"]), end: str(r["end"]), id: str(r["id"]), start: str(r["start"]), title: str(r["title"]) };
 }
 
 // ---- view models (pure; the EJS views read these) -----------------------------------
@@ -196,6 +191,41 @@ export function newShiftForm(): RouteHandler {
   return (ctx) => ({ data: buildFormModel({ chrome: ctx.chrome, t: ctx.t }), view: "shift-new" });
 }
 
+export function myShifts(upstream: ShiftsUpstream): RouteHandler {
+  return async (ctx) => {
+    const user = requireSession(ctx);
+    let shifts: Shift[] = [];
+    let error: string | undefined;
+    try {
+      // Join on the id, never the email: an address is user-changeable and can be reassigned to
+      // someone else, which would hand them the previous holder's rows. The re-filter is
+      // defence-in-depth: a backend that ignores an unknown query param would answer with everyone.
+      shifts = (await upstream.list({ assigneeId: user.id })).filter((s) => s.assigneeId === user.id);
+    } catch (err) {
+      ctx.log.warn("scheduling upstream unreachable", { error: String(err) });
+      error = ctx.t("scheduling.upstream.list");
+    }
+    return { data: buildMineModel({ chrome: ctx.chrome, email: user.email, ...(error ? { error } : {}), shifts, t: ctx.t }), view: "mine" };
+  };
+}
+
+export function buildMineModel(opts: { chrome: PageChrome; email: string; error?: string; shifts: Shift[]; t?: Translate }) {
+  const t = opts.t ?? EN;
+  return {
+    breadcrumbs: [{ label: t("scheduling.mine.title") }],
+    chrome: opts.chrome,
+    count: t("scheduling.shifts.count", { count: opts.shifts.length }),
+    ...(opts.error ? { error: opts.error } : {}),
+    table: {
+      caption: t("scheduling.mine.title"),
+      columns: [{ label: t("scheduling.table.shift") }, { label: t("scheduling.table.start") }, { label: t("scheduling.table.end") }],
+      emptyText: t("scheduling.mine.empty", { email: opts.email }),
+      rows: opts.shifts.map((s) => ({ cells: [{ rowHeader: { text: s.title } }, s.start, s.end], name: s.title })),
+    },
+    title: t("scheduling.mine.title"),
+  };
+}
+
 // Public overview: a page anyone may reach — its route + nav node are marked `public`, so the
 // gate lets an anonymous visitor through and the menu option shows for everyone. The real data
 // (the shifts list) stays behind `scheduling:read`; a reader gets a link straight to it, anyone
@@ -206,7 +236,9 @@ export function overview(): RouteHandler {
       breadcrumbs: [{ label: ctx.t("scheduling.nav.overview") }],
       canRead: can(ctx, READ),
       chrome: ctx.chrome,
+      mineHref: ctx.localeHref(MINE_PATH),
       shiftsHref: ctx.localeHref(SHIFTS_PATH), // a plugin carries the visitor's locale onto its own links
+      signedIn: ctx.user !== null,
       signInHref: ctx.localeHref(`/login?return_to=${encodeURIComponent(ctx.localeHref(SHIFTS_PATH))}`),
       title: ctx.t("scheduling.overview.title"),
     },

examples/plugins/scheduling/views/mine.ejs

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<%#
+  Scheduling · the visitor's own shifts (reference plugin).
+  Data: chrome, title, breadcrumbs, count, table, error?
+%><%
+  const navHtml = include("partials/nav-tree", { nodes: chrome.nav });
+  const tableHtml = include("partials/data-table", table);
+  const alertHtml = locals.error ? include("partials/alert", { text: locals.error, tone: "neg" }) : "";
+-%>
+<%- include("partials/shell", {
+  body: '<div class="scheduling-page">' + alertHtml + (locals.error ? '' : '<p class="shift-count">' + count + '</p>' + tableHtml) + '</div>',
+  brand: chrome.brand,
+  breadcrumbs,
+  csrfToken: chrome.csrfToken,
+  nav: navHtml,
+  styles: ["/public/scheduling/scheduling.css"],
+  theme: chrome.theme,
+  title,
+  user: chrome.user,
+}) %>

examples/plugins/scheduling/views/overview.ejs

@@ -3,12 +3,16 @@
   nav node are marked `public`, so an anonymous visitor is let through and the menu option shows for
   everyone. The actual shifts data stays behind `scheduling:read`: a reader gets a link straight to
   it, anyone else a prompt to sign in. Rendered in the native shell via ctx.chrome.
-  Data: chrome, title, breadcrumbs, canRead, shiftsHref, signInHref
+  Data: chrome, title, breadcrumbs, canRead, mineHref, shiftsHref, signedIn, signInHref
 %><%
   const navHtml = include("partials/nav-tree", { nodes: chrome.nav });
+  // One CTA per gate the visitor passes: the list needs the permission, "My shifts" only a session,
+  // and sign-in is offered to nobody who already has one.
   const cta = canRead
     ? '<a class="btn btn-primary" href="' + shiftsHref + '">' + t("scheduling.overview.view") + '</a>'
-    : '<a class="btn btn-primary" href="' + signInHref + '">' + t("scheduling.overview.signIn") + '</a>';
+    : signedIn
+      ? '<a class="btn btn-primary" href="' + mineHref + '">' + t("scheduling.overview.mine") + '</a>'
+      : '<a class="btn btn-primary" href="' + signInHref + '">' + t("scheduling.overview.signIn") + '</a>';
 -%>
 <%- include("partials/shell", {
   actions: "",

examples/shifts-upstream/server.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 // Dev-only mock upstream for the reference plugin (examples/plugins/scheduling) — a stand-in for the
 // customer's real backend, ready for when you copy the reference plugin into plugins/. NOT part
-// of the app: stdlib only, in-memory (state resets on restart), no auth. Point SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM
+// of the app: stdlib only, in-memory (state resets on restart), no auth. Point PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM
 // at your real service in production.
 //
-//   GET  /shifts  → 200 [ { id, title, assignee, start, end }, … ]
+//   GET  /shifts  → 200 [ { id, title, assigneeId, assignee, start, end }, … ]   (?assigneeId=<id> → only theirs)
 //   POST /shifts  → 201 { id, … }   (body: { title, assignee, start, end })
 
 import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
@@ -11,10 +11,12 @@ import { createServer } from "node:http";
 
 const PORT = Number(process.env.PORT ?? 4000);
 
+// `assigneeId` is the identity the rows are owned by — an opaque, stable subject id, which is what
+// `ctx.user.id` carries. These are this demo's own people; a real backend joins on your IdP's ids.
 const shifts = [
-  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Morning — Front desk", assignee: "Avery Kline", start: "2026-06-22 08:00", end: "2026-06-22 12:00" },
-  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Afternoon — Support", assignee: "Blair Mora", start: "2026-06-22 12:00", end: "2026-06-22 17:00" },
-  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Evening — On-call", assignee: "Casey Nguyen", start: "2026-06-22 17:00", end: "2026-06-22 22:00" },
+  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Morning — Front desk", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-3f27-7c41-9a6e-2b1d4f8e05a3", assignee: "Avery Kline", start: "2026-06-22 08:00", end: "2026-06-22 12:00" },
+  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Afternoon — Support", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-4a83-7de2-8f05-6c93a71be4d8", assignee: "Blair Mora", start: "2026-06-22 12:00", end: "2026-06-22 17:00" },
+  { id: randomUUID(), title: "Evening — On-call", assigneeId: "019bdc1a-5b6e-7a90-b3c7-84f01d2ea9b6", assignee: "Casey Nguyen", start: "2026-06-22 17:00", end: "2026-06-22 22:00" },
 ];
 
 const json = (res, status, body) => {
@@ -33,10 +35,14 @@ const readBody = (req) =>
 
 createServer(async (req, res) => {
   const url = new URL(req.url ?? "/", "http://localhost");
-  if (url.pathname === "/shifts" && req.method === "GET") return json(res, 200, shifts);
+  if (url.pathname === "/shifts" && req.method === "GET") {
+    const assigneeId = url.searchParams.get("assigneeId");
+    if (assigneeId === null) return json(res, 200, shifts);
+    return json(res, 200, shifts.filter((s) => s.assigneeId === assigneeId));
+  }
   if (url.pathname === "/shifts" && req.method === "POST") {
     const b = await readBody(req);
-    const shift = { id: randomUUID(), assignee: String(b.assignee ?? ""), end: String(b.end ?? ""), start: String(b.start ?? ""), title: String(b.title ?? "") };
+    const shift = { id: randomUUID(), assignee: String(b.assignee ?? ""), assigneeId: "", end: String(b.end ?? ""), start: String(b.start ?? ""), title: String(b.title ?? "") };
     shifts.push(shift);
     return json(res, 201, shift);
   }

ory/postgres/init/init.sql

@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 -- Runs once on first boot (docker-entrypoint-initdb.d), as the POSTGRES_USER.
 -- One database per Ory service: each owns its schema and runs its own migrations,
--- so they never collide. The web app never connects here (stateless — see README).
+-- so they never collide. A plugin's database does not belong here: bootstrap provisions those on
+-- every boot, so one dropped in later is picked up too (README → Plugin storage).
 CREATE DATABASE kratos;
 CREATE DATABASE keto;
 CREATE DATABASE hydra;
+
+-- Postgres grants CONNECT to PUBLIC by default, so every plugin role could otherwise open the auth
+-- plane's databases and read pg_catalog; table data stays protected either way. Ory connects as the
+-- POSTGRES_USER, which owns these and keeps its access.
+REVOKE CONNECT ON DATABASE kratos FROM PUBLIC;
+REVOKE CONNECT ON DATABASE keto FROM PUBLIC;
+REVOKE CONNECT ON DATABASE hydra FROM PUBLIC;

package-lock.json

@@ -1,20 +1,19 @@
 {
   "name": "plainpages",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "plainpages",
-      "version": "0.1.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "@larvit/log": "2.3.0",
         "ejs": "6.0.1",
-        "lucide-static": "1.31.0"
+        "lucide-static": "1.64.0",
+        "postgres": "3.4.9"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@types/ejs": "3.1.5",
-        "@types/node": "24.13.3",
+        "@types/node": "24.19.2",
         "typescript": "7.0.2"
       },
       "engines": {
@@ -38,13 +37,13 @@
       "license": "MIT"
     },
     "node_modules/@types/node": {
-      "version": "24.13.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/-/node-24.13.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-Dh8vAsV36ig5wa9OX4pXvMc9D3Veibfw2wix0CUwYODLD8nkj9UsLjASr49nPg+2eKzxhBV+v7L8pXvT4e639Q==",
+      "version": "24.19.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/-/node-24.19.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-93d49wCWJkCyN87MxLpNN6KXPCwFw7bVUg79mGUV1OS40JGWwVCr8n61DXCSqz7CV6/VfPkb7xec7uP2M+QHWQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
-        "undici-types": "~7.18.0"
+        "undici-types": ">=7.24.0 <7.24.7"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@typescript/typescript-aix-ppc64": {
@@ -400,11 +399,24 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/lucide-static": {
-      "version": "1.31.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lucide-static/-/lucide-static-1.31.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-XFX9NO+gcLsOkXISmeQZYGJa2siGWZc/lgT/BK1b83h9RdOiz3cj1eQP5nWhELiB1KhW5ryk0nmMopOgm/CuSA==",
+      "version": "1.64.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lucide-static/-/lucide-static-1.64.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-UxWmMteOXbKHI5E4f2qVtxCAAsI9gsInYK1lNw0nrOA0w4FkJeOVZ+UOV6aGA2377FZe3qyiFYq3lqjBKZ6OuA==",
       "license": "ISC"
     },
+    "node_modules/postgres": {
+      "version": "3.4.9",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/postgres/-/postgres-3.4.9.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-GD3qdB0x1z9xgFI6cdRD6xu2Sp2WCOEoe3mtnyB5Ee0XrrL5Pe+e4CCnJrRMnL1zYtRDZmQQVbvOttLnKDLnaw==",
+      "license": "Unlicense",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=12"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "type": "individual",
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/porsager"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/typescript": {
       "version": "7.0.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript/-/typescript-7.0.2.tgz",
@@ -441,9 +453,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/undici-types": {
-      "version": "7.18.2",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/undici-types/-/undici-types-7.18.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-AsuCzffGHJybSaRrmr5eHr81mwJU3kjw6M+uprWvCXiNeN9SOGwQ3Jn8jb8m3Z6izVgknn1R0FTCEAP2QrLY/w==",
+      "version": "7.24.6",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/undici-types/-/undici-types-7.24.6.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-WRNW+sJgj5OBN4/0JpHFqtqzhpbnV0GuB+OozA9gCL7a993SmU+1JBZCzLNxYsbMfIeDL+lTsphD5jN5N+n0zg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT"
     }

package.json

@@ -1,30 +1,29 @@
 {
   "name": "plainpages",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=24"
   },
   "imports": {
-    "#menu-config": "./src/ui/menu-config.ts",
-    "#plugin-api": "./src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts"
+    "#menu-config": "./src/ui/menu-config.ts"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "start": "node src/server.ts",
     "dev": "node --watch src/server.ts",
     "gen-jwks": "node src/auth/gen-jwks.ts",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
-    "test": "node --test \"src/**/*.test.ts\" \"plugins/**/*.test.ts\" \"examples/**/*.test.ts\" \"registry-cleanup/**/*.test.ts\" \"auto-release/**/*.test.ts\""
+    "test": "node --test \"src/**/*.test.ts\" \"plugins/**/*.test.ts\" \"examples/**/*.test.ts\" \"registry-cleanup/**/*.test.ts\" \"release-tooling/**/*.test.ts\""
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@larvit/log": "2.3.0",
     "ejs": "6.0.1",
-    "lucide-static": "1.31.0"
+    "lucide-static": "1.64.0",
+    "postgres": "3.4.9"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@types/ejs": "3.1.5",
-    "@types/node": "24.13.3",
+    "@types/node": "24.19.2",
     "typescript": "7.0.2"
   }
 }

plugin-api/index.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+// Re-export rather than the surface itself: a package's `exports` target may not escape its folder.
+export * from "../src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts";

plugin-api/package.json

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "@plainpages/plugin-api",
+  "private": true,
+  "type": "module",
+  "exports": "./index.ts"
+}

public/css/styles.css

@@ -111,7 +111,6 @@ html:has(#theme-light:checked) {
 
 /* ---------- 2. RESET ---------------------------------------- */
 *, *::before, *::after { box-sizing: border-box; }
-html, body { height: 100%; }
 body { margin: 0; background: var(--bg); color: var(--text);
   -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; }
 button { font: inherit; color: inherit; }
@@ -151,8 +150,7 @@ summary { list-style: none; cursor: pointer; }
 .app {
   display: grid;
   grid-template-columns: var(--nav-w) minmax(0, 1fr);
-  height: 100dvh;
-  overflow: hidden;
+  min-height: 100dvh;
 }
 
 /* ---------- 4. SIDEBAR -------------------------------------- */
@@ -160,7 +158,6 @@ summary { list-style: none; cursor: pointer; }
   grid-column: 1;
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
-  min-height: 0;
   background: var(--surface);
   border-right: 1px solid var(--border);
 }
@@ -316,6 +313,11 @@ span.nav-self { cursor: default; }                 /* static / non-clickable */
 .btn-primary:hover { filter: brightness(1.06); }
 .btn-ghost { background: transparent; border-color: transparent; }
 .btn-ghost:hover { background: var(--surface-2); }
+.btn-menu::after {
+  content: ""; width: 7px; height: 7px; margin: -2px 1px 0 1px;
+  border-right: 1.5px solid var(--text-faint); border-bottom: 1.5px solid var(--text-faint);
+  transform: rotate(45deg);
+}
 .icon-btn {
   width: 30px; height: 30px; padding: 0; justify-content: center;
   color: var(--text-muted);
@@ -326,7 +328,7 @@ span.nav-self { cursor: default; }                 /* static / non-clickable */
 .content {
   grid-column: 2;
   display: flex; flex-direction: column;
-  min-width: 0; min-height: 0;
+  min-width: 0;
   background: var(--bg);
 }
 
@@ -494,7 +496,8 @@ span.nav-self { cursor: default; }                 /* static / non-clickable */
   position-anchor: auto;
   position-try-fallbacks: flip-block, flip-inline;
   top: anchor(bottom); right: anchor(right);
-  min-width: 210px; padding: 6px;
+  min-width: 210px; max-width: min(320px, 92vw); padding: 6px;
+  max-height: 60vh; overflow-y: auto; overflow-wrap: anywhere;
   background: var(--surface); color: var(--text);
   border: 1px solid var(--border-2); border-radius: var(--radius);
   box-shadow: 0 8px 28px rgba(0,0,0,.16);
@@ -553,13 +556,12 @@ span.nav-self { cursor: default; }                 /* static / non-clickable */
 .pill-clear:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
 
 /* ---------- 9. TABLE --------------------------------------- */
-.table-wrap { flex: 1 1 auto; min-height: 0; overflow: auto; }
+.table-wrap { overflow-x: auto; }
 table.table {
   width: 100%; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0;
   font-size: var(--fz); font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
 }
 .table thead th {
-  position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 10;
   background: var(--surface-3);
   border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-2);
   color: var(--text-muted); font-weight: 600; font-size: var(--fz-xs);
@@ -691,7 +693,7 @@ th[aria-sort="descending"] .sort-ico { transform: rotate(180deg); }
 }
 
 /* the nav-toggle checkbox itself is visually hidden but focusable */
-#nav-toggle { position: absolute; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; }
+#nav-toggle { position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; }
 
 /* admin forms: create/edit user, account actions */
 .form-page { padding: 16px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 14px; max-width: 560px; }
@@ -716,5 +718,6 @@ th[aria-sort="descending"] .sort-ico { transform: rotate(180deg); }
 /* Chromeless shell: a page may drop the sidebar for a focused single column. */
 .app-bare { grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1fr); }
 .app-bare .content { grid-column: 1; }
+
 /* Auth/landing rendered inside the app shell: a roomy, centered column in the content area. */
-.shell-auth { flex: 1 1 auto; overflow-y: auto; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: flex-start; padding: 40px 20px 80px; }
+.shell-auth { flex: 1 1 auto; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: flex-start; padding: 40px 20px 80px; }

release-tooling/contract-version.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import { checkTagMatchesContract, readHostApiVersion } from "./contract-version.ts";
+
+test("readHostApiVersion pulls the constant out of the real source, and returns null when absent", () => {
+  const real = readFileSync("src/plugin-host/plugin.ts", "utf8");
+  assert.match(readHostApiVersion(real) ?? "", /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/);
+  assert.equal(readHostApiVersion('export const SOMETHING_ELSE = "1.0.0";'), null);
+});
+
+test("bumping HOST_API_VERSION is a deliberate act, so pin the shipped value", () => {
+  // Not a substitute for the release gate — this test cannot see a tag. It is the tripwire that
+  // makes an accidental edit fail here rather than at release time.
+  assert.equal(readHostApiVersion(readFileSync("src/plugin-host/plugin.ts", "utf8")), "0.4.0");
+});
+
+test("every author-facing apiVersion sample matches the shipped contract", () => {
+  // A plugin author copies these; a stale one produces a boot-aborting refuse on first run. The
+  // examples deliberately write a literal rather than importing the constant (AGENTS.md), so this
+  // is the only thing keeping the copies honest.
+  const host = readHostApiVersion(readFileSync("src/plugin-host/plugin.ts", "utf8")) ?? "";
+  const [major, minor] = host.split(".");
+  for (const file of [
+    "README.md",
+    "examples/plugins/admin/plugin.ts",
+    "examples/plugins/scheduling/plugin.ts",
+    "release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl",
+    "views/index.ejs",
+  ]) {
+    const found = [...readFileSync(file, "utf8").matchAll(/apiVersion: "(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)"/g)].map((m) => m[1]);
+    assert.ok(found.length > 0, `${file} should carry at least one apiVersion sample`);
+    for (const sample of found) {
+      const [sMajor, sMinor] = (sample ?? "").split(".");
+      assert.equal(`${sMajor}.${sMinor}`, `${major}.${minor}`, `${file} samples apiVersion ${sample}, host is ${host}`);
+    }
+  }
+});
+
+test("checkTagMatchesContract: major.minor must agree, patch may lag", () => {
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v0.1.0", "0.1.0").ok, true);
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v0.1.7", "0.1.0").ok, true); // auto-release cut patches
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("0.1.0", "0.1.0").ok, true); // bare tag, no v
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v0.2.0", "0.1.0").ok, false); // plugin-visible, needs a bump
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v1.0.0", "0.1.0").ok, false);
+});
+
+test("checkTagMatchesContract names what to fix rather than just failing", () => {
+  const res = checkTagMatchesContract("v0.2.0", "0.1.0");
+  assert.equal(res.ok, false);
+  assert.match(res.ok === false ? res.error : "", /HOST_API_VERSION to 0\.2\.0/);
+});
+
+test("checkTagMatchesContract rejects junk on either side without throwing", () => {
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v0.1.0", null).ok, false); // constant not found
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("nope", "0.1.0").ok, false);
+  assert.equal(checkTagMatchesContract("v0.1.0", "1.0").ok, false);
+});

release-tooling/contract-version.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+
+export type ContractCheck = { ok: true } | { ok: false; error: string };
+
+const SEMVER = /^v?(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)$/;
+
+export function readHostApiVersion(source: string): string | null {
+  return /^export const HOST_API_VERSION = "([^"]+)";/m.exec(source)?.[1] ?? null;
+}
+
+// Patch is deliberately not compared: checkApiVersion ignores it, and auto-release cuts patch
+// releases with no commit to bump the constant in.
+export function checkTagMatchesContract(tag: string, hostApiVersion: string | null): ContractCheck {
+  if (hostApiVersion === null) {
+    return { error: "HOST_API_VERSION not found", ok: false };
+  }
+  const t = SEMVER.exec(tag);
+  if (!t) return { error: `tag must be vX.Y.Z, got ${JSON.stringify(tag)}`, ok: false };
+  const h = SEMVER.exec(hostApiVersion);
+  if (!h) return { error: `HOST_API_VERSION must be X.Y.Z, got ${JSON.stringify(hostApiVersion)}`, ok: false };
+  if (t[1] === h[1] && t[2] === h[2]) return { ok: true };
+  return {
+    error:
+      `${tag} does not match HOST_API_VERSION ${hostApiVersion} — the contract version IS the release ` +
+      `version. Set HOST_API_VERSION to ${t[1]}.${t[2]}.0 in src/plugin-host/plugin.ts, merge that, ` +
+      "then tag.",
+    ok: false,
+  };
+}
+
+// CLI: node release-tooling/contract-version.ts <tag> <path/to/plugin.ts | -> → exits 1 on
+// mismatch. `-` reads the source on stdin, so a caller checking a ref other than its checkout
+// (`git show origin/main:… | …`) needs no scratch file in the workspace.
+if (process.argv[1]?.endsWith("/contract-version.ts")) {
+  const [, , tag, pluginPath = "src/plugin-host/plugin.ts"] = process.argv;
+  let source = "";
+  try {
+    source = readFileSync(pluginPath === "-" ? 0 : pluginPath, "utf8");
+  } catch (err) {
+    process.stderr.write(`${pluginPath}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}\n`);
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  }
+  const result = checkTagMatchesContract(tag ?? "", readHostApiVersion(source));
+  if (!result.ok) {
+    process.stderr.write(`${pluginPath}: ${result.error}\n`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+  process.stdout.write(`${tag} matches HOST_API_VERSION\n`);
+}

release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl

@@ -2,14 +2,15 @@
 
 A self-hostable foundation for server-rendered web apps — public or gated pages from a
 zero-JS design system, with a config-driven menu and auth/permissions (Ory) baked in.
-Every domain feature is a drop-in plugin folder; the app is stateless, no build step.
+Every domain feature is a drop-in plugin folder, with a Postgres database of its own if it wants
+one; the host itself is stateless, and there is no build step.
 
 **Source, docs & issues: <https://gitea.larvit.se/larvit/plainpages>**
 ([GitHub mirror](https://github.com/larvit/plainpages))
 
 ## Tags
 
-`X.Y.Z` · `X.Y` · `X` · `latest` — each is a release promoted from a CI-gated build.
+`X.Y.Z` · `X.Y` · `latest` — each is a release promoted from a CI-gated build.
 Pin the exact `X.Y.Z` you deploy.
 
 ## Quick start
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ so there is nothing to clone. In an empty directory, save this as `compose.yml`:
 ```yaml
 services:
   web:
-    image: larvit/plainpages:0.0.2
+    image: larvit/plainpages:{{VERSION}}
     ports:
       - "3000:3000"
     environment:
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ services:
 
   # One-shot, idempotent seed: signing key if absent + the admin@plainpages.local / admin user.
   bootstrap:
-    image: larvit/plainpages:0.0.2
+    image: larvit/plainpages:{{VERSION}}
     command: node src/auth/bootstrap.ts
     depends_on:
       kratos:
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ services:
     restart: "on-failure:5"
 
   postgres:
-    image: postgres:18.4-alpine3.23
+    image: postgres:18.6-alpine3.23
     environment:
       POSTGRES_DB: ory
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ory
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ services:
 
   # Catches Kratos' recovery/verification emails — UI on http://localhost:8025
   mailpit:
-    image: axllent/mailpit:v1.30.1
+    image: axllent/mailpit:v1.32.0
     ports:
       - "8025:8025"
     restart: unless-stopped
@@ -142,7 +143,7 @@ volumes:
 Extract the Ory config the image ships, then start:
 
 ```bash
-docker run --rm larvit/plainpages:0.0.2 tar -cf - ory | tar -xf -
+docker run --rm larvit/plainpages:{{VERSION}} tar -cf - ory | tar -xf -
 mkdir -p plugins
 docker compose up -d
 ```
@@ -178,10 +179,10 @@ Everything domain-specific is a plugin folder — the compose above mounts `./pl
 into the app. Create `plugins/hello/plugin.ts`:
 
 ```ts
-import { definePlugin } from "#plugin-api";
+import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";
 
 export default definePlugin({
-  apiVersion: "1.0.0",
+  apiVersion: "0.4.0",
   nav: [{ href: "/hello", id: "hello", label: "Hello", public: true }],
   routes: [
     { method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: "<h1>Hello from my plugin</h1>" }) },

release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import { jwtFrom, leftoverPlaceholders, renderOverview } from "./dockerhub-overview.ts";
+
+const TEMPLATE = "release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl";
+const template = () => readFileSync(TEMPLATE, "utf8");
+
+test("renderOverview substitutes every occurrence, not just the first", () => {
+  const out = renderOverview("pull a:{{VERSION}} then b:{{VERSION}}", "1.2.3");
+  assert.equal(out, "pull a:1.2.3 then b:1.2.3");
+});
+
+test("leftoverPlaceholders catches a typo'd placeholder, deduped, and passes clean text", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(leftoverPlaceholders("a {{VERISON}} b {{VERISON}}"), ["{{VERISON}}"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(leftoverPlaceholders(renderOverview("x {{VERSION}}", "0.1.0")), []);
+});
+
+test("the real template renders clean, and the release owns its own image tag", () => {
+  const rendered = renderOverview(template(), "9.9.9");
+  assert.deepEqual(leftoverPlaceholders(rendered), []);
+  assert.match(rendered, /larvit\/plainpages:9\.9\.9/); // the placeholder actually reaches the examples
+  assert.doesNotMatch(rendered, /larvit\/plainpages:\d+\.\d+\.\d+(?<!9\.9\.9)/);
+});
+
+test("the quick start's sidecars are pinned to the same versions this repo runs", () => {
+  // The page is published automatically, so a drifted pin here ships a topology CI never tested.
+  const pins = (source: string) =>
+    new Map([...source.matchAll(/image: ([^:\s]+):(v?\d\S*)/g)].map((m) => [m[1] ?? "", m[2] ?? ""]));
+  const ours = new Map([
+    ...pins(readFileSync("compose.override.yml", "utf8")),
+    ...pins(readFileSync("compose.yml", "utf8")), // production wins: the template is the prod quick start
+  ]);
+  const published = pins(template());
+  assert.ok(published.size > 0, "the template should pin sidecars");
+  for (const [image, tag] of published) {
+    assert.equal(tag, ours.get(image), `${TEMPLATE} pins ${image}:${tag}, this repo runs ${ours.get(image)}`);
+  }
+});
+
+test("jwtFrom accepts only a non-empty string token, never throwing on a hostile body", () => {
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom({ token: "abc" }), "abc");
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom(null), null); // valid JSON, and the shape a proxy can return
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom("<html>rate limited</html>"), null);
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom({}), null);
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom({ token: "" }), null);
+  assert.equal(jwtFrom({ token: 42 }), null);
+});

release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+// Publishes the Docker Hub repository overview from dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl, rendering
+// `{{VERSION}}` to the release being published.
+
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+const HUB = "https://hub.docker.com/v2";
+const TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+const VERSION = /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/;
+
+export function renderOverview(source: string, version: string): string {
+  return source.replaceAll("{{VERSION}}", version);
+}
+
+// A typo'd placeholder would publish literal braces to a public page, so fail the release instead.
+export function leftoverPlaceholders(rendered: string): string[] {
+  return [...new Set(rendered.match(/\{\{[^}]*\}\}/g) ?? [])];
+}
+
+export function jwtFrom(body: unknown): string | null {
+  if (typeof body !== "object" || body === null || !("token" in body)) return null;
+  return typeof body.token === "string" && body.token !== "" ? body.token : null;
+}
+
+type Fetched = { error: string } | { json: unknown; ok: boolean; status: number; text: string };
+
+// fetch and its body readers throw; this is the one edge that converts that into a value.
+async function post(url: string, init: RequestInit): Promise<Fetched> {
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch(url, { ...init, signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS) });
+    const text = await res.text();
+    let json: unknown = null;
+    try {
+      json = JSON.parse(text);
+    } catch {
+      json = null;
+    }
+    return { json, ok: res.ok, status: res.status, text };
+  } catch (err) {
+    return { error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err) };
+  }
+}
+
+async function main(): Promise<number> {
+  const fail = (message: string): number => {
+    process.stderr.write(`${message}\n`);
+    return 1;
+  };
+  const [, , version] = process.argv;
+  const repo = process.env["DOCKERHUB_REPO"];
+  const user = process.env["DOCKERHUB_USER"];
+  const token = process.env["DOCKERHUB_TOKEN"];
+  if (!version || !repo || !user || !token) {
+    return fail(
+      "usage: dockerhub-overview.ts <X.Y.Z>; needs DOCKERHUB_REPO, DOCKERHUB_USER and " +
+        "DOCKERHUB_TOKEN (README -> CI/CD)",
+    );
+  }
+  // The page is public, so never render a version that resolves to no image.
+  if (!VERSION.test(version)) return fail(`version must be X.Y.Z, got ${JSON.stringify(version)}`);
+
+  const templatePath = join(import.meta.dirname, "dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl");
+  let template = "";
+  try {
+    template = readFileSync(templatePath, "utf8");
+  } catch (err) {
+    return fail(`${templatePath}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+  }
+  const body = renderOverview(template, version);
+  const leftover = leftoverPlaceholders(body);
+  if (leftover.length > 0) return fail(`${templatePath} has unrendered placeholders: ${leftover.join(", ")}`);
+
+  const login = await post(`${HUB}/users/login`, {
+    body: JSON.stringify({ password: token, username: user }),
+    headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+    method: "POST",
+  });
+  if ("error" in login) return fail(`Docker Hub login unreachable: ${login.error}`);
+  if (!login.ok) return fail(`Docker Hub login failed: ${login.status} ${login.text}`);
+  const jwt = jwtFrom(login.json);
+  if (!jwt) return fail("Docker Hub login returned no token");
+
+  const res = await post(`${HUB}/repositories/${repo}/`, {
+    body: JSON.stringify({ full_description: body }),
+    headers: { authorization: `Bearer ${jwt}`, "content-type": "application/json" },
+    method: "PATCH",
+  });
+  if ("error" in res) return fail(`Docker Hub unreachable: ${res.error}`);
+  if (!res.ok) {
+    return fail(
+      `Docker Hub overview PATCH failed: ${res.status} ${res.text}` +
+        (res.status === 403
+          ? "\n403 means DOCKERHUB_TOKEN lacks the delete scope — editing the overview needs " +
+            "read/write/delete, which pushing images alone does not (README -> CI/CD)."
+          : ""),
+    );
+  }
+  process.stdout.write(`Docker Hub overview updated for ${repo} at ${version}\n`);
+  return 0;
+}
+
+if (process.argv[1]?.endsWith("/dockerhub-overview.ts")) {
+  process.exitCode = await main();
+}

release-tooling/next-version.test.ts

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ test("nextVersion at/after 1.0.0: literal semver", () => {
   assert.equal(nextVersion("v1.2.3", "major"), "v2.0.0");
   assert.equal(nextVersion("v1.2.3", "minor"), "v1.3.0");
   assert.equal(nextVersion("v1.2.3", "patch"), "v1.2.4");
+  // the whole chain: a major dependency bump releases a major host, once the 0.x shift-down is gone
+  assert.equal(nextVersion("v1.2.3", maxLevel(["patch", "major"])), "v2.0.0");
 });
 
 test("nextVersion rejects a tag that is not vX.Y.Z", () => {

release-tooling/next-version.ts

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ export function nextVersion(latestTag: string, level: Bump): string {
   return `v${major}.${minor}.${patch + 1}`;
 }
 
-// CLI: node auto-release/next-version.ts <latestTag> [updateType...] → prints the next tag.
+// CLI: node release-tooling/next-version.ts <latestTag> [updateType...] → prints the next tag.
 if (process.argv[1]?.endsWith("/next-version.ts")) {
   const [, , latestTag, ...updateTypes] = process.argv;
   process.stdout.write(nextVersion(latestTag ?? "", maxLevel(updateTypes)));

renovate.json

@@ -1,9 +1,41 @@
 {
   "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
   "extends": ["config:recommended"],
+  "description": "ignorePaths overrides config:recommended's :ignoreModulesAndTests, which ignores **/examples/** — an example plugin's dependencies get update PRs like any other manifest here",
+  "ignorePaths": ["**/node_modules/**"],
   "automerge": true,
-  "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}",
   "packageRules": [
+    {
+      "description": "The host's own runtime deps. Release-Bump is opt-in per surface (README → CI/CD): updateType rates the dependency's own jump, not whether it reaches a running Plainpages",
+      "matchDepTypes": ["dependencies"],
+      "matchFileNames": ["package.json"],
+      "matchManagers": ["npm"],
+      "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}"
+    },
+    {
+      "description": "The shipped image's base — e2e-tests/Dockerfile is test-only",
+      "matchFileNames": ["Dockerfile"],
+      "matchManagers": ["dockerfile"],
+      "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}"
+    },
+    {
+      "description": "The production topology — compose.override.yml is dev, e2e-tests/compose.*.yml are test",
+      "matchFileNames": ["compose.yml"],
+      "matchManagers": ["docker-compose"],
+      "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}"
+    },
+    {
+      "description": "The production sidecars, wherever they are pinned — compose.yml and the published quick start move in one branch, so the trailer must not depend on which upgrade sorts first. mailpit is dev-only and stays out",
+      "matchDatasources": ["docker"],
+      "matchPackageNames": ["oryd/hydra", "oryd/keto", "oryd/kratos", "postgres"],
+      "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}"
+    },
+    {
+      "description": "node is pinned to one version across Dockerfile, dev, E2E and CI, so Renovate moves them in a single branch whose commitBody would otherwise depend on upgrade order — the Dockerfile copy ships, so any node bump is a product change",
+      "matchDatasources": ["docker"],
+      "matchPackageNames": ["node"],
+      "commitBody": "Release-Bump: {{{updateType}}}"
+    },
     {
       "description": "Ory services share one release train - update kratos, keto and hydra together",
       "matchDatasources": ["docker"],
@@ -27,8 +59,15 @@
     },
     {
       "customType": "regex",
-      "description": "Pin the node image workflow run-steps invoke (registry-cleanup, auto-release)",
-      "managerFilePatterns": [".gitea/workflows/registry-cleanup.yml", ".gitea/workflows/renovate.yml"],
+      "description": "The published quick start ships a compose file, so its sidecars move with the repo's own pins. The version group starts at a digit, which skips the {{VERSION}} placeholder the release renders",
+      "managerFilePatterns": ["release-tooling/dockerhub-overview.md.tmpl"],
+      "matchStrings": ["image: (?<depName>[^:\\s]+):(?<currentValue>v?\\d[^\\s]*)"],
+      "datasourceTemplate": "docker"
+    },
+    {
+      "customType": "regex",
+      "description": "Pin the node image workflow run-steps invoke (registry-cleanup, renovate auto-release, release)",
+      "managerFilePatterns": [".gitea/workflows/registry-cleanup.yml", ".gitea/workflows/release.yml", ".gitea/workflows/renovate.yml"],
       "matchStrings": ["\\snode:(?<currentValue>[0-9][^\\s\"']*)"],
       "depNameTemplate": "node",
       "datasourceTemplate": "docker"

src/auth/bootstrap.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
-import { ensureJwks, firstRunBanner, identityPayload, permissionTuple, seedAdmin, seedPermissions } from "./bootstrap.ts";
+import { ensureJwks, firstRunBanner, identityPayload, permissionTuple, provisionPluginStorage, seedAdmin, seedPermissions, serverMismatch } from "./bootstrap.ts";
+import { createLogger } from "../logger.ts";
+import type { Plugin } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
+import type { ProvisionOptions, ProvisionResult } from "../plugin-host/storage-provisioning.ts";
 
 const json = (status: number, body?: unknown) =>
   new Response(body === undefined ? null : JSON.stringify(body), {
@@ -151,3 +154,63 @@ test("ensureJwks generates a key only when the file is absent", () => {
   assert.equal(ensureJwks(path, { exists: () => true, write }), false);
   assert.equal(writes.length, 1); // present → nothing written
 });
+
+// --- Plugin storage provisioning -----------------------------------------------------
+// The provisioner is injected, so the branch decisions are testable without a Postgres.
+
+const SILENT = createLogger({ level: "none" });
+const storagePlugin = (id: string): Plugin => ({ apiVersion: "1.0.0", id, storage: true });
+const EMPTY: ProvisionResult = { orphans: [], provisioned: [] };
+
+function recordingProvisioner(result: ProvisionResult = EMPTY) {
+  const calls: ProvisionOptions[] = [];
+  return { calls, provision: async (options: ProvisionOptions) => { calls.push(options); return result; } };
+}
+
+test("provisioning is skipped entirely when nothing declares storage and none is configured", async () => {
+  const { calls, provision } = recordingProvisioner();
+  await provisionPluginStorage({}, [{ apiVersion: "1.0.0", id: "plain" }], SILENT, provision);
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, []); // no connection attempted, so an unconfigured stack still boots
+});
+
+// Uninstalling the last storage plugin is exactly when a left-behind database needs naming.
+test("provisioning still runs with nothing to provision, so orphans are reported", async () => {
+  const { calls, provision } = recordingProvisioner({ orphans: ["plugin_gone"], provisioned: [] });
+  await provisionPluginStorage({ PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL: "postgres://ory:ory@db:5432/ory" }, [], SILENT, provision);
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 1);
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[0]?.pluginIds, []);
+});
+
+test("a plugin declaring storage without a provisioning DSN fails loud, naming the plugin", async () => {
+  const { calls, provision } = recordingProvisioner();
+  await assert.rejects(
+    provisionPluginStorage({}, [storagePlugin("things")], SILENT, provision),
+    /PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL.*things/s,
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, []);
+});
+
+test("the connection limit and derived secret reach the provisioner", async () => {
+  const { calls, provision } = recordingProvisioner();
+  const env = { PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL: "postgres://ory:ory@db:5432/ory", PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT: "25", PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: "real" };
+  await provisionPluginStorage(env, [storagePlugin("things")], SILENT, provision);
+  assert.equal(calls[0]?.connectionLimit, 25);
+  assert.equal(calls[0]?.secret, "real");
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[0]?.pluginIds, ["things"]);
+});
+
+// bootstrap creates the role on one server; web tells the plugin to connect to another. Left
+// unsaid it surfaces inside a plugin as "password authentication failed", naming neither. Warned
+// rather than refused: web reaching a pooler bootstrap cannot provision through is legitimate.
+test("a storage URL mismatch is reported, and provisioning still runs", async () => {
+  const { calls, provision } = recordingProvisioner();
+  const env = { PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL: "postgres://ory:ory@db-a:5432/ory", PLUGIN_DB_URL: "postgres://db-b:5432" };
+  await provisionPluginStorage(env, [storagePlugin("things")], SILENT, provision);
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 1);
+});
+
+test("the same server spelled with an implicit port still agrees", () => {
+  assert.equal(serverMismatch("postgres://ory:ory@db:5432/ory", "postgres://db"), null); // 5432 is the default
+  assert.equal(serverMismatch("postgres://ory:ory@db:5432/ory", undefined), null); // web's own boot error to raise
+  assert.equal(serverMismatch("postgres://ory:ory@db:5432/ory", "postgres://db:6543"), "db:5432 vs db:6543");
+});

src/auth/bootstrap.ts

@@ -8,10 +8,15 @@
 // Then prints a first-run banner; fails loud on any unexpected upstream error.
 import { existsSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit, resolvePluginDbSecret } from "../config.ts";
 import { discoverPlugins } from "../plugin-host/discovery.ts";
-import { declaredPermissions, isValidPermissionName } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
+import { declaredPermissions, isValidPermissionName, type Plugin } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
+import { provisionStorage } from "../plugin-host/storage-provisioning.ts";
+import { storagePluginIds } from "../plugin-host/storage.ts";
 import { generateJwks, type JwkSet } from "./gen-jwks.ts";
-import { createLogger, runWithLog, tracedFetch } from "../logger.ts";
+import { createLogger, runWithLog, tracedFetch, type Log } from "../logger.ts";
+
+type Env = Record<string, string | undefined>;
 
 // --- Pure payload builders (the Kratos/Keto request contracts) -----------------------
 
@@ -141,7 +146,7 @@ export function firstRunBanner(opts: { appUrl: string; email: string; password:
 // --- CLI (the bootstrap container entrypoint) ----------------------------------------
 
 async function main() {
-  const env = process.env;
+  const env = { ...process.env }; // snapshot: the storage credentials leave process.env before discovery
   // Structured like the web app so prod logs stay uniform; honour LOG_FORMAT/SERVICE_NAME.
   const log = createLogger({
     format: env["LOG_FORMAT"] === "json" ? "json" : "text",
@@ -150,29 +155,84 @@ async function main() {
   // runWithLog makes `log` ambient so seedAdmin's tracedFetch traces the Kratos/Keto seed calls.
   await runWithLog(log, async () => {
     if (ensureJwks(env["JWKS_FILE"] ?? "/etc/config/kratos/tokenizer/jwks.json")) log.info("generated a JWKS signing key");
-
-    // Seed every discovered plugin's declared permission names (plus any ADMIN_PERMISSIONS), so the
-    // shipped example — and any dropped-in plugin — works for the demo admin without a host edit.
-    const declared = declaredPermissions(await discoverPlugins()).map((decl) => decl.name);
-    const { ignored, permissions } = seedPermissions(env["ADMIN_PERMISSIONS"], declared);
-    if (ignored.length > 0) {
-      log.warn("ignoring ADMIN_PERMISSIONS entries that are not <resource>:<action>", { ignored: ignored.join(", ") });
-    }
-    const email = env["ADMIN_EMAIL"] ?? "admin@plainpages.local";
-    const password = env["ADMIN_PASSWORD"] ?? "admin";
-    const result = await seedAdmin({
-      email,
-      fetchImpl: tracedFetch,
-      ketoWriteUrl: env["KETO_WRITE_URL"] ?? "http://keto:4467",
-      kratosAdminUrl: env["KRATOS_ADMIN_URL"] ?? "http://kratos:4434",
-      password,
-      permissions,
-    });
-    log.info("admin seeded", { created: result.created, id: result.id, permissions: result.permissions.join(", ") });
-    // The banner is human-facing UX (the first-run "you're ready" block), not a log event — print raw.
-    console.log(firstRunBanner({ appUrl: env["APP_URL"] ?? "http://localhost:3000", email, password }));
+    // Discovery imports every plugin module — and its dependencies — into *this* process, which holds
+    // the credential that may CREATE DATABASE/ROLE. Same move as server.ts, on the stronger secret.
+    delete process.env["PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL"];
+    delete process.env["PLUGIN_DB_SECRET"];
+    const plugins = await discoverPlugins();
+    await provisionPluginStorage(env, plugins, log);
+    await seedAdminAndPermissions(env, plugins, log);
   });
   await log.end(); // flush any pending OTLP spans/logs before the one-shot exits
 }
 
+// A database and login role for each plugin that asked for one. It happens here because bootstrap
+// holds the stack's only provisioning credentials — web derives the same password and connects as
+// the plugin's own role.
+export async function provisionPluginStorage(env: Env, plugins: Plugin[], log: Log, provision = provisionStorage): Promise<void> {
+  const ids = storagePluginIds(plugins);
+  const adminUrl = env["PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL"];
+  // Still connect with nothing to provision, as long as storage is configured: uninstalling the
+  // last storage plugin is exactly when an orphaned database needs naming.
+  if (ids.length === 0 && !adminUrl) return;
+  if (!adminUrl) throw new Error(`bootstrap: PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL must be set — these plugins declare storage: ${ids.join(", ")}`);
+  // Provisioned here, connected to from web: a different server means the role is created in one
+  // place and looked for in another, surfacing inside a plugin as "password authentication failed".
+  // Warned, not refused — web reaching a pooler that cannot run CREATE DATABASE is a legitimate split.
+  const mismatch = serverMismatch(adminUrl, env["PLUGIN_DB_URL"]);
+  if (mismatch) log.warn("PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL and PLUGIN_DB_URL name different servers", { servers: mismatch });
+  const result = await provision({
+    adminUrl,
+    connectionLimit: resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit(env),
+    pluginIds: ids,
+    secret: resolvePluginDbSecret(env),
+  });
+  if (result.provisioned.length > 0) log.info("plugin storage provisioned", { databases: result.provisioned.join(", ") });
+  // Never dropped, so an uninstalled plugin's data outlives it — say so, or nobody can find it.
+  if (result.orphans.length > 0) {
+    log.warn("plugin databases no installed plugin claims", { databases: result.orphans.join(", ") });
+  }
+}
+
+// Describes the disagreement, or null when they agree (or when web's URL is unset — that is web's
+// own boot error to raise, naming the plugin that wanted storage).
+export function serverMismatch(adminUrl: string, webUrl: string | undefined): string | null {
+  if (!webUrl) return null;
+  const [admin, web] = [safeHostPort(adminUrl), safeHostPort(webUrl)];
+  if (admin === null || web === null || admin === web) return null; // a malformed URL fails in config.ts
+  return `${admin} vs ${web}`;
+}
+
+function safeHostPort(url: string): string | null {
+  try {
+    const parsed = new URL(url);
+    return `${parsed.hostname}:${parsed.port || "5432"}`;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+// Seed every discovered plugin's declared permission names (plus any ADMIN_PERMISSIONS), so the
+// shipped example — and any dropped-in plugin — works for the demo admin without a host edit.
+async function seedAdminAndPermissions(env: Env, plugins: Plugin[], log: Log): Promise<void> {
+  const declared = declaredPermissions(plugins).map((decl) => decl.name);
+  const { ignored, permissions } = seedPermissions(env["ADMIN_PERMISSIONS"], declared);
+  if (ignored.length > 0) {
+    log.warn("ignoring ADMIN_PERMISSIONS entries that are not <resource>:<action>", { ignored: ignored.join(", ") });
+  }
+  const email = env["ADMIN_EMAIL"] ?? "admin@plainpages.local";
+  const password = env["ADMIN_PASSWORD"] ?? "admin";
+  const result = await seedAdmin({
+    email,
+    fetchImpl: tracedFetch,
+    ketoWriteUrl: env["KETO_WRITE_URL"] ?? "http://keto:4467",
+    kratosAdminUrl: env["KRATOS_ADMIN_URL"] ?? "http://kratos:4434",
+    password,
+    permissions,
+  });
+  log.info("admin seeded", { created: result.created, id: result.id, permissions: result.permissions.join(", ") });
+  // The banner is human-facing UX (the first-run "you're ready" block), not a log event — print raw.
+  console.log(firstRunBanner({ appUrl: env["APP_URL"] ?? "http://localhost:3000", email, password }));
+}
+
 if (process.argv[1] === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)) await main();

src/auth/flow-view.test.ts

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ test("the code field guards a pasted space: one-time-code autofill + numeric inp
   );
   assert.deepEqual(view.fields.find((f) => f.name === "code"), {
     autocomplete: "one-time-code", // Kratos sends none for the OTP node — enable OS/email autofill
+    hint: "Digits only — no spaces.", // the pattern refusal alone reads as a bare "match the requested format"
     icon: "i-shield",
     id: "field-code",
     inputmode: "numeric",

src/auth/flow-view.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import type { Flow, FlowType, UiNode } from "./kratos-public.ts";
 export interface FlowField {
   autocomplete?: string;
   error?: { text: string };
+  hint?: string; // muted helper text under the input
   icon?: string; // Lucide sprite id for the input
   id: string;
   inputmode?: string; // virtual-keyboard hint (e.g. "numeric" for the OTP code)
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ function toField(node: UiNode, name: string, type: string, t: Translate): FlowFi
     ...(autocomplete ? { autocomplete } : {}),
     ...(errorMsg ? { error: { text: kratosText(t, errorMsg.text, idKey(errorMsg.id)) } } : {}),
     ...(icon ? { icon } : {}),
-    ...(isCode ? { inputmode: "numeric", pattern: "[0-9]*" } : {}),
+    ...(isCode ? { hint: t("auth.field.code.hint"), inputmode: "numeric", pattern: "[0-9]*" } : {}),
     ...(node.attributes["required"] === true ? { required: true } : {}),
     ...(value ? { value } : {}),
   };

src/auth/gate.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import type { User } from "../http/context.ts";
+import { allows, gatesSet } from "./gate.ts";
+
+const holder: User = { email: "holder@example.test", id: "01a06091-ba9f-765f-abf4-b5144c314bc7", permissions: ["x:read"] };
+const stranger: User = { email: "stranger@example.test", id: "01a06091-baa3-7b4d-810a-c9ee7e559d98", permissions: [] };
+
+test("allows: ungated and public are open to anyone; session needs a user; permission needs the token", () => {
+  assert.equal(allows({}, null), true);
+  assert.equal(allows({ public: true }, null), true);
+
+  assert.equal(allows({ session: true }, null), false);
+  assert.equal(allows({ session: true }, stranger), true); // signed in is the whole gate — no grant
+
+  assert.equal(allows({ permission: "x:read" }, null), false);
+  assert.equal(allows({ permission: "x:read" }, stranger), false);
+  assert.equal(allows({ permission: "x:read" }, holder), true);
+});
+
+test("gatesSet names the gates a declaration sets, so discovery can refuse more than one", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(gatesSet({}), []);
+  assert.deepEqual(gatesSet({ session: true }), ["session"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(gatesSet({ permission: "x:read", public: true }), ["public", "permission"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(gatesSet({ permission: "x:read", public: true, session: true }), ["public", "session", "permission"]);
+  // Only `true` sets a gate, so a manifest spelling one `false` names none — which discovery refuses.
+  assert.deepEqual(gatesSet({ public: false, session: false }), []);
+});

src/auth/gate.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+// One home for the gate rule, so the router and the menu can never disagree about what a visitor
+// may reach. README → Public pages & menu items.
+import type { User } from "../http/context.ts";
+
+const GATES = ["public", "session", "permission"] as const;
+
+export interface Gate {
+  permission?: string; // the Keto Permission the caller must hold, `<resource>:<action>`
+  public?: boolean; // anyone, signed in or not
+  session?: boolean; // any signed-in user, no grant to hold; anonymous is sent to /login
+}
+
+export function allows(gate: Gate, user: User | null): boolean {
+  if (gate.public === true) return true;
+  if (gate.session === true) return user !== null;
+  return gate.permission == null || (user?.permissions.includes(gate.permission) ?? false);
+}
+
+export function gatesSet(gate: Gate | null | undefined): string[] {
+  if (gate == null) return [];
+  return GATES.filter((name) => (name === "permission" ? gate.permission != null : gate[name] === true));
+}

src/auth/login.test.ts

@@ -92,12 +92,24 @@ test("completeLogin returns null and touches nothing when there is no active ses
   assert.equal(touched, false);
 });
 
-test("completeLogin maps a missing email trait to null and throws if the tokenizer yields no JWT", async () => {
-  const identity: Identity = { id: ID, traits: {} };
+test("completeLogin throws if the tokenizer yields no JWT", async () => {
+  const identity: Identity = { id: ID, traits: { email: "admin@plainpages.local" } };
   const kratosPublic = publicStub({ whoami: async () => ({ active: true, identity }) as Session }); // never returns a tokenized JWT
   await assert.rejects(completeLogin({ keto: ketoStub(), kratosAdmin: adminStub(), kratosPublic }, "c"), /tokenizer returned no JWT/);
 });
 
+// An identity with no email is no session, decided here so /auth/complete and remintSession cannot
+// disagree: `claimsToUser` reads a token carrying none as anonymous, so minting one would hand the
+// browser a cookie every later request refuses.
+test("completeLogin refuses an identity carrying no email, before it mints anything", async () => {
+  const identity: Identity = { id: ID, traits: {} };
+  let touched = false;
+  const kratosAdmin = adminStub({ updateMetadataPublic: async () => { touched = true; return { id: ID }; } });
+  const kratosPublic = publicStub({ whoami: async () => ({ active: true, identity, tokenized: "h.p.s" }) as Session });
+  assert.equal(await completeLogin({ keto: ketoStub(), kratosAdmin, kratosPublic }, "c"), null);
+  assert.equal(touched, false); // no Keto read, no metadata write, no JWT
+});
+
 test("remintSession: a live Kratos session → fresh cookie + refreshed user; a dead session → a clearing cookie + null", async () => {
   const identity: Identity = { id: ID, traits: { email: "admin@plainpages.local" } };
   const kratosPublic = publicStub({ whoami: async (o) => (o?.tokenizeAs ? { active: true, identity, tokenized: "h.p.s" } : { active: true, identity }) as Session });

src/auth/login.ts

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ export interface LoginDeps {
 }
 
 export interface CompletedLogin {
-  email: string | null;
+  email: string;
   userId: string;
   jwt: string;
   permissions: string[];
@@ -61,7 +61,13 @@ export async function completeLogin(deps: LoginDeps, cookie: string | undefined)
   if (!session?.identity) return null;
   const userId = session.identity.id;
   const emailTrait = session.identity.traits?.["email"];
-  const email = typeof emailTrait === "string" ? emailTrait : null;
+  const email = typeof emailTrait === "string" ? emailTrait : "";
+  // No email is no session: `claimsToUser` reads a token carrying none as anonymous, so minting one
+  // would hand the browser a cookie every later request refuses.
+  if (!email) {
+    currentLog()?.warn("session dropped: identity has no email", { sub: userId });
+    return null;
+  }
 
   const permissions = await readPermissions(deps.keto, userId);
   await deps.kratosAdmin.updateMetadataPublic(userId, { permissions });
@@ -87,7 +93,7 @@ export interface Reminted {
 export async function remintSession(deps: LoginDeps, cookie: string | undefined, options: { secure?: boolean } = {}): Promise<Reminted> {
   const completed = await completeLogin(deps, cookie);
   if (!completed) return { setCookie: clearSessionCookie(options), user: null };
-  return { setCookie: sessionCookie(completed.jwt, options), user: { email: completed.email ?? "", id: completed.userId, permissions: completed.permissions } };
+  return { setCookie: sessionCookie(completed.jwt, options), user: { email: completed.email, id: completed.userId, permissions: completed.permissions } };
 }
 
 // Build the Set-Cookie for our session JWT. HttpOnly + SameSite=Lax by default; `secure` is

src/auth/routes.test.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { AUTH_FLOWS } from "./flow-view.ts";
+import { gatesSet } from "./gate.ts";
 import type { HydraAdmin } from "./hydra-admin.ts";
 import type { KetoClient } from "./keto-client.ts";
 import type { KratosAdmin } from "./kratos-admin.ts";
@@ -39,8 +40,12 @@ test("hydra alone ⇒ only RP-initiated logout of the OAuth2 group (login/consen
 });
 
 test("everything wired ⇒ the full group: OAuth2 challenges, consent GET+POST, /auth/complete", () => {
-  const got = keys(buildAuthRoutes(deps({ hydra, keto, kratos, kratosAdmin })));
+  const routes = buildAuthRoutes(deps({ hydra, keto, kratos, kratosAdmin }));
+  const got = keys(routes);
   for (const key of ["GET /auth/complete", "GET /login", "GET /oauth2/consent", "GET /oauth2/login", "GET /oauth2/logout", "POST /logout", "POST /oauth2/consent"]) {
     assert.ok(got.includes(key), key);
   }
+  // Discovery enforces exactly one gate per plugin declaration; nothing checks the host's own table
+  // at boot, so a route added here without a gate would be silently public.
+  for (const route of routes) assert.deepEqual(gatesSet(route), ["public"], `${route.method} ${route.path}`);
 });

src/auth/routes.ts

@@ -240,20 +240,20 @@ export function buildAuthRoutes({ hydra, keto, kratos, kratosAdmin, menu, secure
   const routes: BuiltinRoute[] = [];
   if (kratos) {
     for (const [path, flowType] of Object.entries(AUTH_FLOWS)) {
-      routes.push({ handler: flowPage(kratos, flowType, secureCookies), method: "GET", path });
+      routes.push({ handler: flowPage(kratos, flowType, secureCookies), method: "GET", path, public: true });
     }
-    routes.push({ handler: logout(kratos, secureCookies), method: "POST", path: "/logout" });
+    routes.push({ handler: logout(kratos, secureCookies), method: "POST", path: "/logout", public: true });
   }
   if (hydra && kratos) {
     const provider = { hydra, kratos };
-    routes.push({ handler: oauthLogin(provider, secureCookies), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/login" });
-    routes.push({ handler: consentScreen(provider, menu.branding.name), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/consent" });
-    routes.push({ handler: consentDecision(provider), method: "POST", path: "/oauth2/consent" });
+    routes.push({ handler: oauthLogin(provider, secureCookies), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/login", public: true });
+    routes.push({ handler: consentScreen(provider, menu.branding.name), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/consent", public: true });
+    routes.push({ handler: consentDecision(provider), method: "POST", path: "/oauth2/consent", public: true });
   }
-  if (hydra) routes.push({ handler: oauthLogout(hydra), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/logout" });
+  if (hydra) routes.push({ handler: oauthLogout(hydra), method: "GET", path: "/oauth2/logout", public: true });
   if (kratos && kratosAdmin && keto) {
-    routes.push({ handler: completeAuth({ keto, kratosAdmin, kratosPublic: kratos }, secureCookies), method: "GET", path: "/auth/complete" });
+    routes.push({ handler: completeAuth({ keto, kratosAdmin, kratosPublic: kratos }, secureCookies), method: "GET", path: "/auth/complete", public: true });
   }
-  routes.push({ handler: errorSink, method: "GET", path: "/error" });
+  routes.push({ handler: errorSink, method: "GET", path: "/error", public: true });
   return routes;
 }

src/compose.test.ts

@@ -44,10 +44,11 @@ test("long-running Ory services declare readiness healthchecks", () => {
       `${svc} probes :${port}/health/ready`);
 });
 
-test("web waits for kratos, keto and hydra to be healthy before starting", () => {
+test("web waits for kratos, keto, hydra and postgres to be healthy before starting", () => {
   assert.match(webBlock, /depends_on:/, "web declares dependencies");
-  // hydra: the OAuth2 login/consent handler talks to its admin API.
-  for (const svc of ["kratos", "keto", "hydra"])
+  // hydra: the OAuth2 login/consent handler talks to its admin API. postgres: a plugin declaring
+  // `storage` opens its connection in onBoot, before the server listens.
+  for (const svc of ["kratos", "keto", "hydra", "postgres"])
     assert.match(webBlock, new RegExp(`${svc}:\\s*\\n\\s*condition:\\s*service_healthy`),
       `web waits for ${svc} healthy`);
 });
@@ -78,6 +79,21 @@ test("prod base supplies the app secret via env and mounts no source; dev overri
   assert.match(compose, /POSTGRES_PASSWORD:\s*\$\{POSTGRES_PASSWORD\b/, "postgres password via env");
 });
 
+test("the provisioning superuser DSN reaches bootstrap only, never web", () => {
+  // web runs plugin code, which can read its own environment — so the credentials that may CREATE
+  // DATABASE/ROLE must never be there. web gets the credential-free base URL and derives each
+  // plugin's own password from the shared secret instead.
+  const boot = compose.slice(compose.indexOf("\n  bootstrap:"));
+  const overrideWeb = override.slice(override.indexOf("\n  web:"), override.indexOf("\n  bootstrap:"));
+  assert.match(boot, /PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL:/, "bootstrap is given the superuser DSN");
+  // Reordering the override's services would empty this slice, and every doesNotMatch below would
+  // then pass against "".
+  assert.ok(overrideWeb.includes("PLUGIN_DB_URL"), "sliced the dev override's web block");
+  for (const [name, block] of [["base", webBlock], ["dev override", overrideWeb]] as const)
+    assert.doesNotMatch(block, /PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL/, `${name} web never sees it`);
+  assert.match(webBlock, /PLUGIN_DB_URL:\s*\$\{PLUGIN_DB_URL/, "base wires web's base URL from env");
+});
+
 test("a one-shot bootstrap seeds the stack before web starts", () => {
   // MVP bar: `bootstrap` runs after kratos+keto are healthy, seeds the admin +
   // JWKS, then exits; web waits for it to complete. Live seeding is boot-verified.

src/config.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
-import { loadConfig } from "./config.ts";
+import { loadConfig, resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit, resolvePluginDbSecret } from "./config.ts";
 
 // Explicit secure-secret enforcement (no environment sniffing): secrets are the only
 // thing a hardened deploy must supply.
@@ -9,6 +9,43 @@ const secureEnv = {
   REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "true",
 };
 
+// web reads the secret through loadConfig and bootstrap through resolvePluginDbSecret; the two
+// deriving different passwords is invisible until a plugin's connection is refused at boot. Compose
+// passes an unset variable through as "", which is the case that actually drifted.
+test("web and bootstrap resolve the same plugin storage secret", () => {
+  for (const env of [{}, { PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: "" }, { PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: "a-real-secret" }]) {
+    assert.equal(loadConfig(env).pluginDbSecret, resolvePluginDbSecret(env), `for ${JSON.stringify(env)}`);
+  }
+  assert.match(resolvePluginDbSecret({ PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: "" }), /dev-insecure/); // empty is unset, not a secret
+});
+
+// bootstrap writes these passwords into Postgres, so it must refuse the publicly-known throwaway
+// before creating a role with one — not leave web to notice afterwards.
+test("bootstrap refuses a missing, empty or throwaway plugin storage secret when hardened", () => {
+  const hardened = { REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS: "true" };
+  for (const secret of [undefined, "", "dev-insecure-plugin-db-secret"]) {
+    const env = secret === undefined ? hardened : { ...hardened, PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: secret };
+    assert.throws(() => resolvePluginDbSecret(env), /PLUGIN_DB_SECRET/, `for ${JSON.stringify(secret)}`);
+  }
+  assert.equal(resolvePluginDbSecret({ ...hardened, PLUGIN_DB_SECRET: "a-real-secret" }), "a-real-secret");
+});
+
+// buildCredentials overwrites the userinfo, so a pasted admin DSN would *work* — and leave a
+// privileged password in the process that runs plugin code. Refusing it is the whole guard.
+test("PLUGIN_DB_URL carrying credentials is refused, not silently overwritten", () => {
+  assert.throws(() => loadConfig({ PLUGIN_DB_URL: "postgres://root:hunter2@db:5432/ory" }), /no username or password/);
+  assert.throws(() => loadConfig({ PLUGIN_DB_URL: "postgres://root@db:5432" }), /no username or password/);
+  assert.equal(loadConfig({ PLUGIN_DB_URL: "postgres://db:5432" }).pluginDbUrl, "postgres://db:5432");
+  assert.equal(loadConfig({}).pluginDbUrl, undefined); // unset ⇒ storage off
+});
+
+test("the per-role connection ceiling defaults to 10 and rejects nonsense", () => {
+  assert.equal(resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit({}), 10);
+  assert.equal(resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit({ PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT: "25" }), 25);
+  assert.throws(() => resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit({ PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT: "0" }), /positive integer/);
+  assert.throws(() => resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit({ PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT: "ten" }), /positive integer/);
+});
+
 test("loads dev defaults when the environment is empty", () => {
   const c = loadConfig({});
   assert.equal(c.port, 3000);

src/config.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,35 @@
 export const LOG_LEVELS = ["error", "warn", "info", "verbose", "debug", "silly", "none"] as const;
 export type LogLevel = (typeof LOG_LEVELS)[number];
 
+const DEV_PLUGIN_DB_SECRET = "dev-insecure-plugin-db-secret";
+
+// The one resolution both processes use — they must agree exactly, or web connects with a password
+// the role was never given. Compose passes an unset variable through as "", so empty means unset.
+// `enforce` says whether storage is actually in play: web once PLUGIN_DB_URL is configured,
+// bootstrap once a plugin declares storage. Enforced, the throwaway is refused — bootstrap is what
+// writes these passwords into Postgres, so it must refuse *before* creating a role with one.
+export function resolvePluginDbSecret(env: Env, enforce?: boolean): string {
+  return readSecret(env, "PLUGIN_DB_SECRET", DEV_PLUGIN_DB_SECRET, enforce ?? readBool(env, "REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS", false));
+}
+
+// Only bootstrap provisions, so only bootstrap reads this; env still gets read in one place.
+export function resolvePluginDbConnectionLimit(env: Env): number {
+  return readPosInt(env, "PLUGIN_DB_CONNECTION_LIMIT", 10);
+}
+
+// PLUGIN_DB_URL is web's, and web must never hold credentials that outrank a plugin's own role.
+// Pasting the admin DSN here would otherwise work — buildCredentials overwrites the userinfo — and
+// leave a superuser password in the environment plugin code can read.
+function readCredentiallessUrl(env: Env, key: string): string | undefined {
+  const value = readOptionalUrl(env, key);
+  if (value === undefined) return undefined;
+  const url = new URL(value);
+  if (url.username || url.password) {
+    throw new Error(`config: ${key} must carry no username or password — each plugin connects as its own role`);
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+
 export interface Config {
   appUrl: string | undefined; // canonical public URL; set ⇒ off-host visitors are redirected here. Unset ⇒ no redirect (explicit toggle)
   cacheTemplates: boolean;
@@ -24,7 +53,10 @@ export interface Config {
   oryTimeoutSec: number; // per-call timeout for outbound Kratos/Keto/Hydra fetches (bounds a hung Ory)
   otlpEndpoint: string | undefined; // OTLP/HTTP collector base URI; unset ⇒ console-only (no export)
   otlpProtocol: "http/json" | "http/protobuf"; // OTLP wire format (protobuf for json-averse collectors)
+  pluginDbSecret: string; // derives each plugin's database password (src/plugin-host/storage.ts)
+  pluginDbUrl: string | undefined; // credential-free Postgres base URL; unset ⇒ plugin storage is off
   port: number;
+  requireSecureSecrets: boolean; // enforce real secrets — the host's own, and every plugin's declared `secret`
   revocationDenylist: boolean; // enable the optional instant permission/session revoke denylist
   revocationTtlSec: number; // how long a revoke entry lives; keep ≥ tokenizer TTL + clock skew
   secureCookies: boolean;
@@ -150,7 +182,14 @@ export function loadConfig(env: Env = process.env): Config {
     oryTimeoutSec: readPosInt(env, "ORY_TIMEOUT_SEC", 5),
     otlpEndpoint: readOptionalUrl(env, "OTLP_ENDPOINT"),
     otlpProtocol: readEnum(env, "OTLP_PROTOCOL", ["http/json", "http/protobuf"] as const, "http/json"),
+    // Per-plugin storage. PLUGIN_DB_URL carries the server and its connection parameters but no
+    // credentials: the superuser DSN that provisions stays in bootstrap, so a plugin cannot read it
+    // out of web's environment. Unset ⇒ storage is off and a plugin declaring it fails loud at boot,
+    // which is also why the secret is only enforced once a URL is configured.
+    pluginDbSecret: resolvePluginDbSecret(env, requireSecure && Boolean(env["PLUGIN_DB_URL"])),
+    pluginDbUrl: readCredentiallessUrl(env, "PLUGIN_DB_URL"),
     port: readPort(env),
+    requireSecureSecrets: requireSecure,
     // Optional instant-revoke, off by default. When on, an admin deactivate/delete or permission
     // change revokes the subject's live tokens at once; the entry lives ttl seconds (≥ the 10m
     // tokenizer TTL + skew, so it outlasts any pre-revoke token).

src/http/app.test.ts

@@ -609,6 +609,7 @@ test("guards map to responses: requireSession → /login, a failed can/check →
       { handler: (ctx) => { if (!can(ctx, "admin")) throw new GuardError(403, "no"); return { html: "ok" }; }, method: "GET", path: "/admin-only" },
       { handler: async (ctx) => { if (!(await check(keto, ctx, { namespace: "Resource", object: ctx.params.id ?? "", relation: "view" }))) throw new GuardError(403, "no"); return { html: "seen" }; }, method: "GET", path: "/doc/:id" },
       { handler: () => ({ html: "gated" }), method: "GET", path: "/gated", permission: "secret:read" }, // declarative route gate
+      { handler: () => ({ html: "mine" }), method: "GET", path: "/mine", session: true }, // declarative session gate
     ],
   };
   const app = createApp({ jwks: staticJwks([ecJwk]), plugins: [guarded] });
@@ -642,6 +643,12 @@ test("guards map to responses: requireSession → /login, a failed can/check →
   assert.equal(gDenied.status, 403);
   assert.match(await gDenied.text(), /403/); // the rendered 403.ejs over HTTP
   assert.equal((await fetch(url + "/guarded/gated", auth(["secret:read"]))).status, 200);
+
+  // declarative `session` gate: anonymous → sign in, and any signed-in user through, grant or none.
+  const sAnon = await fetch(url + "/guarded/mine", { redirect: "manual" });
+  assert.equal(sAnon.status, 303);
+  assert.equal(sAnon.headers.get("location"), "/login?return_to=%2Fguarded%2Fmine");
+  assert.equal((await fetch(url + "/guarded/mine", auth([]))).status, 200);
 });
 
 test("plugin hooks: onRequest can short-circuit a request and onResponse observes the handler result", async (t) => {

src/http/app.ts

@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@ import { createLogger, type Log, requestLogger, runWithLog } from "../logger.ts"
 import { remintSession } from "../auth/login.ts";
 import { DEFAULT_MENU, type MenuConfig } from "../ui/menu-config.ts";
 import { declaredPermissions, type Plugin, type RouteHandler, type RouteResult } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
+import type { PluginSettings } from "../plugin-host/settings.ts";
 import type { SystemCapabilities } from "../plugin-host/system.ts";
-import { allowedMethods, isAuthorized, matchRoute } from "../plugin-host/router.ts";
+import { allows, type Gate } from "../auth/gate.ts";
+import { allowedMethods, matchRoute } from "../plugin-host/router.ts";
 import { buildAuthRoutes } from "../auth/routes.ts";
 import { securityHeaders } from "./security-headers.ts";
 import { localPath } from "./safe-url.ts";
@@ -54,6 +56,7 @@ export interface AppOptions {
   pluginsDir?: string; // where plugin views/static live; defaults to the scanned plugins/
   publicDir?: string;
   secureCookies?: boolean; // set Secure on our session/CSRF cookies (config.secureCookies; off in dev http)
+  settingsCatalog?: readonly PluginSettings[]; // resolved at boot (server.ts, needs the env); → ctx.declaredSettings
   viewsDir?: string;
 }
 
@@ -88,6 +91,7 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
   const homePlugin = plugins.find((p): p is Plugin & { home: RouteHandler } => typeof p.home === "function");
   const dashboardPlugin = plugins.find((p): p is Plugin & { dashboard: RouteHandler } => typeof p.dashboard === "function");
   const permissionCatalog = declaredPermissions(plugins);
+  const settingsCatalog = options.settingsCatalog ?? [];
   // Skip the hook pipeline entirely unless a plugin declares the hook (keeps the hot path free).
   const anyRequestHooks = plugins.some((p) => p.hooks?.onRequest);
   const anyResponseHooks = plugins.some((p) => p.hooks?.onResponse);
@@ -153,7 +157,6 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
   // "/dashboard", gated to a signed-in user. A plugin may own it via `dashboard`; else the built-in
   // starter page.
   const serveDashboard = async (ctx: RequestContext, csrf: RequestCsrf, contextFor: PluginContextFactory): Promise<RouteResult | null> => {
-    if (!ctx.user) return { redirect: loginRedirect(ctx), status: 303 };
     // The page carries the Sign-out form, so Set-Cookie a fresh CSRF token here when absent.
     csrf.setCookie();
     if (dashboardPlugin) {
@@ -170,8 +173,8 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
   // routes.ts, capability-gated on the wired clients) plus the two landing slots above.
   const builtinRoutes: BuiltinRoute[] = [
     ...buildAuthRoutes({ hydra, keto, kratos, kratosAdmin, menu, secureCookies }),
-    { handler: serveHome, method: "GET", path: "/" },
-    { handler: serveDashboard, method: "GET", path: "/dashboard" },
+    { handler: serveHome, method: "GET", path: "/", public: true },
+    { handler: serveDashboard, method: "GET", path: "/dashboard", session: true },
   ];
 
   // The request handler. Run inside runWithLog (below) so the per-request logger is ambient: every
@@ -259,9 +262,9 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
 
       // Base context (no route params), for the built-in routes. Every plugin-owned render — a
       // landing slot, a hook short-circuit, a plugin route — gets `contextFor(id)` instead.
-      const ctx = buildContext(req, res, { chrome, declaredPermissions: permissionCatalog, user, ...i18nFor(), log: reqLog, verifyCsrf, ...(system ? { system } : {}) });
+      const ctx = buildContext(req, res, { chrome, declaredPermissions: permissionCatalog, declaredSettings: settingsCatalog, user, ...i18nFor(), log: reqLog, verifyCsrf, ...(system ? { system } : {}) });
       const contextFor = (pluginId: string, params?: Record<string, string>): RequestContext =>
-        buildContext(req, res, { chrome, declaredPermissions: permissionCatalog, user, ...i18nFor(pluginId), log: reqLog, ...(params ? { params } : {}), verifyCsrf, ...(system ? { system } : {}) });
+        buildContext(req, res, { chrome, declaredPermissions: permissionCatalog, declaredSettings: settingsCatalog, user, ...i18nFor(pluginId), log: reqLog, ...(params ? { params } : {}), verifyCsrf, ...(system ? { system } : {}) });
       renderPage = viewsFor(ctx);
 
       // Plugin onRequest hooks run before routing and may short-circuit the request.
@@ -275,15 +278,19 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
         }
       }
 
+      // Anonymous → sign in, remembering the page as return_to; a signed-in user who simply lacks
+      // the permission gets the 403 page.
+      const refuse = async (gate: Gate, gateCtx: RequestContext): Promise<void> => {
+        if (!gateCtx.user) { res.writeHead(303, { location: carryLocale(loginRedirect(gateCtx)) }).end(); return; }
+        reqLog.warn("forbidden: missing permission", { path: pathname, required: gate.permission ?? "", sub: gateCtx.user.id });
+        sendHtml(res, 403, await renderPage("403", {}));
+      };
+
       const match = matchRoute(plugins, method, pathname);
       if (match) {
         const routeCtx = contextFor(match.plugin.id, match.params);
-        if (!isAuthorized(match.route, routeCtx.permissions)) {
-          // Anonymous → sign in, remembering the page as return_to; a signed-in user who simply
-          // lacks the permission gets the 403 page.
-          if (!routeCtx.user) { res.writeHead(303, { location: loginRedirect(routeCtx) }).end(); return; }
-          reqLog.warn("forbidden: missing permission", { path: pathname, required: match.route.permission ?? "", sub: routeCtx.user.id });
-          sendHtml(res, 403, await renderPage("403", {}));
+        if (!allows(match.route, routeCtx.user)) {
+          await refuse(match.route, routeCtx);
           return;
         }
         csrfMint.setCookie();
@@ -297,6 +304,7 @@ export function createApp(options: AppOptions = {}): Server {
 
       const builtin = matchBuiltinRoute(builtinRoutes, method, pathname);
       if (builtin) {
+        if (!allows(builtin, ctx.user)) { await refuse(builtin, ctx); return; }
         await sendResult(res, await builtin.handler(ctx, csrfMint, contextFor), viewsFor(ctx), carryLocale);
         return;
       }

src/http/builtin-routes.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 // mint (host-only — a plugin reads the token via ctx.chrome instead). app.ts matches this table
 // after plugin routes — exact path, a GET route also answering HEAD like the plugin router — and
 // pipes the result through sendResult against the core views.
+import type { Gate } from "../auth/gate.ts";
 import type { RequestContext } from "./context.ts";
 import type { RouteResult } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
 
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ export interface RequestCsrf {
 // own context — otherwise the plugin's keys render as bare keys on the pages it owns.
 export type PluginContextFactory = (pluginId: string) => RequestContext;
 
-export interface BuiltinRoute {
+export interface BuiltinRoute extends Gate {
   // Returns a RouteResult, or null when the handler wrote to ctx.res itself
   // (the landing slots dispatch a plugin's own result against that plugin's views).
   handler: (ctx: RequestContext, csrf: RequestCsrf, contextFor: PluginContextFactory) => Promise<RouteResult | null> | RouteResult | null;

src/http/context.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { IncomingMessage, ServerResponse } from "node:http";
 import type { PageChrome } from "../ui/chrome.ts"; // type-only: no runtime import, so no cycle
 import type { PermissionDecl } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts"; // type-only
+import type { PluginSettings } from "../plugin-host/settings.ts"; // type-only
 import type { SystemCapabilities } from "../plugin-host/system.ts"; // type-only
 import { DEFAULT_LOCALE } from "../i18n/catalog.ts";
 import { ENGLISH } from "../i18n/english.ts";
@@ -31,8 +32,8 @@ export interface RequestContext {
   // on off-site URLs. The host already does this for the chrome and its own redirects; a plugin
   // wraps the hrefs it builds itself.
   localeHref(href: string): string;
-  // Every installed locale, sorted. With `localeLabel` (from #plugin-api) it is what a plugin needs
-  // to build its own language picker; the host's own picker is already in the shell.
+  // Every installed locale, sorted. With `localeLabel` (from @plainpages/plugin-api) it is what a
+  // plugin needs to build its own language picker; the host's own picker is already in the shell.
   locales: string[];
   // Request-scoped logger: structured, in the request's trace. `log.info/warn/error(...)` to
   // log; `log.fetch(url)` for an upstream call (a client span continuing the trace). Correlates by
@@ -42,6 +43,9 @@ export interface RequestContext {
   // screen offers when granting one. Pairs with `permissions` below: this is what *exists*, that is
   // what *this user holds*. Empty when no installed plugin declares any.
   declaredPermissions: readonly PermissionDecl[];
+  // What each installed plugin declares it can be configured with, and how each key resolved — one
+  // entry per plugin, including those declaring nothing. A secret's value is never carried here.
+  declaredSettings: readonly PluginSettings[];
   params: Record<string, string>; // path params from the route match, e.g. /users/:id → { id }
   permissions: string[]; // user?.permissions ?? [] — coarse gate without a null-check
   query: URLSearchParams; // alias of url.searchParams, for ctx.query.get("q")
@@ -67,6 +71,7 @@ export interface BuildContextOptions {
   // The host's factory is memoised, so the menu composes at most once per request across contexts.
   chrome?: () => PageChrome;
   declaredPermissions?: readonly PermissionDecl[];
+  declaredSettings?: readonly PluginSettings[];
   user?: User | null;
   locale?: string;
   localeHref?: (href: string) => string;
@@ -96,6 +101,7 @@ export function buildContext(
   return {
     get chrome(): PageChrome { return (chromeMemo ??= buildChrome ? buildChrome() : ANON_CHROME); },
     declaredPermissions: options.declaredPermissions ?? [],
+    declaredSettings: options.declaredSettings ?? [],
     user,
     locale: options.locale ?? DEFAULT_LOCALE,
     localeHref: options.localeHref ?? ((href) => href),

src/i18n/locales/en-US.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const messages = {
   "auth.continue": "Continue",
   // Kratos labels its own form fields; these translate the ones the built-in identity schema uses,
   // keyed on the input name. A deployment's extra traits keep Kratos' label until a plugin covers them.
+  "auth.field.code.hint": "Digits only — no spaces.",
   "auth.field.email": "Email",
   "auth.field.identifier": "Email",
   "auth.field.password": "Password",
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@ const messages = {
   "filter.remove": "Remove {{label}} filter",
   "filter.reset": "Reset",
   "filter.search": "Search",
+  "filter.selected": "{{label}}, {{count}} selected",
   "filter.to": "To",
   "filter.toSeparator": "to",
 

src/i18n/locales/sv-SE.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { CoreMessages } from "./en-US.ts";
 
 const messages: CoreMessages = {
   "auth.continue": "Fortsätt",
+  "auth.field.code.hint": "Endast siffror — inga mellanslag.",
   "auth.field.email": "E-postadress",
   "auth.field.identifier": "E-postadress",
   "auth.field.password": "Lösenord",
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ const messages: CoreMessages = {
   "filter.remove": "Ta bort filtret {{label}}",
   "filter.reset": "Återställ",
   "filter.search": "Sök",
+  "filter.selected": "{{label}}, {{count}} valda",
   "filter.to": "Till",
   "filter.toSeparator": "till",
 

src/plugin-host/discovery.test.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
 import { test, type TestContext } from "node:test";
 import { discoverPlugins } from "./discovery.ts";
+import { HOST_API_VERSION } from "./plugin.ts";
 
 // Write a throwaway plugins/ tree of `relpath → source` and clean it up after the test. Fixtures
 // default-export plain objects — definePlugin is identity, so a literal is an equivalent manifest.
@@ -19,21 +20,27 @@ function scaffold(t: TestContext, files: Record<string, string>): string {
 }
 
 const full = (id: string): string =>
-  `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", nav: [{ id: "${id}:root", label: "${id}" }], ` +
-  `routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", handler: () => ({ html: "${id}" }) }] };`;
+  `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "${id}:root", label: "${id}", public: true }], ` +
+  `routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: "${id}" }) }] };`;
 
 test("a missing plugins/ dir means zero plugins, not an error (clean clone)", async () => {
   assert.deepEqual(await discoverPlugins({ dir: join(tmpdir(), "pp-does-not-exist-xyz") }), []);
 });
 
 test("discovers each folder's manifest, sorted, id derived from the folder name", async (t) => {
-  const dir = scaffold(t, { "beta/plugin.ts": full("beta"), "alpha/plugin.ts": full("alpha") });
+  const dir = scaffold(t, {
+    "beta/plugin.ts": full("beta"),
+    "alpha/plugin.ts": full("alpha"),
+    "gamma/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", storage: true };`,
+  });
   const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir });
 
-  assert.deepEqual(plugins.map((p) => p.id), ["alpha", "beta"]); // deterministic order
-  assert.equal(plugins[0]?.apiVersion, "1.0.0");
+  assert.deepEqual(plugins.map((p) => p.id), ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"]); // deterministic order
+  assert.equal(plugins[0]?.apiVersion, HOST_API_VERSION);
   assert.equal(plugins[0]?.nav?.[0]?.label, "alpha");
   assert.equal(typeof plugins[0]?.routes?.[0]?.handler, "function"); // handlers survive import
+  assert.equal(plugins[0]?.storage, undefined); // storage is opt-in, never assumed
+  assert.equal(plugins[2]?.storage, true);
 });
 
 // Every per-plugin problem and every error-level conflict aborts boot with a message naming it.
@@ -45,20 +52,39 @@ const badCases: Array<{ name: string; files: Record<string, string>; match: RegE
   { name: "no default export", files: { "named-only/plugin.ts": "export const x = 1;" }, match: /named-only.*default/s },
   { name: "import throws", files: { "explodes/plugin.ts": "throw new Error('boom');" }, match: /explodes.*boom/s },
   { name: "incompatible apiVersion", files: { "future/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "2.0.0" };` }, match: /future.*apiVersion/s },
-  { name: "non-array routes", files: { "weird/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", routes: "nope" };` }, match: /weird.*routes.*array/s },
-  { name: "non-function home", files: { "weirdhome/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", home: "nope" };` }, match: /weirdhome.*home.*function/s },
-  { name: "non-function dashboard", files: { "weirddash/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", dashboard: "nope" };` }, match: /weirddash.*dashboard.*function/s },
+  { name: "non-array routes", files: { "weird/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: "nope" };` }, match: /weird.*routes.*array/s },
+  { name: "non-function home", files: { "weirdhome/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", home: "nope" };` }, match: /weirdhome.*home.*function/s },
+  { name: "non-function dashboard", files: { "weirddash/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", dashboard: "nope" };` }, match: /weirddash.*dashboard.*function/s },
+  { name: "non-boolean storage", files: { "weirdstore/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", storage: "postgres://db" };` }, match: /weirdstore.*storage.*boolean/s },
+  // The folder name becomes a Postgres identifier, which truncates past 63 bytes.
+  { name: "a storage plugin whose folder name overflows a Postgres identifier", files: { [`${"a".repeat(57)}/plugin.ts`]: `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", storage: true };` }, match: /storage.*56 characters/s },
   { name: "reserved dashboard id shadows the gated dashboard", files: { "dashboard/plugin.ts": full("dashboard") }, match: /dashboard.*reserved/s },
   { name: "duplicate nav id across plugins", files: { "a/plugin.ts": full("a").replace("a:root", "dup"), "b/plugin.ts": full("b").replace("b:root", "dup") }, match: /nav id "dup"/ },
-  { name: "a route marked public AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contra/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, permission: "x:read", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /contra.*public.*permission/s },
-  { name: "a nav node marked public AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contranav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", public: true, permission: "x:read" }] };` }, match: /contranav.*public.*permission/s },
+  { name: "a route marked public AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contra/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, permission: "x:read", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /contra.*public.*permission/s },
+  { name: "a nav node marked public AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contranav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", public: true, permission: "x:read" }] };` }, match: /contranav.*public.*permission/s },
+  { name: "a route marked session AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contrasess/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", session: true, permission: "x:read", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /contrasess.*session.*permission/s },
+  { name: "a route marked public AND session is contradictory", files: { "contrapub/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, session: true, handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /contrapub.*public.*session/s },
+  { name: "a route whose session flag is a truthy non-boolean is refused, not read as ungated", files: { "truthy/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", session: "yes", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /truthy.*session.*true/s },
+  { name: "a nav node whose public flag is a truthy non-boolean is refused too", files: { "truthynav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", public: 1 }] };` }, match: /truthynav.*public.*true/s },
+  { name: "a nav node marked session AND permission is contradictory", files: { "contrasessnav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", session: true, permission: "x:read" }] };` }, match: /contrasessnav.*session.*permission/s },
+  // A gate is named, never forgotten: a route or node without one would be an open page nobody chose.
+  { name: "a route naming no gate at all is refused, not served to everyone", files: { "nogate/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /nogate.*names no gate/s },
+  { name: "a nav node naming no gate at all is refused too — a section header says `public` outright", files: { "nogatenav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N" }] };` }, match: /nogatenav.*names no gate/s },
+  { name: "a gate set to false is refused — it reads as a gate but sets none", files: { "falsegate/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: false, handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /falsegate.*public.*true/s },
   // A permission name is <resource>:<action> wherever the manifest mentions one. Enforced here, not
   // only in the admin GUI, so it holds for a plugin installed without that GUI.
-  { name: "a route gating on a bare word", files: { "bare/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", permission: "admin", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /bare.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
-  { name: "a nav node gating on a bare word", files: { "barenav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", permission: "admin" }] };` }, match: /barenav.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
-  { name: "a declared permission that is a bare word", files: { "baredecl/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", permissions: [{ name: "admin" }] };` }, match: /baredecl.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
-  { name: "two plugins claim the public home", files: { "a/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", home: () => ({ html: "a" }) };`, "b/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", home: () => ({ html: "b" }) };` }, match: /home/ },
-  { name: "two plugins claim the gated dashboard", files: { "a/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", dashboard: () => ({ html: "a" }) };`, "b/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", dashboard: () => ({ html: "b" }) };` }, match: /dashboard/ },
+  { name: "a route gating on a bare word", files: { "bare/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", permission: "admin", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` }, match: /bare.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
+  { name: "a nav node gating on a bare word", files: { "barenav/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ id: "n", label: "N", permission: "admin" }] };` }, match: /barenav.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
+  { name: "a declared permission that is a bare word", files: { "baredecl/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", permissions: [{ name: "admin" }] };` }, match: /baredecl.*admin.*<resource>:<action>/s },
+  { name: "a plugin shipping its own copy of the barrel", files: { "shadow/node_modules/@plainpages/plugin-api/index.js": `export class GuardError extends Error {}`, "shadow/plugin.ts": full("shadow") }, match: /shadow.*@plainpages\/plugin-api/s },
+  { name: "a plugin package.json that forgets type: module", files: { "cjs/package.json": `{ "name": "cjs" }`, "cjs/plugin.ts": full("cjs") }, match: /cjs.*"type": "module"/s },
+  { name: "a plugin package.json that is not valid JSON", files: { "bent/package.json": `{`, "bent/plugin.ts": full("bent") }, match: /bent.*package\.json.*JSON/s },
+  { name: "a plugin package.json holding null", files: { "nul/package.json": `null`, "nul/plugin.ts": full("nul") }, match: /nul.*"type": "module"/s },
+  // `npm install --prefix plugins` — the documented command with one path segment dropped.
+  { name: "a package.json in the scan root itself", files: { "package.json": `{ "name": "oops" }`, "ok/plugin.ts": full("ok") }, match: /plugins\/package\.json must not exist/ },
+  { name: "a node_modules in the scan root itself", files: { "node_modules/@plainpages/plugin-api/index.js": `export class GuardError extends Error {}`, "ok/plugin.ts": full("ok") }, match: /plugins\/node_modules must not exist/ },
+  { name: "two plugins claim the public home", files: { "a/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", home: () => ({ html: "a" }) };`, "b/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", home: () => ({ html: "b" }) };` }, match: /home/ },
+  { name: "two plugins claim the gated dashboard", files: { "a/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", dashboard: () => ({ html: "a" }) };`, "b/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", dashboard: () => ({ html: "b" }) };` }, match: /dashboard/ },
 ];
 
 for (const c of badCases) {
@@ -71,7 +97,7 @@ for (const c of badCases) {
 // upgrade, not the author of the manifest — so the message has to carry the remedy, not just the
 // rule. A pre-existing `plugins/admin` gating on the old `admin` permission is exactly this case.
 test("a discovery failure tells the operator their plugins/ copy may just be out of date", async (t) => {
-  const dir = scaffold(t, { "admin/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/users", permission: "admin", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` });
+  const dir = scaffold(t, { "admin/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/users", permission: "admin", handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` });
   await assert.rejects(discoverPlugins({ dir }), (err: Error) => {
     assert.match(err.message, /gates on "admin"/); // what is wrong
     assert.match(err.message, /re-copy it/); // …and what to do about it
@@ -79,12 +105,19 @@ test("a discovery failure tells the operator their plugins/ copy may just be out
   });
 });
 
-test("a route + nav node may be marked public and load fine", async (t) => {
-  const dir = scaffold(t, { "pub/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", nav: [{ href: "/pub", id: "n", label: "N", public: true }], routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };` });
+test("a route + nav node may be marked public, or session, and load fine", async (t) => {
+  const dir = scaffold(t, {
+    "pub/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ href: "/pub", id: "n", label: "N", public: true }], routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };`,
+    "sess/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", nav: [{ href: "/sess", id: "s", label: "S", session: true }], routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", session: true, handler: () => ({ html: "x" }) }] };`,
+  });
   const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir });
-  assert.equal(plugins.length, 1);
-  assert.equal(plugins[0]?.routes?.[0]?.public, true);
-  assert.equal(plugins[0]?.nav?.[0]?.public, true);
+  assert.equal(plugins.length, 2);
+  const pub = plugins.find((p) => p.id === "pub");
+  const sess = plugins.find((p) => p.id === "sess");
+  assert.equal(pub?.routes?.[0]?.public, true);
+  assert.equal(pub?.nav?.[0]?.public, true);
+  assert.equal(sess?.routes?.[0]?.session, true);
+  assert.equal(sess?.nav?.[0]?.session, true);
 });
 
 test("`admin` is not reserved — the admin screens ship as a drop-in plugin mounted at /admin", async (t) => {
@@ -95,15 +128,49 @@ test("`admin` is not reserved — the admin screens ship as a drop-in plugin mou
 });
 
 test("a plugin may declare `home` (public /) and `dashboard` (gated /dashboard) handlers", async (t) => {
-  const dir = scaffold(t, { "portal/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", home: () => ({ view: "home" }), dashboard: () => ({ view: "dash" }) };` });
+  const dir = scaffold(t, { "portal/plugin.ts": `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", home: () => ({ view: "home" }), dashboard: () => ({ view: "dash" }) };` });
   const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir });
   assert.equal(plugins.length, 1);
   assert.equal(typeof plugins[0]?.home, "function");
   assert.equal(typeof plugins[0]?.dashboard, "function");
 });
 
+// Host deps sit at /node_modules, above every plugin scope, so the barrel resolves from a folder
+// that has its own package.json (README → Plugin dependencies).
+test("a plugin may carry its own package.json, node_modules and dependencies", async (t) => {
+  const dir = scaffold(t, {
+    "shop/package.json": `{ "name": "shop", "version": "0.0.0", "type": "module", "dependencies": { "price-tag": "1.0.0" } }`,
+    "shop/node_modules/price-tag/package.json": `{ "name": "price-tag", "version": "1.0.0", "type": "module", "exports": "./index.js" }`,
+    "shop/node_modules/price-tag/index.js": `export default (n) => \`\${n} kr\`;`,
+    "shop/plugin.ts": `import { definePlugin } from "@plainpages/plugin-api";\nimport price from "price-tag";\n` +
+      `export default definePlugin({ apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", routes: [{ method: "GET", path: "/", public: true, handler: () => ({ html: price(20) }) }] });`,
+  });
+
+  const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(plugins.map((p) => p.id), ["shop"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(await plugins[0]?.routes?.[0]?.handler(null as never), { html: "20 kr" });
+});
+
+test("a plugin folder may be a symlink", async (t) => {
+  const ownRepo = scaffold(t, { "my-plugin/plugin.ts": full("my-plugin") });
+  const dir = scaffold(t, {});
+  symlinkSync(join(ownRepo, "my-plugin"), join(dir, "linked"));
+
+  const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(plugins.map((p) => p.id), ["linked"]); // the link name is the id, not the target's
+});
+
+test("a dangling plugin symlink fails loud rather than vanishing", async (t) => {
+  const dir = scaffold(t, {});
+  symlinkSync(join(dir, "gone"), join(dir, "broken"));
+
+  await assert.rejects(discoverPlugins({ dir }), /broken.*plugin\.ts/s);
+});
+
 test("a shared permission name only warns — both plugins still load", async (t) => {
-  const shared = `export default { apiVersion: "1.0.0", permissions: [{ name: "shared:read" }] };`;
+  const shared = `export default { apiVersion: "${HOST_API_VERSION}", permissions: [{ name: "shared:read" }] };`;
   const dir = scaffold(t, { "x/plugin.ts": shared, "y/plugin.ts": shared });
   const warnings: string[] = [];
   const plugins = await discoverPlugins({ dir, logger: { warn: (m) => warnings.push(String(m)) } });

src/plugin-host/discovery.ts

@@ -4,10 +4,13 @@
 // error-level conflict is collected into one boot-stopping Error; warn-level diagnostics
 // (older-minor apiVersion, shared permission name) log and load continues. Folder name = id.
 
-import { existsSync, readdirSync } from "node:fs";
+import { existsSync, readdirSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
+import { type Gate, gatesSet } from "../auth/gate.ts";
 import { checkApiVersion, findConflicts, isValidPermissionName, isValidPluginId, RESERVED_PLUGIN_IDS, type Plugin, type PluginManifest } from "./plugin.ts";
+import { settingsDeclError } from "./settings.ts";
+import { isValidStoragePluginId, MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH } from "./storage.ts";
 
 const rootDir = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "..", "..");
 
@@ -27,6 +30,14 @@ export async function discoverPlugins(options: DiscoverOptions = {}): Promise<Pl
   const errors: string[] = [];
   const plugins: Plugin[] = [];
 
+  // `npm install --prefix plugins` instead of `--prefix plugins/<id>`: the package.json becomes the
+  // scope for every plugin below it, and the node_modules outranks the host's own — barrel included.
+  for (const stray of ["node_modules", "package.json"]) {
+    if (existsSync(join(dir, stray))) {
+      errors.push(`plugins/${stray} must not exist — it sits above every plugin and shadows the host's own; delete plugins/{node_modules,package.json,package-lock.json} and install into plugins/<id>`);
+    }
+  }
+
   for (const id of pluginFolders(dir)) {
     const fail = (msg: string): void => void errors.push(`plugins/${id}: ${msg}`);
 
@@ -37,6 +48,8 @@ export async function discoverPlugins(options: DiscoverOptions = {}): Promise<Pl
     if (RESERVED_PLUGIN_IDS.has(id)) { fail(`"${id}" is a reserved id — it would shadow a built-in host route`); continue; }
     const file = join(dir, id, "plugin.ts");
     if (!existsSync(file)) { fail("no plugin.ts found"); continue; }
+    const packaging = packagingError(join(dir, id));
+    if (packaging) { fail(packaging); continue; }
 
     let mod: { default?: unknown };
     try {
@@ -56,6 +69,13 @@ export async function discoverPlugins(options: DiscoverOptions = {}): Promise<Pl
     const shape = shapeError(manifest);
     if (shape) { fail(shape); continue; }
 
+    // The folder name becomes a Postgres identifier, which truncates past 63 bytes — two long ids
+    // would then share one database. Only checked for a plugin that asked for storage.
+    if (manifest.storage === true && !isValidStoragePluginId(id)) {
+      fail(`declares storage, so its folder name must be at most ${MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH} characters`);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     plugins.push({ ...manifest, id }); // identity is the folder, not the manifest
   }
 
@@ -77,15 +97,36 @@ export async function discoverPlugins(options: DiscoverOptions = {}): Promise<Pl
   return plugins;
 }
 
-// Subfolders of plugins/, sorted for deterministic load order + stable conflict messages. Hidden
-// entries (.git, .DS_Store, …) and non-directories are skipped — only folders are plugins.
+// Sorted for deterministic load order + stable conflict messages. A symlink counts as a folder, and
+// one whose target the container cannot see trips "no plugin.ts found" rather than vanishing.
 function pluginFolders(dir: string): string[] {
   return readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((e) => e.isDirectory() && !e.name.startsWith("."))
+    .filter((e) => (e.isDirectory() || e.isSymbolicLink()) && !e.name.startsWith(".") && e.name !== "node_modules")
     .map((e) => e.name)
     .sort();
 }
 
+// A barrel copy resolves before the host's, so its GuardError matches no `instanceof` here and a
+// sign-in redirect becomes a 500.
+function packagingError(folder: string): string | null {
+  if (existsSync(join(folder, "node_modules", "@plainpages", "plugin-api"))) {
+    return "ships its own copy of @plainpages/plugin-api — remove it; the host provides the one instance";
+  }
+
+  const file = join(folder, "package.json");
+  if (!existsSync(file)) return null;
+
+  let manifest: { type?: unknown } | null;
+  try {
+    manifest = JSON.parse(readFileSync(file, "utf8")) as { type?: unknown } | null;
+  } catch (err) {
+    return `package.json could not be read as JSON — ${messageOf(err)}`;
+  }
+  return manifest?.type === "module"
+    ? null
+    : `package.json must set "type": "module" — npm writes no type, and Node then re-parses every file in the folder`;
+}
+
 function asManifest(value: unknown): PluginManifest | null {
   return typeof value === "object" && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value) ? (value as PluginManifest) : null;
 }
@@ -100,46 +141,49 @@ function shapeError(manifest: PluginManifest): string | null {
   for (const slot of ["home", "dashboard"] as const) {
     if (manifest[slot] !== undefined && typeof manifest[slot] !== "function") return `"${slot}" must be a function (a route handler)`;
   }
-  // `public` and `permission` are contradictory on the same route/nav node — "open to all" vs
-  // "needs this permission". Refuse rather than silently pick one, so the author's intent is unambiguous.
-  for (const route of Array.isArray(manifest.routes) ? manifest.routes : []) {
-    if (route?.public === true && route.permission != null) return `route "${route.method} ${route.path}" sets both public and permission — they are mutually exclusive`;
+  // A truthy non-boolean (a DSN, say) must not quietly read as "provision me one".
+  if (manifest.storage !== undefined && typeof manifest.storage !== "boolean") return `"storage" must be a boolean`;
+  if (manifest.settings !== undefined) {
+    const settings = settingsDeclError(manifest.settings);
+    if (settings) return settings;
   }
-  const navContradiction = findPublicNavContradiction(manifest.nav);
-  if (navContradiction) return navContradiction;
-  // Every permission name the manifest mentions — gated on or declared — must be `<resource>:<action>`.
-  // A bare word names a role, and roles are groups here (README → Naming a permission).
   for (const route of Array.isArray(manifest.routes) ? manifest.routes : []) {
-    if (route?.permission != null && !isValidPermissionName(route.permission)) {
-      return `route "${route.method} ${route.path}" gates on "${route.permission}"; a permission name is <resource>:<action>, e.g. "things:read"`;
-    }
+    const gate = gateError(`route "${route?.method} ${route?.path}"`, route);
+    if (gate) return gate;
   }
+  const navGate = findNavGateError(manifest.nav);
+  if (navGate) return navGate;
   for (const decl of Array.isArray(manifest.permissions) ? manifest.permissions : []) {
     if (decl?.name == null || !isValidPermissionName(decl.name)) {
       return `declared permission "${decl?.name}" is not <resource>:<action>, e.g. "things:read"`;
     }
   }
-  const navPermission = findInvalidNavPermission(manifest.nav);
-  if (navPermission) return navPermission;
   return null;
 }
 
-// Recurse the nav fragment: a node that is both `public` and `permission`-gated is contradictory.
-function findPublicNavContradiction(nodes: PluginManifest["nav"]): string | null {
-  for (const node of Array.isArray(nodes) ? nodes : []) {
-    if (node?.public === true && node.permission != null) return `nav node "${node.label ?? node.id ?? "?"}" sets both public and permission — they are mutually exclusive`;
-    const inChild = findPublicNavContradiction(node?.children);
-    if (inChild) return inChild;
+// Every rule a declaration's gate must satisfy. Exactly one gate, always: a missing one would be an
+// open page nobody chose, and anything but `true` (a `false`, a `"yes"`) sets no gate while looking
+// like it does. A permission name is `<resource>:<action>` because a bare word names a role, and
+// roles are groups here (README → Naming a permission).
+function gateError(what: string, gate: Gate | null | undefined): string | null {
+  for (const flag of ["public", "session"] as const) {
+    const value = gate?.[flag];
+    if (value !== undefined && value !== true) return `${what} sets ${flag} to ${JSON.stringify(value)}; a gate is declared with \`true\``;
+  }
+  const gates = gatesSet(gate);
+  if (gates.length === 0) return `${what} names no gate; name exactly one — public, session or permission`;
+  if (gates.length > 1) return `${what} sets ${gates.join(" and ")}; name exactly one — public, session or permission`;
+  if (gate?.permission != null && !isValidPermissionName(gate.permission)) {
+    return `${what} gates on "${gate.permission}"; a permission name is <resource>:<action>, e.g. "things:read"`;
   }
   return null;
 }
 
-function findInvalidNavPermission(nodes: PluginManifest["nav"]): string | null {
+function findNavGateError(nodes: PluginManifest["nav"]): string | null {
   for (const node of Array.isArray(nodes) ? nodes : []) {
-    if (node?.permission != null && !isValidPermissionName(node.permission)) {
-      return `nav node "${node.label ?? node.id ?? "?"}" gates on "${node.permission}"; a permission name is <resource>:<action>, e.g. "things:read"`;
-    }
-    const inChild = findInvalidNavPermission(node?.children);
+    const err = gateError(`nav node "${node?.label ?? node?.id ?? "?"}"`, node);
+    if (err) return err;
+    const inChild = findNavGateError(node?.children);
     if (inChild) return inChild;
   }
   return null;

src/plugin-host/hooks.test.ts

@@ -12,14 +12,17 @@ function plugin(id: string, hooks: PluginHooks): Plugin {
 
 test("runBootHooks runs each onBoot in order, skips plugins without one, and a throw aborts", async () => {
   const calls: string[] = [];
+  const scoped: string[] = []; // each hook is handed a context built for its own plugin
+  const bootContextFor = (built: Plugin) => { scoped.push(built.id); return {}; };
   await runBootHooks([
     plugin("a", { onBoot: () => void calls.push("a") }),
     plugin("b", {}), // no onBoot → skipped
     plugin("c", { onBoot: async () => void calls.push("c") }),
-  ]);
+  ], bootContextFor);
   assert.deepEqual(calls, ["a", "c"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(scoped, ["a", "c"]); // and built only for the plugins that have one
 
-  await assert.rejects(runBootHooks([plugin("x", { onBoot: () => { throw new Error("boom"); } })]), /boom/);
+  await assert.rejects(runBootHooks([plugin("x", { onBoot: () => { throw new Error("boom"); } })], () => ({})), /boom/);
 });
 
 test("runRequestHooks short-circuits on the first RouteResult (with its plugin); later hooks skipped", async () => {

src/plugin-host/hooks.ts

@@ -4,11 +4,15 @@
 // entirely when no plugin declares the hook, so the no-hooks hot path stays free.
 
 import type { RequestContext } from "../http/context.ts";
-import type { Plugin, RouteResult } from "./plugin.ts";
+import type { BootContext, Plugin, RouteResult } from "./plugin.ts";
 
-// After discovery, before the server listens. A throw aborts boot.
-export async function runBootHooks(plugins: Plugin[]): Promise<void> {
-  for (const plugin of plugins) await plugin.hooks?.onBoot?.();
+// After discovery, before the server listens. A throw aborts boot. Each hook gets a context built
+// for its own plugin, so one plugin is never handed another's storage credentials.
+export async function runBootHooks(plugins: Plugin[], bootContextFor: (plugin: Plugin) => BootContext): Promise<void> {
+  for (const plugin of plugins) {
+    const onBoot = plugin.hooks?.onBoot;
+    if (onBoot) await onBoot(bootContextFor(plugin));
+  }
 }
 
 // Before route matching. The first hook to return a RouteResult short-circuits the request — its

src/plugin-host/plugin-api.test.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import * as api from "./plugin-api.ts";
 
+// Both specifiers must reach one module instance; the Dockerfile symlink is what makes them.
+test("the barrel resolves by package name to this same module", async () => {
+  const asPackage = await import("@plainpages/plugin-api");
+
+  assert.equal(asPackage.GuardError, api.GuardError);
+  assert.equal(asPackage.definePlugin, api.definePlugin);
+});
+
 test("plugin-api re-exports the stable author value surface", () => {
   for (const name of ["definePlugin", "can", "check", "GuardError", "requireSession", "parseListQuery", "readFormBody", "CSRF_FIELD", "tracedFetch", "Log", "safeUrl"]) {
     assert.ok(name in api && api[name as keyof typeof api] !== undefined, `missing export: ${name}`);

src/plugin-host/plugin-api.ts

@@ -5,11 +5,17 @@
 // a plugin should import from here, never reach into deeper modules. See README.md → Building plugins.
 
 export { definePlugin, isValidPermissionName } from "./plugin.ts";
-export type { HttpMethod, Plugin, PluginHooks, PluginManifest, PermissionDecl, Route, RouteHandler, RouteResult } from "./plugin.ts";
+export type { BootContext, HttpMethod, Plugin, PluginHooks, PluginManifest, PermissionDecl, Route, RouteHandler, RouteResult } from "./plugin.ts";
+// A plugin's own database, handed to onBoot when the manifest sets `storage`. Credentials, not a
+// client — the plugin depends on whichever driver it prefers (README → Plugin storage).
+export type { PluginSettings, SettingDecl, SettingSummary, SettingType, SettingValue } from "./settings.ts";
+export type { StorageCredentials } from "./storage.ts";
 export type { RequestContext, User } from "../http/context.ts";
 export type { PageChrome } from "../ui/chrome.ts";
 export type { NavNode } from "../ui/nav.ts";
 export { can, check, GuardError, requireSession } from "../auth/guards.ts";
+// The three coarse gates a route or nav node may declare — `Route` and `NavNode` both extend it.
+export type { Gate } from "../auth/gate.ts";
 // Translation: `ctx.t` and the view-level `t(...)` do the work at runtime — these are for
 // authoring a plugin's own catalogs (plugins/<id>/i18n/<locale>.ts) and for building a translator
 // in a unit test. `PluralMessage` types a message that varies with a count.

src/plugin-host/plugin.test.ts

@@ -80,12 +80,15 @@ test("parseSemver follows the semver core, rejecting ranges, prefixes, leading z
 });
 
 test("checkApiVersion: semver compat — equal/patch ok, older minor warns, newer-minor/major-mismatch/malformed refuse", () => {
-  assert.equal(checkApiVersion(HOST_API_VERSION).level, "ok"); // "1.0.0" vs "1.0.0"
+  assert.equal(checkApiVersion(HOST_API_VERSION).level, "ok"); // the host always accepts its own version
   assert.equal(checkApiVersion("1.0.5", "1.0.0").level, "ok"); // patch never affects compatibility
   assert.equal(checkApiVersion("1.0.0", "1.2.0").level, "warn"); // older minor still runs (additive), nudge to update
   assert.equal(checkApiVersion("1.3.0", "1.2.0").level, "refuse"); // needs features a newer host has
   assert.equal(checkApiVersion("2.0.0", "1.5.0").level, "refuse"); // incompatible major (newer)
   assert.equal(checkApiVersion("1.0.0", "2.0.0").level, "refuse"); // incompatible major (older)
+  assert.equal(checkApiVersion("0.1.0", "0.1.9").level, "ok"); // pre-1.0 patch is still ignored
+  assert.equal(checkApiVersion("0.1.0", "0.2.0").level, "refuse"); // pre-1.0 the minor IS the breaking slot
+  assert.match(checkApiVersion("0.2.0", "0.1.0").message, /upgrade the host/); // ahead of the host, even pre-1.0
   for (const bad of ["1", "1.2", "v1.2.3", "01.2.3", "1.2.x", "", 1, undefined, null]) {
     assert.equal(checkApiVersion(bad).level, "refuse", `${String(bad)} must refuse`);
   }

src/plugin-host/plugin.ts

@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@
 // A plugin's identity is its folder under plugins/: folder name = `id` (isValidPluginId), mount =
 // `/<id>`. Neither is in the manifest — the host derives them, so they can't drift or be claimed twice.
 
+import type { Gate } from "../auth/gate.ts";
 import type { RequestContext } from "../http/context.ts";
 import type { NavNode } from "../ui/nav.ts";
+import { envName, type SettingDecl, type SettingsOf } from "./settings.ts";
+import type { StorageCredentials } from "./storage.ts";
 
-// Bump major on a breaking manifest/handler change, minor on an additive one.
-export const HOST_API_VERSION = "1.0.0";
+// The Plainpages release this contract ships in — see README → Contract versioning.
+export const HOST_API_VERSION = "0.4.0";
 
 export type HttpMethod = "DELETE" | "GET" | "HEAD" | "PATCH" | "POST" | "PUT";
 
@@ -22,14 +25,10 @@ export type RouteResult =
 
 export type RouteHandler = (ctx: RequestContext) => Promise<RouteResult | void> | RouteResult | void;
 
-export interface Route {
+export interface Route extends Gate {
   handler: RouteHandler;
   method: HttpMethod;
   path: string; // relative to the plugin's mount path `/<id>`; ":name" segments → ctx.params.name
-  permission?: string; // coarse gate — the Keto Permission the caller must hold; checked before the handler runs
-  // Same as omitting `permission`, but stated outright so public is a deliberate choice rather than
-  // a forgotten gate. Mutually exclusive with `permission` (discovery refuses both).
-  public?: boolean;
 }
 
 // A Keto Permission this plugin gates on — declared for docs/seeding. Names are a shared global
@@ -60,26 +59,43 @@ export function declaredPermissions(plugins: Plugin[]): PermissionDecl[] {
   return [...byName.values()].sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name));
 }
 
+// What onBoot receives. A hook declaring no parameter stays valid, so this may grow additively.
+export type BootContext<S extends readonly SettingDecl[] = readonly SettingDecl[]> = {
+  storage?: StorageCredentials; // this plugin's own database; present iff the manifest declared `storage`
+} & SettingsSlot<S>;
+
+// Required once the manifest declares settings, so that plugin reads `settings.key` without a guard
+// for the case it just ruled out; optional for a manifest that declared none.
+type SettingsSlot<S extends readonly SettingDecl[]> = readonly [] extends S
+  ? { settings?: SettingsOf<S> }
+  : { settings: SettingsOf<S> };
+
 // Optional hooks on system actions. Crash-isolation is a non-goal — a throwing hook fails loud.
-export interface PluginHooks {
-  onBoot?: () => Promise<void> | void; // after discovery, before the server listens
+export interface PluginHooks<S extends readonly SettingDecl[] = readonly SettingDecl[]> {
+  onBoot?: (host: BootContext<S>) => Promise<void> | void; // after discovery, before the server listens
   onRequest?: (ctx: RequestContext) => Promise<RouteResult | void> | RouteResult | void; // may short-circuit
   onResponse?: (ctx: RequestContext, result: RouteResult | null) => Promise<void> | void;
 }
 
 // The authored manifest — a plugin's `plugin.ts` default-exports this. No `id`/mount path: the
 // host derives them from the folder name at discovery (see Plugin).
-export interface PluginManifest {
+export interface PluginManifest<S extends readonly SettingDecl[] = readonly SettingDecl[]> {
   apiVersion: string; // semver of the host contract this targets — write a literal, NOT HOST_API_VERSION (see docs)
   // Take over "/dashboard"; the host gates it to a signed-in session first. At most one plugin may
   // declare it (findConflicts → error, never last-write-wins).
   dashboard?: RouteHandler;
   // Take over the ungated public landing "/". At most one plugin may declare it.
   home?: RouteHandler;
-  hooks?: PluginHooks;
+  hooks?: PluginHooks<S>;
   nav?: NavNode[]; // fragment merged into the menu (composeNav); node `icon` is a Lucide sprite id (src/ui/icons.ts), node ids must be globally unique
   permissions?: PermissionDecl[];
   routes?: Route[];
+  // Operator-supplied configuration, one PLUGIN_SETTING_<ID>_<KEY> variable per key; the resolved
+  // values arrive on onBoot's BootContext, typed from these declarations (settings.ts).
+  settings?: S;
+  // Ask for a Postgres database of this plugin's own; its credentials arrive on onBoot's BootContext.
+  // The host provisions and locks it down but owns no schema inside it, and never drops it.
+  storage?: boolean;
 }
 
 // A discovered plugin: the manifest plus the `id` the host read from the folder name. Mounted
@@ -90,7 +106,9 @@ export interface Plugin extends PluginManifest {
 
 // Types the manifest and returns it unchanged; validation happens at discovery, so a plugin may
 // equally be a plain typed object.
-export function definePlugin(manifest: PluginManifest): PluginManifest {
+// The `const` parameter captures the literal `settings`, so onBoot receives each key at its declared
+// type instead of a union every plugin author would have to narrow with a cast.
+export function definePlugin<const S extends readonly SettingDecl[]>(manifest: PluginManifest<S>): PluginManifest<S> {
   return manifest;
 }
 
@@ -149,13 +167,17 @@ export function checkApiVersion(pluginVersion: unknown, hostVersion: string = HO
     return { level: "refuse", message: `plugin targets apiVersion ${pluginVersion} but host is ${hostVersion}; upgrade the host` };
   }
   if (plugin.minor < host.minor) {
-    return { level: "warn", message: `plugin targets apiVersion ${pluginVersion}; host is ${hostVersion} — newer features available` };
+    // Pre-1.0 the major is pinned at 0, so a minor is the only slot a breaking change can use.
+    if (host.major === 0) {
+      return { level: "refuse", message: `plugin targets apiVersion ${pluginVersion}; host is ${hostVersion} — pre-1.0 a minor is a contract break, rebuild against ${hostVersion}` };
+    }
+    return { level: "warn", message: `plugin targets apiVersion ${pluginVersion}; host is ${hostVersion} — built against an older release` };
   }
   return { level: "ok", message: `apiVersion ${pluginVersion}` };
 }
 
 export interface PluginConflict {
-  kind: "dashboard" | "home" | "id" | "nav-id" | "permission" | "route";
+  kind: "dashboard" | "home" | "id" | "nav-id" | "permission" | "route" | "setting";
   level: "error" | "warn";
   message: string;
   plugins: string[]; // unique ids involved
@@ -196,6 +218,14 @@ export function findConflicts(plugins: Plugin[]): PluginConflict[] {
     if (owners.length > 1) out.push({ kind: "permission", level: "warn", message: `permission "${name}" declared by ${uniq(owners).length} plugins; pick a more specific "<resource>" unless shared on purpose`, plugins: uniq(owners) });
   });
 
+  // Both the id's dashes and the key's camel humps become underscores, so plugin "a-b" key "c" and
+  // plugin "a" key "bC" name one variable — one plugin would silently read the other's value.
+  collect(plugins, (plugin, push) => {
+    for (const decl of plugin.settings ?? []) push(envName(plugin.id, decl.key));
+  }).forEach((owners, name) => {
+    if (owners.length > 1) out.push({ kind: "setting", level: "error", message: `${owners.length} settings resolve to "${name}"; rename a key or a plugin folder`, plugins: uniq(owners) });
+  });
+
   return out;
 }
 

src/plugin-host/router.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import type { Plugin, Route } from "./plugin.ts";
-import { allowedMethods, isAuthorized, matchRoute } from "./router.ts";
+import { allowedMethods, matchRoute } from "./router.ts";
 
 const noop: Route["handler"] = () => ({ html: "x" });
 
@@ -54,14 +54,3 @@ test("allowedMethods lists methods at a path (GET implies HEAD); empty when the
   assert.deepEqual(allowedMethods(plugins, "/x/a"), ["GET", "HEAD", "POST"]);
   assert.deepEqual(allowedMethods(plugins, "/x/missing"), []);
 });
-
-test("isAuthorized: open routes pass; gated routes require the permission token; public is explicitly open", () => {
-  const open: Route = { handler: noop, method: "GET", path: "/" };
-  const gated: Route = { handler: noop, method: "GET", path: "/", permission: "x:read" };
-  const pub: Route = { handler: noop, method: "GET", path: "/", public: true }; // blessed public alias
-  assert.equal(isAuthorized(open, []), true);
-  assert.equal(isAuthorized(gated, []), false);
-  assert.equal(isAuthorized(gated, ["x:read"]), true);
-  assert.equal(isAuthorized(gated, ["other"]), false);
-  assert.equal(isAuthorized(pub, []), true); // open to anonymous, like omitting permission — but stated outright
-});

src/plugin-host/router.ts

@@ -73,10 +73,3 @@ export function allowedMethods(plugins: Plugin[], pathname: string): string[] {
   }
   return [...methods].sort();
 }
-
-// Coarse permission gate: a route marked `public` (or one with no `permission`) is open; otherwise
-// the user's permissions (from the session JWT) must include the token. The same rule composeNav uses
-// for the menu. `public` and `permission` are mutually exclusive (discovery refuses both).
-export function isAuthorized(route: Route, permissions: string[]): boolean {
-  return route.public === true || route.permission == null || permissions.includes(route.permission);
-}

src/plugin-host/settings.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+// Guards the plugin-settings rules: the env name a declaration maps to, per-type coercion, the
+// required/default/secret resolution, and what the admin catalog is allowed to carry.
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import type { Plugin } from "./plugin.ts";
+import {
+  ENV_PREFIX,
+  envName,
+  isValidSettingKey,
+  resolveSettings,
+  settingsDeclError,
+  settingsEnvNames,
+  strayNames,
+  type SettingDecl,
+} from "./settings.ts";
+
+function pluginWith(id: string, settings: SettingDecl[]): Plugin {
+  return { apiVersion: "0.2.0", id, settings };
+}
+
+test("a key becomes one SCREAMING_SNAKE segment under the plugin's own", () => {
+  assert.equal(envName("scheduling", "timezone"), "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_TIMEZONE");
+  assert.equal(envName("scheduling", "maxShiftHours"), "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_MAX_SHIFT_HOURS");
+  assert.equal(envName("my-plugin", "apiBase"), "PLUGIN_SETTING_MY_PLUGIN_API_BASE");
+  assert.equal(ENV_PREFIX, "PLUGIN_SETTING_"); // never bare PLUGIN_ — the host owns PLUGIN_DB_*
+});
+
+test("the host's own PLUGIN_DB_* variables are unreachable from a declaration", () => {
+  // A plugin id "db" with key "url" is exactly the collision the longer prefix rules out.
+  assert.notEqual(envName("db", "url"), "PLUGIN_DB_URL");
+  assert.equal(envName("db", "url"), "PLUGIN_SETTING_DB_URL");
+});
+
+test("a key is camelCase, so the env name is derivable and no two keys collide", () => {
+  assert.ok(isValidSettingKey("timezone"));
+  assert.ok(isValidSettingKey("maxShiftHours"));
+  assert.ok(!isValidSettingKey("max_shift_hours")); // would collide with maxShiftHours
+  assert.ok(!isValidSettingKey("MaxShiftHours"));
+  assert.ok(!isValidSettingKey("2fa"));
+  assert.ok(!isValidSettingKey(""));
+});
+
+test("a declaration is refused when it cannot mean what it says", () => {
+  const why = (settings: unknown): string => settingsDeclError(settings) ?? "";
+
+  assert.equal(settingsDeclError([{ key: "a", type: "string" }]), null);
+  assert.match(why("nope"), /must be an array/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "max_hours", type: "number" }]), /max_hours.*camelCase/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "a", type: "date" }]), /"date".*string, number, boolean, enum, url/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "a", type: "string" }, { key: "a", type: "number" }]), /declared twice/);
+  // required means "boot fails without it", so a default would make the flag a lie.
+  assert.match(why([{ default: "x", key: "a", required: true, type: "string" }]), /required.*default.*mutually exclusive/);
+  assert.match(why([{ default: 8, key: "a", type: "string" }]), /default.*string/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "a", type: "enum" }]), /enum.*values/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "a", type: "enum", values: [] }]), /enum.*values/);
+  assert.match(why([{ default: "c", key: "a", type: "enum", values: ["a", "b"] }]), /default "c".*a, b/);
+  assert.match(why([{ key: "a", type: "string", values: ["a"] }]), /values.*only.*enum/);
+});
+
+test("an unset optional setting resolves to undefined, not to a stand-in", () => {
+  const result = resolveSettings([pluginWith("p", [{ key: "a", type: "string" }])], {});
+  assert.deepEqual(result.errors, []);
+  assert.equal(result.values.get("p")?.["a"], undefined);
+});
+
+test("a default fills in, and an env value overrides it", () => {
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("p", [{ default: 8, key: "maxHours", type: "number" }])];
+  assert.equal(resolveSettings(plugins, {}).values.get("p")?.["maxHours"], 8);
+  assert.equal(resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_MAX_HOURS: "12" }).values.get("p")?.["maxHours"], 12);
+});
+
+test("an empty variable reads as unset — compose passes an unset one through as \"\"", () => {
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("p", [{ default: "fallback", key: "a", type: "string" }])];
+  assert.equal(resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_A: "" }).values.get("p")?.["a"], "fallback");
+  const required = [pluginWith("p", [{ key: "a", required: true, type: "string" }])];
+  assert.match(resolveSettings(required, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_A: "" }).errors.join("\n"), /must be set/);
+});
+
+test("a missing required setting is an error naming the plugin, the key and the variable", () => {
+  const result = resolveSettings([pluginWith("scheduling", [{ key: "timezone", required: true, type: "string" }])], {});
+  assert.equal(result.errors.length, 1);
+  assert.match(result.errors[0] ?? "", /scheduling/);
+  assert.match(result.errors[0] ?? "", /timezone/);
+  assert.match(result.errors[0] ?? "", /PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_TIMEZONE/);
+});
+
+test("each type coerces from the environment, and a bad value fails loud", () => {
+  const decls: SettingDecl[] = [
+    { key: "text", type: "string" },
+    { key: "count", type: "number" },
+    { key: "flag", type: "boolean" },
+    { key: "mode", type: "enum", values: ["strict", "lenient"] },
+    { key: "base", type: "url" },
+  ];
+  const ok = resolveSettings([pluginWith("p", decls)], {
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_BASE: "https://example.com/v1",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_COUNT: "42",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_FLAG: "true",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_MODE: "strict",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_TEXT: "hello",
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(ok.errors, []);
+  assert.deepEqual(ok.values.get("p"), { base: "https://example.com/v1", count: 42, flag: true, mode: "strict", text: "hello" });
+
+  const bad = resolveSettings([pluginWith("p", decls)], {
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_BASE: "not a url",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_COUNT: "twelve",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_FLAG: "yes",
+    PLUGIN_SETTING_P_MODE: "loose",
+  });
+  assert.equal(bad.errors.length, 4);
+  assert.match(bad.errors.join("\n"), /PLUGIN_SETTING_P_COUNT.*number/);
+  assert.match(bad.errors.join("\n"), /PLUGIN_SETTING_P_FLAG.*"true".*"false"/);
+  assert.match(bad.errors.join("\n"), /PLUGIN_SETTING_P_MODE.*strict, lenient/);
+  assert.match(bad.errors.join("\n"), /PLUGIN_SETTING_P_BASE.*URL/);
+});
+
+test("a boolean is only \"true\"/\"false\" — a typo never degrades to false", () => {
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("p", [{ default: true, key: "flag", type: "boolean" }])];
+  assert.equal(resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_FLAG: "false" }).values.get("p")?.["flag"], false);
+  assert.equal(resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_FLAG: "0" }).errors.length, 1);
+});
+
+test("REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS refuses an unset secret and one still on its dev default", () => {
+  const decls: SettingDecl[] = [{ default: "dev-insecure", key: "apiKey", secret: true, type: "string" }];
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("p", decls)];
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveSettings(plugins, {}).errors, []); // off: the dev default boots a clean clone
+
+  assert.match(resolveSettings(plugins, {}, { requireSecureSecrets: true }).errors.join("\n"), /apiKey.*must be set/);
+  assert.match(
+    resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_API_KEY: "dev-insecure" }, { requireSecureSecrets: true }).errors.join("\n"),
+    /apiKey.*dev/,
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_API_KEY: "real" }, { requireSecureSecrets: true }).errors, []);
+});
+
+test("a secret's value reaches the plugin but never the catalog", () => {
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("p", [{ key: "apiKey", secret: true, type: "string" }])];
+  const result = resolveSettings(plugins, { PLUGIN_SETTING_P_API_KEY: "s3cr3t" });
+  assert.equal(result.values.get("p")?.["apiKey"], "s3cr3t");
+
+  const entry = result.catalog[0]?.settings[0];
+  assert.equal(entry?.secret, true);
+  assert.equal(entry?.source, "env");
+  assert.equal(entry?.value, undefined); // not the value, not its length, not a mask of it
+  assert.ok(!JSON.stringify(result.catalog).includes("s3cr3t"));
+});
+
+test("the catalog carries every installed plugin, so \"declares none\" is not \"not installed\"", () => {
+  const plugins = [pluginWith("with", [{ default: "x", key: "a", type: "string" }]), { apiVersion: "0.2.0", id: "without" }];
+  const catalog = resolveSettings(plugins, {}).catalog;
+  assert.deepEqual(catalog.map((entry) => entry.pluginId), ["with", "without"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(catalog[1]?.settings, []);
+});
+
+test("a catalog entry carries the variable to set and where the value came from", () => {
+  const decls: SettingDecl[] = [
+    { description: "Where shifts come from", key: "upstream", required: true, type: "url" },
+    { default: 8, key: "maxHours", type: "number" },
+    { key: "note", type: "string" },
+  ];
+  const catalog = resolveSettings([pluginWith("scheduling", decls)], { PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM: "https://x.test" }).catalog;
+  assert.deepEqual(catalog[0]?.settings, [
+    { description: "Where shifts come from", envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_UPSTREAM", key: "upstream", required: true, secret: false, source: "env", type: "url", value: "https://x.test" },
+    { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_MAX_HOURS", key: "maxHours", required: false, secret: false, source: "default", type: "number", value: "8" },
+    { envName: "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_NOTE", key: "note", required: false, secret: false, source: "unset", type: "string" },
+  ]);
+});
+
+test("a variable no plugin declares is reported, never acted on", () => {
+  const declared = settingsEnvNames([pluginWith("scheduling", [{ key: "timezone", type: "string" }])]);
+  const strays = strayNames(
+    { PATH: "/usr/bin", PLUGIN_DB_URL: "postgres://x", PLUGIN_SETTING_GONE_KEY: "x", PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_TIMEZOME: "UTC", PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_TIMEZONE: "UTC" },
+    declared,
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(strays, ["PLUGIN_SETTING_GONE_KEY", "PLUGIN_SETTING_SCHEDULING_TIMEZOME"]); // sorted; the host's own untouched
+});

src/plugin-host/settings.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+// Per-plugin settings: the declaration shape, the env name it maps to, and the resolution rules
+// (README → Plugin settings). Pure — server.ts passes `process.env` in, so the whole matrix is
+// unit-testable without a stack.
+
+import type { Plugin } from "./plugin.ts";
+
+// `PLUGIN_` alone would let a plugin id "db" with key "url" produce the host's own PLUGIN_DB_URL.
+export const ENV_PREFIX = "PLUGIN_SETTING_";
+
+export const SETTING_TYPES = ["string", "number", "boolean", "enum", "url"] as const;
+export type SettingType = (typeof SETTING_TYPES)[number];
+
+export type SettingValue = boolean | number | string;
+
+// What a manifest declares. `required` and `default` are mutually exclusive: a default means the
+// setting can never fail resolution, which is the opposite of what required asserts.
+export interface SettingDecl {
+  default?: SettingValue;
+  description?: string;
+  key: string;
+  required?: boolean;
+  secret?: boolean; // value reaches the plugin, never a log, an error or the catalog
+  type: SettingType;
+  values?: readonly string[]; // enum only — the accepted choices
+}
+
+interface SettingTypeMap {
+  boolean: boolean;
+  enum: string;
+  number: number;
+  string: string;
+  url: string;
+}
+
+type ValueOfDecl<D> = D extends { type: "enum"; values: readonly (infer V extends string)[] }
+  ? V
+  : D extends { type: infer T extends keyof SettingTypeMap }
+    ? SettingTypeMap[T]
+    : never;
+
+// The resolved shape a plugin's onBoot receives, inferred from its own declarations so no caller
+// narrows with a cast. Only a required or defaulted setting is guaranteed present.
+export type SettingsOf<D extends readonly SettingDecl[]> = {
+  [K in D[number] as K["key"]]: K extends { required: true }
+    ? ValueOfDecl<K>
+    : K extends { default: SettingValue }
+      ? ValueOfDecl<K>
+      : ValueOfDecl<K> | undefined;
+};
+
+export type SettingsValues = Record<string, SettingValue | undefined>;
+
+// One row of the admin catalog. `value` is a display string and is absent for a secret and for an
+// unset setting — a secret's length is a disclosure too, so nothing stands in for it.
+export interface SettingSummary {
+  description?: string;
+  envName: string;
+  key: string;
+  required: boolean;
+  secret: boolean;
+  source: "default" | "env" | "unset";
+  type: SettingType;
+  value?: string;
+  values?: readonly string[];
+}
+
+export interface PluginSettings {
+  pluginId: string;
+  settings: SettingSummary[];
+}
+
+export interface ResolveResult {
+  catalog: PluginSettings[];
+  errors: string[];
+  values: Map<string, SettingsValues>;
+}
+
+export interface ResolveOptions {
+  requireSecureSecrets?: boolean;
+}
+
+type Env = Record<string, string | undefined>;
+
+const SETTING_KEY = /^[a-z][a-zA-Z0-9]*$/;
+
+export function isValidSettingKey(key: unknown): boolean {
+  return typeof key === "string" && SETTING_KEY.test(key);
+}
+
+export function envName(pluginId: string, key: string): string {
+  const plugin = pluginId.replaceAll("-", "_").toUpperCase();
+  return `${ENV_PREFIX}${plugin}_${camelToSnake(key)}`;
+}
+
+function camelToSnake(key: string): string {
+  return key.replaceAll(/(?<=[a-z0-9])(?=[A-Z])/g, "_").toUpperCase();
+}
+
+// Discovery-time shape check: the author's mistakes, refused before any value is read.
+export function settingsDeclError(settings: unknown): string | null {
+  if (!Array.isArray(settings)) return `"settings" must be an array`;
+
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  for (const decl of settings as SettingDecl[]) {
+    const key = decl?.key;
+    if (!isValidSettingKey(key)) {
+      return `setting "${String(key)}" — a key must be camelCase (${SETTING_KEY.source}) so its variable name is derivable`;
+    }
+    if (seen.has(key)) return `setting "${key}" is declared twice`;
+    seen.add(key);
+
+    if (!(SETTING_TYPES as readonly string[]).includes(decl.type)) {
+      return `setting "${key}" has type "${String(decl.type)}"; one of ${SETTING_TYPES.join(", ")}`;
+    }
+    if (decl.required === true && decl.default !== undefined) {
+      return `setting "${key}" sets both required and default — they are mutually exclusive, a default means it can never fail`;
+    }
+    if (decl.type === "enum") {
+      if (!Array.isArray(decl.values) || decl.values.length === 0 || decl.values.some((v) => typeof v !== "string")) {
+        return `setting "${key}" has type enum, so it must declare a non-empty values array of strings`;
+      }
+    } else if (decl.values !== undefined) {
+      return `setting "${key}" declares values, which only an enum type may do`;
+    }
+
+    const typeError = defaultTypeError(decl);
+    if (typeError) return typeError;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+function defaultTypeError(decl: SettingDecl): string | null {
+  if (decl.default === undefined) return null;
+  if (decl.type === "enum") {
+    const values = decl.values ?? [];
+    return values.includes(String(decl.default))
+      ? null
+      : `setting "${decl.key}" has default "${String(decl.default)}", which is not one of ${values.join(", ")}`;
+  }
+  const expected = decl.type === "number" ? "number" : decl.type === "boolean" ? "boolean" : "string";
+  return typeof decl.default === expected
+    ? null
+    : `setting "${decl.key}": default must be a ${expected} (type ${decl.type}), got ${typeof decl.default}`;
+}
+
+// Every variable the installed plugins answer to — the set a stray is measured against.
+export function settingsEnvNames(plugins: Plugin[]): Set<string> {
+  const names = new Set<string>();
+  for (const plugin of plugins) {
+    for (const decl of plugin.settings ?? []) names.add(envName(plugin.id, decl.key));
+  }
+  return names;
+}
+
+// A PLUGIN_SETTING_ variable no installed plugin declares — usually a typo in the one the operator
+// meant to set, or a plugin they removed. Reported, never acted on (the orphan-database precedent).
+export function strayNames(env: Env, declared: ReadonlySet<string>): string[] {
+  return Object.keys(env)
+    .filter((name) => name.startsWith(ENV_PREFIX) && !declared.has(name))
+    .sort();
+}
+
+export function resolveSettings(plugins: Plugin[], env: Env, options: ResolveOptions = {}): ResolveResult {
+  const catalog: PluginSettings[] = [];
+  const errors: string[] = [];
+  const values = new Map<string, SettingsValues>();
+
+  for (const plugin of plugins) {
+    const decls = plugin.settings ?? [];
+    const resolved: SettingsValues = {};
+    const summaries: SettingSummary[] = [];
+
+    for (const decl of decls) {
+      const name = envName(plugin.id, decl.key);
+      const raw = env[name] || undefined; // compose passes an unset variable through as ""
+      const fail = (message: string): void => void errors.push(`plugin "${plugin.id}": ${message}`);
+
+      let value: SettingValue | undefined;
+      let source: SettingSummary["source"] = "unset";
+      if (raw !== undefined) {
+        const coerced = coerce(decl, raw, name);
+        if (typeof coerced === "string") fail(coerced);
+        else {
+          value = coerced.value;
+          source = "env";
+        }
+      } else if (decl.default !== undefined) {
+        value = decl.default;
+        source = "default";
+      } else if (decl.required === true) {
+        fail(`setting "${decl.key}" must be set — ${name} (type ${decl.type}, no default)`);
+      }
+
+      const secretError = secretPolicyError(decl, raw, options.requireSecureSecrets === true, name);
+      if (secretError) fail(secretError);
+
+      resolved[decl.key] = value;
+      summaries.push(summarize(decl, name, source, value));
+    }
+
+    if (decls.length > 0) values.set(plugin.id, resolved);
+    catalog.push({ pluginId: plugin.id, settings: summaries });
+  }
+
+  return { catalog, errors, values };
+}
+
+// The host's own rule for a secret (readSecret), reaching plugins: enforced, neither unset nor the
+// declared dev throwaway is accepted.
+function secretPolicyError(decl: SettingDecl, raw: string | undefined, enforce: boolean, name: string): string | null {
+  if (!enforce || decl.secret !== true) return null;
+  if (raw === undefined) return `setting "${decl.key}" must be set when REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS=true — ${name}`;
+  if (decl.default !== undefined && raw === String(decl.default)) {
+    return `setting "${decl.key}" must not be its dev default when REQUIRE_SECURE_SECRETS=true — ${name}`;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+function summarize(decl: SettingDecl, name: string, source: SettingSummary["source"], value: SettingValue | undefined): SettingSummary {
+  const showValue = decl.secret !== true && value !== undefined;
+  return {
+    ...(decl.description !== undefined ? { description: decl.description } : {}),
+    envName: name,
+    key: decl.key,
+    required: decl.required === true,
+    secret: decl.secret === true,
+    source,
+    type: decl.type,
+    ...(showValue ? { value: String(value) } : {}),
+    ...(decl.values !== undefined ? { values: decl.values } : {}),
+  };
+}
+
+// A coerced value, or the boot error naming the variable and what it accepts.
+function coerce(decl: SettingDecl, raw: string, name: string): { value: SettingValue } | string {
+  switch (decl.type) {
+    case "boolean":
+      if (raw === "true") return { value: true };
+      if (raw === "false") return { value: false };
+      return `${name} must be "true" or "false", got "${raw}"`;
+    case "enum":
+      return (decl.values ?? []).includes(raw)
+        ? { value: raw }
+        : `${name} must be one of ${(decl.values ?? []).join(", ")}, got "${raw}"`;
+    case "number": {
+      const value = Number(raw);
+      return Number.isFinite(value) ? { value } : `${name} must be a number, got "${raw}"`;
+    }
+    case "url":
+      try {
+        new URL(raw);
+      } catch {
+        return `${name} is not a valid URL: ${raw}`;
+      }
+      return { value: raw };
+    case "string":
+      return { value: raw };
+  }
+}

src/plugin-host/storage-provisioning.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+// The connecting half of plugin storage: runs the DDL storage.ts plans. Imported by bootstrap
+// alone — the only process holding superuser credentials, which is why the driver stops here.
+
+import postgres from "postgres";
+import { derivePassword, orphanNames, provisionSql, storageName } from "./storage.ts";
+
+export interface ProvisionOptions {
+  adminUrl: string; // needs CREATEDB + CREATEROLE, not superuser
+  connectionLimit: number;
+  pluginIds: string[];
+  secret: string;
+}
+
+export interface ProvisionResult {
+  orphans: string[]; // a plugin_ database no installed plugin claims; reported, never dropped
+  provisioned: string[];
+}
+
+export async function provisionStorage(options: ProvisionOptions): Promise<ProvisionResult> {
+  // Notices are left to surface: a REVOKE the account cannot perform only *warns*, and silencing
+  // that would mean reporting a locked-down database that is still open to PUBLIC.
+  const sql = postgres(options.adminUrl, { connect_timeout: 10, max: 1 });
+  try {
+    const provisioned: string[] = [];
+    for (const pluginId of options.pluginIds) {
+      const name = storageName(pluginId);
+      const [role] = await sql`SELECT 1 FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname = ${name}`;
+      const [database] = await sql`SELECT 1 FROM pg_database WHERE datname = ${name}`;
+      const plan = provisionSql({
+        connectionLimit: options.connectionLimit,
+        databaseExists: database !== undefined,
+        name,
+        password: derivePassword(options.secret, pluginId),
+        roleExists: role !== undefined,
+      });
+      for (const statement of plan) await sql.unsafe(statement); // provisionSql quotes what it interpolates
+      provisioned.push(name);
+    }
+    const existing = await sql<{ datname: string }[]>`SELECT datname FROM pg_database`;
+    return { orphans: orphanNames(existing.map((row) => row.datname), provisioned), provisioned };
+  } finally {
+    await sql.end({ timeout: 5 }); // a wedged connection would otherwise hang the boot web waits on
+  }
+}

src/plugin-host/storage.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+// Guards the per-plugin storage rules: the shared database/role name, the derived password, the DSN
+// a plugin receives and the provisioning statements. The integration test runs only when a superuser
+// DSN is supplied, so the unit suite needs no Postgres.
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import postgres from "postgres";
+import { provisionStorage } from "./storage-provisioning.ts";
+import {
+  buildCredentials,
+  derivePassword,
+  isValidStoragePluginId,
+  MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH,
+  orphanNames,
+  provisionSql,
+  quoteIdentifier,
+  quoteLiteral,
+  storageName,
+  storagePluginIds,
+} from "./storage.ts";
+
+const SECRET = "a-test-secret";
+
+test("the database and the role share one plugin_-prefixed name", () => {
+  assert.equal(storageName("things"), "plugin_things");
+  assert.equal(storageName("my-plugin"), "plugin_my-plugin");
+});
+
+test("a storage plugin's id must leave the identifier under Postgres' 63 bytes", () => {
+  assert.equal(MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH, 56); // 63 - "plugin_"
+  assert.ok(isValidStoragePluginId("a".repeat(MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH)));
+  assert.ok(!isValidStoragePluginId("a".repeat(MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH + 1)));
+});
+
+test("the password is derived, so the same one is reachable without storing it", () => {
+  const derived = derivePassword(SECRET, "things");
+  assert.equal(derived, derivePassword(SECRET, "things"));
+  assert.notEqual(derived, derivePassword(SECRET, "other"));
+  assert.notEqual(derived, derivePassword("a-rotated-secret", "things"));
+  assert.match(derived, /^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{43}$/); // base64url of 32 bytes — needs no escaping in a DSN
+});
+
+test("credentials name the plugin's own database, user and password", () => {
+  const credentials = buildCredentials("postgres://postgres:5432", "things", SECRET);
+  assert.deepEqual(credentials, {
+    database: "plugin_things",
+    host: "postgres",
+    password: derivePassword(SECRET, "things"),
+    port: 5432,
+    url: `postgres://plugin_things:${derivePassword(SECRET, "things")}@postgres:5432/plugin_things`,
+    user: "plugin_things",
+  });
+});
+
+test("the base URL's connection parameters survive into the DSN", () => {
+  const credentials = buildCredentials("postgres://db.example?sslmode=require", "things", SECRET);
+  assert.equal(credentials.port, 5432); // absent ⇒ Postgres' default, never NaN
+  assert.equal(credentials.host, "db.example");
+  assert.match(credentials.url, /@db\.example\/plugin_things\?sslmode=require$/);
+});
+
+test("quoting doubles an embedded quote", () => {
+  assert.equal(quoteIdentifier('we"ird'), '"we""ird"');
+  assert.equal(quoteLiteral("we'ird"), "'we''ird'");
+});
+
+const ATTRIBUTES = "LOGIN NOCREATEDB NOCREATEROLE CONNECTION LIMIT 10";
+
+test("only the plugins that asked for storage are provisioned", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    storagePluginIds([{ apiVersion: "1.0.0", id: "a", storage: true }, { apiVersion: "1.0.0", id: "b" }, { apiVersion: "1.0.0", id: "c", storage: true }]),
+    ["a", "c"],
+  );
+});
+
+test("an orphan is a plugin_ database no installed plugin claims", () => {
+  const existing = ["plugin_gone", "plugin_here", "kratos", "ory"];
+  assert.deepEqual(orphanNames(existing, ["plugin_here"]), ["plugin_gone"]); // Ory's are not ours to report
+  assert.deepEqual(orphanNames(existing, ["plugin_here", "plugin_gone"]), []);
+});
+
+test("provisioning creates the role and the database when neither exists", () => {
+  const plan = { connectionLimit: 10, databaseExists: false, name: "plugin_things", password: "pw", roleExists: false };
+  assert.deepEqual(provisionSql(plan), [
+    `CREATE ROLE "plugin_things" ${ATTRIBUTES} PASSWORD 'pw'`,
+    `GRANT "plugin_things" TO CURRENT_USER`, // else a CREATEROLE (non-superuser) account cannot own it
+    `CREATE DATABASE "plugin_things" OWNER "plugin_things"`,
+    `REVOKE ALL ON DATABASE "plugin_things" FROM PUBLIC`,
+    `GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE "plugin_things" TO "plugin_things"`,
+  ]);
+});
+
+// Re-asserting the attributes, not just the password, is what makes "idempotent" mean the role
+// cannot drift — a CREATEDB granted by hand out of band is taken back on the next boot.
+test("re-provisioning re-asserts every attribute and creates nothing twice", () => {
+  const plan = { connectionLimit: 10, databaseExists: true, name: "plugin_things", password: "rotated", roleExists: true };
+  assert.deepEqual(provisionSql(plan), [
+    `ALTER ROLE "plugin_things" WITH ${ATTRIBUTES} PASSWORD 'rotated'`,
+    `REVOKE ALL ON DATABASE "plugin_things" FROM PUBLIC`,
+    `GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE "plugin_things" TO "plugin_things"`,
+  ]);
+});
+
+// The limit is interpolated unquoted, and Postgres reads a negative one as "unlimited".
+test("a connection limit that is not a positive integer is refused, not interpolated", () => {
+  const plan = { databaseExists: false, name: "plugin_things", password: "pw", roleExists: false };
+  for (const connectionLimit of [1.5, 0, -1, Number.NaN]) {
+    assert.throws(() => provisionSql({ ...plan, connectionLimit }), /positive integer/, `for ${connectionLimit}`);
+  }
+});
+
+// --- Integration: the statements above, against a real Postgres -----------------------
+// Opt-in via PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL (a superuser DSN); the unit gate runs no Postgres. What the unit
+// tests cannot prove lives here: the owner may create tables, and a peer role is locked out.
+
+const ADMIN_URL = process.env["PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL"] ?? "";
+const integration = ADMIN_URL ? {} : { skip: "set PLUGIN_DB_ADMIN_URL to a superuser DSN to run" };
+
+function baseUrlOf(adminUrl: string): string {
+  const url = new URL(adminUrl);
+  url.username = "";
+  url.password = "";
+  url.pathname = "";
+  return url.href;
+}
+
+async function queryAs(url: string, statement: string): Promise<unknown> {
+  const sql = postgres(url, { connect_timeout: 10, max: 1, onnotice: () => {} });
+  try {
+    return await sql.unsafe(statement);
+  } finally {
+    await sql.end();
+  }
+}
+
+// Drops what a previous run may have left behind: `finally` does not survive a SIGKILL or a
+// cancelled CI job, and the leftovers would otherwise fail every later run on the same server.
+async function dropStorage(admin: postgres.Sql, ids: string[]): Promise<void> {
+  for (const id of ids) {
+    const name = quoteIdentifier(storageName(id));
+    await admin.unsafe(`DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS ${name} WITH (FORCE)`);
+    await admin.unsafe(`DROP ROLE IF EXISTS ${name}`);
+  }
+}
+
+test("provisions a database its plugin can use and a peer plugin cannot reach", integration, async () => {
+  const ids = ["storage-itest-a", "storage-itest-b"];
+  const base = baseUrlOf(ADMIN_URL);
+  const admin = postgres(ADMIN_URL, { connect_timeout: 10, max: 1, onnotice: () => {} });
+  try {
+    await dropStorage(admin, ids);
+    await provisionStorage({ adminUrl: ADMIN_URL, connectionLimit: 10, pluginIds: ids, secret: SECRET });
+
+    const owner = buildCredentials(base, "storage-itest-a", SECRET);
+    await queryAs(owner.url, "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notes (body text)");
+    await queryAs(owner.url, "INSERT INTO notes (body) VALUES ('persisted')");
+    const rows = (await queryAs(owner.url, "SELECT body FROM notes")) as { body: string }[];
+    assert.deepEqual(rows.map((row) => row.body), ["persisted"]);
+
+    // A peer holds valid credentials for its OWN database and still cannot reach this one.
+    const peer = new URL(buildCredentials(base, "storage-itest-b", SECRET).url);
+    peer.pathname = `/${storageName("storage-itest-a")}`;
+    await assert.rejects(queryAs(peer.href, "SELECT 1"), /permission denied|not permitted/i);
+
+    // Re-running is idempotent, and a rotated secret lands on the existing role.
+    const rerun = await provisionStorage({ adminUrl: ADMIN_URL, connectionLimit: 10, pluginIds: ids, secret: "a-rotated-secret" });
+    // Scoped to this test's own ids: another plugin's database on the same server is not this
+    // test's business, and asserting otherwise would make the suite order-dependent.
+    for (const id of ids) assert.ok(!rerun.orphans.includes(storageName(id)), `${id} is still installed`);
+    const rotated = buildCredentials(base, "storage-itest-a", "a-rotated-secret");
+    const kept = (await queryAs(rotated.url, "SELECT body FROM notes")) as { body: string }[];
+    assert.deepEqual(kept.map((row) => row.body), ["persisted"]); // rotating the secret keeps the data
+    await assert.rejects(queryAs(owner.url, "SELECT 1"), /password authentication failed/i);
+
+    // Uninstalling drops nothing, so what is left behind must be named — including when the LAST
+    // storage plugin goes and there is nothing left to provision.
+    const uninstalled = await provisionStorage({ adminUrl: ADMIN_URL, connectionLimit: 10, pluginIds: [], secret: "a-rotated-secret" });
+    for (const id of ids) assert.ok(uninstalled.orphans.includes(storageName(id)), `${id}'s database is reported`);
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      await dropStorage(admin, ids);
+    } finally {
+      await admin.end({ timeout: 5 }); // its own finally, or a failed DROP leaks the connection
+    }
+  }
+});
+
+// README tells an operator CREATEDB + CREATEROLE is enough and superuser is more than it needs.
+// That is a promise about their production credentials, so prove it rather than assert it.
+test("provisions through a CREATEDB + CREATEROLE account, without superuser", integration, async () => {
+  const pluginId = "storage-itest-lowpriv";
+  const provisioner = "storage-itest-provisioner";
+  const admin = postgres(ADMIN_URL, { connect_timeout: 10, max: 1, onnotice: () => {} });
+  try {
+    // The fresh provisioner below holds no ADMIN option on a role an earlier run left behind, so a
+    // leftover would fail the ALTER branch rather than the code being wrong.
+    await dropStorage(admin, [pluginId]);
+    await admin.unsafe(`DROP ROLE IF EXISTS ${quoteIdentifier(provisioner)}`);
+    await admin.unsafe(`CREATE ROLE ${quoteIdentifier(provisioner)} LOGIN CREATEDB CREATEROLE PASSWORD 'itest-provisioner'`);
+    const asProvisioner = new URL(ADMIN_URL);
+    asProvisioner.username = provisioner;
+    asProvisioner.password = "itest-provisioner";
+    const provision = () => provisionStorage({ adminUrl: asProvisioner.href, connectionLimit: 10, pluginIds: [pluginId], secret: SECRET });
+    await provision();
+    // Twice: the second run takes the ALTER branch, where naming a superuser-only attribute would
+    // fail — i.e. every redeploy after the one that worked.
+    await provision();
+
+    const owner = buildCredentials(baseUrlOf(ADMIN_URL), pluginId, SECRET);
+    await queryAs(owner.url, "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notes (body text)");
+    const rows = (await queryAs(owner.url, "SELECT 1 AS ok")) as { ok: number }[];
+    assert.deepEqual(rows.map((row) => row.ok), [1]); // the plugin owns and can use what it was given
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      await dropStorage(admin, [pluginId]);
+      await admin.unsafe(`DROP ROLE IF EXISTS ${quoteIdentifier(provisioner)}`);
+    } finally {
+      await admin.end({ timeout: 5 });
+    }
+  }
+});

src/plugin-host/storage.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+// Per-plugin Postgres storage: the naming, credential and DDL rules (README → Plugin storage).
+// Pure — the connecting half lives in storage-provisioning.ts, so `web` never loads a driver.
+
+import { createHmac } from "node:crypto";
+import type { Plugin } from "./plugin.ts";
+
+// Database and role share one name, so reconnecting needs nothing looked up. The prefix also keeps
+// a plugin id from ever naming an Ory database.
+export const NAME_PREFIX = "plugin_";
+
+// Postgres truncates an identifier at 63 bytes, which would silently collide two long ids.
+export const MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH = 63 - NAME_PREFIX.length;
+
+export interface StorageCredentials {
+  database: string;
+  host: string;
+  password: string;
+  port: number;
+  url: string;
+  user: string;
+}
+
+export function storageName(pluginId: string): string {
+  return `${NAME_PREFIX}${pluginId}`;
+}
+
+export function isValidStoragePluginId(pluginId: string): boolean {
+  return Buffer.byteLength(pluginId) <= MAX_STORAGE_PLUGIN_ID_LENGTH; // Postgres counts bytes, not characters
+}
+
+export function storagePluginIds(plugins: Plugin[]): string[] {
+  return plugins.filter((plugin) => plugin.storage).map((plugin) => plugin.id);
+}
+
+// Derived, never stored — which is what keeps the host free of state it would have to persist.
+// Whoever holds the secret holds every plugin's database.
+export function derivePassword(secret: string, pluginId: string): string {
+  return createHmac("sha256", secret).update(pluginId).digest("base64url");
+}
+
+// `baseUrl` names the server and its connection parameters, and carries no credentials of its own.
+export function buildCredentials(baseUrl: string, pluginId: string, secret: string): StorageCredentials {
+  const name = storageName(pluginId);
+  const password = derivePassword(secret, pluginId);
+  const url = new URL(baseUrl);
+  url.username = name;
+  url.password = password;
+  url.pathname = `/${name}`;
+  return { database: name, host: url.hostname, password, port: Number(url.port) || 5432, url: url.href, user: name };
+}
+
+// CREATE ROLE/DATABASE bind no parameters, so the name and password are quoted into the statement.
+export function quoteIdentifier(name: string): string {
+  return `"${name.replaceAll('"', '""')}"`;
+}
+
+export function quoteLiteral(value: string): string {
+  return `'${value.replaceAll("'", "''")}'`;
+}
+
+export function orphanNames(existing: string[], provisioned: string[]): string[] {
+  return existing.filter((name) => name.startsWith(NAME_PREFIX) && !provisioned.includes(name)).sort();
+}
+
+export interface ProvisionPlan {
+  connectionLimit: number;
+  databaseExists: boolean;
+  name: string;
+  password: string;
+  roleExists: boolean;
+}
+
+export function provisionSql(plan: ProvisionPlan): string[] {
+  // Interpolated unquoted, and Postgres reads a negative limit as "unlimited" — the opposite of the point.
+  if (!Number.isSafeInteger(plan.connectionLimit) || plan.connectionLimit < 1) {
+    throw new Error(`storage: connectionLimit must be a positive integer, got ${plan.connectionLimit}`);
+  }
+  const identifier = quoteIdentifier(plan.name);
+  // No NOSUPERUSER: naming SUPERUSER in an ALTER is superuser-only, and CREATE defaults to it anyway.
+  const attributes = `LOGIN NOCREATEDB NOCREATEROLE CONNECTION LIMIT ${plan.connectionLimit} PASSWORD ${quoteLiteral(plan.password)}`;
+  return [
+    plan.roleExists ? `ALTER ROLE ${identifier} WITH ${attributes}` : `CREATE ROLE ${identifier} ${attributes}`,
+    // CREATE DATABASE ... OWNER needs SET ROLE on the owner, and PG16+ gives a CREATEROLE account
+    // ADMIN but *not* SET on the roles it creates — so it grants itself membership first. A
+    // superuser could skip this; issuing it anyway is what keeps a least-privilege account working.
+    ...(plan.databaseExists ? [] : [`GRANT ${identifier} TO CURRENT_USER`, `CREATE DATABASE ${identifier} OWNER ${identifier}`]),
+    `REVOKE ALL ON DATABASE ${identifier} FROM PUBLIC`,
+    `GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE ${identifier} TO ${identifier}`,
+  ];
+}

src/plugin-host/system.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // System capabilities: privileged host services a first-party/system plugin (the built-in admin
 // screens are the reference consumer) needs but an ordinary domain plugin does not — the Ory admin
-// clients and the instant-revoke hook. Exposed on ctx.system and re-exported via #plugin-api.
+// clients and the instant-revoke hook. Exposed on ctx.system and re-exported via @plainpages/plugin-api.
 //
 // Every field is optional: it is present only when the host wired that dependency (Ory configured,
 // denylist enabled), and ctx.system itself is undefined when the host wired none. A plugin must

src/postgres.test.ts

@@ -3,14 +3,46 @@
 // verified by booting postgres in CI/e2e; this catches edits.
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { readdirSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 
 const read = (p: string) => readFileSync(new URL(`../${p}`, import.meta.url), "utf8");
 const ORY_DATABASES = ["hydra", "keto", "kratos"]; // one DB per Ory service
 
-test("init SQL gives each Ory service its own database", () => {
+function sourceFiles(dir = "src"): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  for (const entry of readdirSync(new URL(`../${dir}/`, import.meta.url), { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) out.push(...sourceFiles(`${dir}/${entry.name}`));
+    else if (entry.name.endsWith(".ts")) out.push(`${dir}/${entry.name}`);
+  }
+  return out.sort();
+}
+
+test("init SQL gives each Ory service its own database, and leaves plugin databases to bootstrap", () => {
   const sql = read("ory/postgres/init/init.sql");
   for (const db of ORY_DATABASES) {
     assert.match(sql, new RegExp(`CREATE DATABASE ${db}\\b`, "i"), `creates ${db}`);
   }
+  // This file runs once, on an empty data dir — a plugin database added here would never appear for
+  // a plugin dropped in later. bootstrap provisions them on every boot instead.
+  assert.doesNotMatch(sql, /plugin_/i, "no plugin database is seeded here");
+  // PUBLIC keeps CONNECT unless it is revoked, which would put every plugin role on the auth plane.
+  for (const db of ORY_DATABASES) {
+    assert.match(sql, new RegExp(`REVOKE CONNECT ON DATABASE ${db} FROM PUBLIC`, "i"), `${db} is closed to PUBLIC`);
+  }
+});
+
+// AGENTS.md records that the driver runs the provisioning DDL in bootstrap and nothing else. A
+// single value imported from the wrong module puts it in web's graph without changing behaviour,
+// so nothing but this would notice.
+test("the Postgres driver reaches bootstrap only, never web's import graph", () => {
+  const files = sourceFiles();
+  assert.ok(files.length > 40, "walks the source tree");
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    files.filter((f) => /^import .*"postgres"/m.test(read(f))), // an import line, not a mention of one
+    ["src/plugin-host/storage-provisioning.ts", "src/plugin-host/storage.test.ts"],
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    files.filter((f) => !f.endsWith(".test.ts") && /from "[^"]*storage-provisioning\.ts"/.test(read(f))),
+    ["src/auth/bootstrap.ts"],
+  );
 });

src/server.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { createApp } from "./http/app.ts";
 import { loadConfig } from "./config.ts";
 import { createDenylist } from "./auth/denylist.ts";
 import { discoverPlugins } from "./plugin-host/discovery.ts";
+import { HOST_API_VERSION } from "./plugin-host/plugin.ts";
 import { withTimeout } from "./auth/fetch-timeout.ts";
 import { runBootHooks } from "./plugin-host/hooks.ts";
 import { createHydraAdmin } from "./auth/hydra-admin.ts";
@@ -13,8 +14,14 @@ import { createKratosAdmin } from "./auth/kratos-admin.ts";
 import { createKratosPublic } from "./auth/kratos-public.ts";
 import { createLogger, tracedFetch } from "./logger.ts";
 import { loadMenuConfig } from "./ui/menu-config.ts";
+import { resolveSettings, settingsEnvNames, strayNames } from "./plugin-host/settings.ts";
+import { buildCredentials, storagePluginIds, type StorageCredentials } from "./plugin-host/storage.ts";
 
 const config = loadConfig(); // validates the env (incl. enforced secrets) — fails loud at boot
+// The storage secret is in `config` now, so drop it from the environment before ANY plugin code
+// runs: a plugin module's top level evaluates during discovery, long before onBoot. Defence in
+// depth, not a boundary (AGENTS.md) — and only ever move this line earlier, never later.
+delete process.env["PLUGIN_DB_SECRET"];
 // App-level logger: structured, OTLP-capable when OTLP_ENDPOINT is set. The hot path clones it
 // per request for access logging + a trace span (src/http/app.ts); console-only otherwise.
 const log = createLogger({ format: config.logFormat, level: config.logLevel, otlpEndpoint: config.otlpEndpoint, otlpProtocol: config.otlpProtocol, serviceName: config.serviceName });
@@ -44,7 +51,42 @@ log.info("plugins discovered", { count: plugins.length, ids: plugins.map((p) =>
 const i18n = createI18n(await loadI18n({ logger: log, pluginIds: plugins.map((p) => p.id) }));
 log.info("locales loaded", { locales: i18n.available.join(", ") });
 
-await runBootHooks(plugins); // plugin onBoot — after discovery, before listen; a throw aborts boot
+// A plugin's database credentials are derived, never stored — so the only thing that can be missing
+// is the server itself. Refuse at boot rather than at that plugin's first query, hours later.
+const pluginDbUrl = config.pluginDbUrl;
+const declaresStorage = storagePluginIds(plugins);
+if (declaresStorage.length > 0 && pluginDbUrl === undefined) {
+  throw new Error(`config: PLUGIN_DB_URL must be set — these plugins declare storage: ${declaresStorage.join(", ")}`);
+}
+
+const storageCredentials = new Map<string, StorageCredentials>();
+if (pluginDbUrl !== undefined) {
+  for (const id of declaresStorage) storageCredentials.set(id, buildCredentials(pluginDbUrl, id, config.pluginDbSecret));
+}
+// Operator-supplied plugin settings, resolved against the environment the manifests declared. A bad
+// or missing value is refused here rather than at that plugin's first use, hours later.
+const settings = resolveSettings(plugins, process.env, { requireSecureSecrets: config.requireSecureSecrets });
+if (settings.errors.length > 0) throw new Error(`Plugin settings:\n${settings.errors.map((e) => `  - ${e}`).join("\n")}`);
+// A stray is usually a typo in the very variable the operator meant to set — naming it turns two
+// unrelated-looking errors into one. Reported, never acted on.
+const strays = strayNames(process.env, settingsEnvNames(plugins));
+if (strays.length > 0) log.warn("settings variables no installed plugin declares", { variables: strays.join(", ") });
+
+// onBoot is the only way storage credentials and settings are handed over, so without one they are
+// resolved and undeliverable. A warning, not a refusal — the plugin still works, it just gets neither.
+for (const [what, ids] of [
+  ["settings", plugins.filter((plugin) => plugin.settings?.length && !plugin.hooks?.onBoot)],
+  ["storage", plugins.filter((plugin) => plugin.storage && !plugin.hooks?.onBoot)],
+] as const) {
+  if (ids.length > 0) log.warn(`plugins declare ${what} but have no onBoot to receive it`, { plugins: ids.map((plugin) => plugin.id).join(", ") });
+}
+
+// plugin onBoot — after discovery, before listen; a throw aborts boot.
+await runBootHooks(plugins, (plugin) => {
+  const storage = storageCredentials.get(plugin.id);
+  const values = settings.values.get(plugin.id);
+  return { ...(values ? { settings: values } : {}), ...(storage ? { storage } : {}) };
+});
 
 const server = createApp({
   // Canonical-host redirect target (off-host GET/HEAD visitors are sent here). Opt-in: omitted unless
@@ -64,8 +106,9 @@ const server = createApp({
   menu,
   plugins,
   secureCookies: config.secureCookies,
+  settingsCatalog: settings.catalog,
 }).listen(config.port, () => {
-  log.info("listening", { port: config.port, url: config.appUrl ?? `http://localhost:${config.port}` });
+  log.info("listening", { apiVersion: HOST_API_VERSION, port: config.port, url: config.appUrl ?? `http://localhost:${config.port}` });
 });
 
 // Drain in-flight requests on container stop instead of cutting them mid-response, then flush any

src/ui/chrome.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { composeNav, type NavNode } from "./nav.ts";
 import type { Plugin } from "../plugin-host/plugin.ts";
 import { branding, shellUser, type ShellUser } from "./shell-context.ts";
 
-const DASHBOARD_NAV: NavNode = { href: "/dashboard", icon: "i-grid", id: "dashboard", label: "nav.dashboard" };
+const DASHBOARD_NAV: NavNode = { href: "/dashboard", icon: "i-grid", id: "dashboard", label: "nav.dashboard", session: true };
 
 export interface PageChrome {
   brand: { logo?: string; name: string; sub?: string };
@@ -35,8 +35,7 @@ export interface ChromeOptions {
 export function buildPluginChrome(opts: ChromeOptions): PageChrome {
   const t = opts.t ?? ENGLISH;
   const carryLocale = opts.localeHref ?? ((href: string) => href);
-  // Dashboard is gated, so an anonymous click would only dead-end at /login.
-  const fragments: NavNode[][] = opts.user ? [[DASHBOARD_NAV]] : [];
+  const fragments: NavNode[][] = [[DASHBOARD_NAV]];
   // A plugin's nav labels are keys in *its* catalog, so translate each fragment with that plugin's
   // translator before merging. composeNav then runs the core one over the result; already-translated
   // text passes through it.
@@ -44,8 +43,7 @@ export function buildPluginChrome(opts: ChromeOptions): PageChrome {
     if (p.nav?.length) fragments.push(translateNav(p.nav, opts.translatorFor?.(p.id) ?? t));
   }
 
-  const permissions = opts.user?.permissions ?? [];
-  const nav = composeNav(fragments, opts.menu.override, permissions, t);
+  const nav = composeNav(fragments, opts.menu.override, opts.user ?? null, t);
   if (opts.currentPath) {
     // Mark by the *best* (longest) href that is the path or a parent of it, so a sub-path like
     // /admin/users/new marks the Users base leaf (/admin/users) and the dashboard marks Dashboard.

src/ui/filter-bar.test.ts

@@ -37,6 +37,15 @@ const config = {
         options: [{ value: "engineering", label: "Engineering" }, { value: "design", label: "Design" }, { value: "oncall", label: "On-call" }],
       },
       { type: "daterange", legend: "Joined", from: { name: "joined_from", value: "2026-01-01", label: "Joined from" }, to: { name: "joined_to", value: "2026-06-14", label: "Joined to" } },
+      {
+        type: "multiselect",
+        name: "owner",
+        legend: "Owner",
+        note: "30 of 45",
+        value: ["ann"],
+        options: [{ value: "ann", label: "Ann Berg" }, { value: "bo", label: "Bo Falk" }],
+      },
+      { type: "multiselect", name: "room", legend: "Room", options: [{ value: "lab", label: "Lab" }] },
     ],
   ],
   pills: [{ label: "Team", value: "Engineering", remove: "?tag=oncall" }],
@@ -64,6 +73,14 @@ test("filter-bar renders a GET form with every control type, reflecting current
   assert.match(html, /<input type="checkbox" name="tag" value="oncall" checked>On-call/);
   assert.match(html, /<input type="checkbox" name="tag" value="design">Design/);
 
+  // multiselect — a disclosure: the trigger names the filter and counts what is chosen, the options
+  // are checkboxes in a fieldset the popover holds, so a long list costs one line of the bar.
+  assert.match(html, /<div class="menu"><button class="btn btn-menu" type="button" popovertarget="f-owner-menu" aria-label="Owner, 1 selected">Owner<span class="badge">1<\/span><\/button><div id="f-owner-menu" class="menu-pop left" popover>/);
+  assert.match(html, /popover><div class="menu-head">30 of 45<\/div><fieldset class="menu-field"><legend class="menu-head">Owner<\/legend><label class="menu-check"><input type="checkbox" name="owner" value="ann" checked>Ann Berg<\/label><label class="menu-check"><input type="checkbox" name="owner" value="bo">Bo Falk<\/label><\/fieldset>/);
+
+  // Nothing chosen — no badge and no count in the accessible name.
+  assert.match(html, /<button class="btn btn-menu" type="button" popovertarget="f-room-menu">Room<\/button>/);
+
   // daterange — calendar icon + two date inputs with values.
   assert.match(html, /<div class="daterange"><svg class="ico ico-sm" aria-hidden="true"><use href="#i-cal"\s*\/?><\/svg>.*?<input type="date" id="f-joined_from" name="joined_from" value="2026-01-01">.*?<span class="to" aria-hidden="true">to<\/span>.*?<input type="date" id="f-joined_to" name="joined_to" value="2026-06-14">/);
 

src/ui/menu-config.test.ts

@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { test, type TestContext } from "node:test";
 import { DEFAULT_MENU, loadMenuConfig } from "./menu-config.ts";
 
 // Write a throwaway menu.ts (a plain object — defineMenu is identity) and clean it up after.
-function scaffold(t: TestContext, source: string): string {
+function scaffold(t: TestContext, source: string, strays: string[] = []): string {
   const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "pp-menu-"));
   t.after(() => rmSync(dir, { force: true, recursive: true }));
   const file = join(dir, "menu.ts");
   writeFileSync(file, source);
+  for (const stray of strays) {
+    if (stray.endsWith(".json")) writeFileSync(join(dir, stray), "{}");
+    else mkdirSync(join(dir, stray), { recursive: true });
+  }
   return file;
 }
 
@@ -37,3 +41,14 @@ test("loadMenuConfig fails loud on a malformed config", async (t) => {
   await assert.rejects(loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, `export default { branding: { theme: "neon" } };`) }), /theme/);
   await assert.rejects(loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, `export default { override: { hide: "teams" } };`) }), /hide.*array/s);
 });
+
+test("loadMenuConfig refuses a stray package.json or node_modules beside the config", async (t) => {
+  const valid = `export default { branding: { name: "Acme Ops" } };`;
+
+  for (const stray of ["node_modules", "package.json"]) {
+    await assert.rejects(
+      loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, valid, [stray]) }),
+      new RegExp(`config/${stray.replace(".", "\\.")} must not exist.*delete`, "s"),
+    );
+  }
+});

src/ui/menu-config.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ export async function loadMenuConfig(options: LoadMenuOptions = {}): Promise<Men
   const file = options.file ?? MENU_CONFIG_FILE;
   if (!existsSync(file)) return DEFAULT_MENU; // clean clone: no central override
 
+  // Guarded before the import: Node's own ERR_PACKAGE_IMPORT_NOT_DEFINED names neither cause nor remedy.
+  const dir = dirname(file);
+  for (const stray of ["node_modules", "package.json"]) {
+    if (existsSync(join(dir, stray))) {
+      throw new Error(`config/${stray} must not exist — it makes config/ its own package scope, so the #menu-config import in config/menu.ts no longer resolves; delete config/{node_modules,package.json,package-lock.json} and keep config/ a plain dir`);
+    }
+  }
+
   let mod: { default?: unknown };
   try {
     mod = await import(pathToFileURL(file).href);

src/ui/menu.test.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const flat = (s: string): string => s.replace(/>\s+</g, "><").replace(/\s+/g, "
 test("menu renders trigger, positioning, the item matrix and check groups", async () => {
   const html = flat(await render({
     id: "cols-menu",
-    trigger: { icon: "i-cols", text: "Columns", label: "Column settings" },
+    trigger: { count: 3, icon: "i-cols", text: "Columns", label: "Column settings" },
     align: "left", up: true, width: 240,
     items: [
       { head: "Actions" },
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ test("menu renders trigger, positioning, the item matrix and check groups", asyn
 
   // Trigger: icon + text + aria-label, wired to the panel by id; popover carries align/up + width.
   // The panel is the trigger's next sibling inside the wrapper — the CSS open state reads that.
-  assert.match(html, /<div class="menu"><button class="btn" type="button" popovertarget="cols-menu" aria-label="Column settings"><svg class="ico ico-sm"><use href="#i-cols"\s*\/?><\/svg>Columns<\/button><div id="cols-menu" class="menu-pop left up" popover style="min-width:240px">/);
+  assert.match(html, /<div class="menu"><button class="btn" type="button" popovertarget="cols-menu" aria-label="Column settings"><svg class="ico ico-sm"><use href="#i-cols"\s*\/?><\/svg>Columns<span class="badge">3<\/span><\/button><div id="cols-menu" class="menu-pop left up" popover style="min-width:240px">/);
 
   // Item matrix: head, button-with-icon, link, separator, danger button.
   assert.match(html, /<div class="menu-head">Actions<\/div>/);

src/ui/nav.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
+import type { User } from "../http/context.ts";
 import { composeNav, type NavNode } from "./nav.ts";
 
+function viewer(...permissions: string[]): User {
+  return { email: "viewer@example.test", id: "01a06091-ba9f-765f-abf4-b5144c314bc7", permissions };
+}
+
 // Two plugin fragments; ids let the override target nodes, `permission` gates per permission.
 const fragments: NavNode[][] = [
   [{
@@ -15,7 +20,7 @@ const fragments: NavNode[][] = [
 ];
 
 test("composeNav merges fragments, filters by permission, and emits clean render nodes", () => {
-  const tree = composeNav(fragments, {}, ["scheduling:read"]);
+  const tree = composeNav(fragments, {}, viewer("scheduling:read"));
 
   // Reports gone (no reports:read), Manage gone (no scheduling:admin), header kept with Shifts.
   // Output carries no `id`/`permission` and omits absent fields — ready for nav-tree.ejs.
@@ -30,7 +35,7 @@ test("composeNav drops gated subtrees, empty headers, and (with no permissions)
     { id: "admin", label: "Admin", permission: "users:read", children: [{ href: "/u", id: "u", label: "Users" }] },
     { id: "free", label: "Free", children: [{ href: "/d", id: "d", label: "Docs" }] },
   ]];
-  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(gatedHeader, {}, []), [
+  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(gatedHeader, {}, viewer()), [
     { label: "Free", children: [{ href: "/d", label: "Docs" }] },
   ]);
 
@@ -39,26 +44,31 @@ test("composeNav drops gated subtrees, empty headers, and (with no permissions)
     { id: "sec", label: "Section", children: [{ href: "/x", id: "x", label: "X", permission: "x:read" }] },
     { href: "/hub", id: "hub", label: "Hub", children: [{ href: "/y", id: "y", label: "Y", permission: "y:read" }] },
   ]];
-  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(emptyHeader, {}, []), [{ href: "/hub", label: "Hub" }]);
+  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(emptyHeader, {}, viewer()), [{ href: "/hub", label: "Hub" }]);
 
   // No fragments / no permissions → empty tree, never throws.
   assert.deepEqual(composeNav(), []);
 });
 
-test("composeNav keeps a node marked public for everyone — the blessed public alias", () => {
-  // A header with one public child + one gated child: with no permissions, the public child keeps the
-  // header alive (the gated child is filtered out) — so a plugin can show a public menu option to all.
+test("composeNav shows a public node to everyone and a session node to any signed-in user", () => {
+  // A header with a public child, a session child and a gated child: the public child keeps the
+  // header alive for an anonymous visitor — so a plugin can show a menu option to all.
   const frag: NavNode[][] = [[{
     icon: "i-cal", id: "sched", label: "Scheduling",
     children: [
       { href: "/scheduling", id: "overview", label: "Overview", public: true },
+      { href: "/scheduling/mine", id: "mine", label: "Mine", session: true },
       { href: "/scheduling/shifts", id: "shifts", label: "Shifts", permission: "scheduling:read" },
     ],
   }]];
-  // `public` is filter-only (like id/permission) — never rendered into the output node.
-  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(frag, {}, []), [
+  // `public`/`session` are filter-only (like id/permission) — never rendered into the output node.
+  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(frag, {}, null), [
     { icon: "i-cal", label: "Scheduling", children: [{ href: "/scheduling", label: "Overview" }] },
   ]);
+  // Signed in with no permission at all: the session node appears, the permission-gated one does not.
+  assert.deepEqual(composeNav(frag, {}, viewer()), [
+    { icon: "i-cal", label: "Scheduling", children: [{ href: "/scheduling", label: "Overview" }, { href: "/scheduling/mine", label: "Mine" }] },
+  ]);
 });
 
 test("composeNav applies the override: rename, group, order, hide (then filters)", () => {
@@ -74,7 +84,7 @@ test("composeNav applies the override: rename, group, order, hide (then filters)
     groups: [{ icon: "i-box", id: "grp", label: "Group", open: true, children: ["b", "c"] }], // wrap b+c
     order: ["grp", "a"],                                     // grp before the lone a
     hide: ["c"],                                             // remove c from inside the group
-  }, ["secrets:read"]);
+  }, viewer("secrets:read"));
 
   // grp emitted (b only, c hidden), reordered before a; Secret kept now that permission "secrets:read" is present.
   assert.deepEqual(tree, [