Plugins

Plugins are Go modules that hook into the conversation lifecycle. They run real Go code — track state, modify tool arguments, inject messages, import third-party libraries. Plugins live under .aura/plugins/ and are discovered recursively at startup.

Choosing an Extensibility Mechanism

I want to…	Use	Where
Add a command the user types (`/foo`)	Custom command	`.aura/config/commands/foo.md`
Add a capability the LLM invokes autonomously	Skill	`.aura/skills/foo.md`
Override a tool’s description, usage, or examples	Tool definition	`.aura/config/tools/foo.yaml`
Run a shell script before/after tool execution	Hook	`.aura/config/hooks/foo.yaml`
React to events, modify tool args/output, inject messages, track state	Plugin (injector)	`.aura/plugins/foo/`
Define a new tool the LLM can call	Plugin (tool)	`.aura/plugins/foo/`
Connect an external tool server	MCP server	`.aura/config/mcp/foo.yaml`

Custom commands and skills are Markdown files — zero Go required. Hooks are YAML + shell. Plugins are Go modules for when you need state, logic, or custom tools.

See: Custom Commands, Skills, Tool Definitions, Hooks, MCP.

Plugin Packs

A single git repository can contain multiple plugins. Each subdirectory with a plugin.yaml is an independent plugin — the repository is cloned once and all contained plugins are loaded.

aura plugins add https://github.com/user/aura-plugins-collection

Directory Structure

.aura/plugins/
├── my-plugin/
│   ├── go.mod
│   ├── plugin.yaml
│   ├── main.go
│   └── vendor/           # optional: vendored third-party deps
└── tools/
    ├── gotify/
    │   ├── go.mod
    │   ├── plugin.yaml
    │   └── main.go
    └── notepad/
        ├── go.mod
        ├── plugin.yaml
        └── main.go

Plugin identity defaults to the leaf directory name, overridable with name: in plugin.yaml. Subdirectory nesting is invisible to the system. All .go files in a plugin directory must declare the same package name, derived from the module path in go.mod.

Plugin Config

# name: my-custom-name  # override plugin identity (default: leaf directory name)
description: "What this plugin does"
disabled: false
override: false # replace a built-in tool with the same name
opt_in: false # tools only — hidden unless explicitly enabled by name
condition: "auto" # injectors only: condition expression
once: false # injectors only: fire only once per session
env: # optional: env var names the plugin may read
  - MY_API_KEY
# config:       # default config values (accessible via sdk.Context.PluginConfig)
#   max_failures: 3

Field	Default	Description
`name`	–	Override plugin identity (default: leaf directory name)
`description`	–	Human-readable description
`disabled`	`false`	Skip loading
`override`	`false`	Replace an existing tool with the same name. Without this, name conflicts are a startup error.
`opt_in`	`false`	Tools only — hidden unless explicitly enabled by name at any filter layer
`condition`	–	Injectors only — evaluated before every hook call (see Conditions)
`once`	`false`	Injectors only — fire only once per session when condition first becomes true
`env`	`[]`	Environment variable names the plugin may read
`config`	`{}`	Default config values, accessible via `sdk.Context.PluginConfig`. Overridden by `features/plugins.yaml` global and local config

Creating a Plugin

mkdir -p .aura/plugins/my-plugin
cd .aura/plugins/my-plugin
go mod init my-plugin
go get github.com/idelchi/aura/sdk@latest

The module name determines your Go package name. my-plugin becomes package my_plugin. For third-party dependencies: go get github.com/some/library && go mod vendor. Create plugin.yaml:

description: "My custom plugin"

Hook Functions

All hooks are optional. Hooks only fire in aura run. Plugin tools are available in both aura run and aura tools.

Hook	Signature	When it fires	Returns
`BeforeChat`	`func(context.Context, sdk.BeforeChatContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	Before sending messages to the LLM	Inject message, append system prompt (`RequestModification`), or skip the LLM call
`AfterResponse`	`func(context.Context, sdk.AfterResponseContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	After receiving the LLM response	Skip storing to history, or replace content (`ResponseModification`)
`BeforeToolExecution`	`func(context.Context, sdk.BeforeToolContext) (sdk.BeforeToolResult, error)`	Before a tool call executes	Modified args (re-validated against schema), or `Block: true` to prevent execution
`AfterToolExecution`	`func(context.Context, sdk.AfterToolContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	After a tool call completes	Rewrite tool output sent to the LLM via `Result.Output`
`OnError`	`func(context.Context, sdk.OnErrorContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	After all built-in recovery has failed	`Retry: true` (max 3×) or `Skip: true` to suppress; error types: `rate_limit`, `auth`, `network`, `server`, `content_filter`, `credit_exhausted`, `model_unavailable`, `context_exhausted`, `""`
`BeforeCompaction`	`func(context.Context, sdk.BeforeCompactionContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	Before context compaction begins	`CompactionModification{Skip: true}` to bypass built-in compaction
`AfterCompaction`	`func(context.Context, sdk.AfterCompactionContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	After context compaction completes	Observe only (`Success`, `PreMessages`, `PostMessages`, `SummaryLength`)
`OnAgentSwitch`	`func(context.Context, sdk.OnAgentSwitchContext) (sdk.Result, error)`	When the active agent changes	Observe only (`PreviousAgent`, `NewAgent`, `Reason`)
`TransformMessages`	`func(context.Context, sdk.TransformContext) ([]sdk.Message, error)`	Inside `chat()` after filtering, before the request is sent	Modified message array for this call only — history unaffected; plugins chain alphabetically; on error, original array is used

Example — inject a status line every 5 turns:

func BeforeChat(_ context.Context, hctx sdk.BeforeChatContext) (sdk.Result, error) {
    callCount++
    if callCount%5 != 0 {
        return sdk.Result{}, nil
    }
    return sdk.Result{
        Message: fmt.Sprintf("Turn %d | tokens: %d (%.0f%%)", callCount, hctx.Tokens.Estimate, hctx.Tokens.Percent),
        Role:    sdk.RoleUser,
        Prefix:  "[my-plugin] ",
        Eject:   true,
    }, nil
}

Command Functions

func Command() sdk.CommandSchema {
    return sdk.CommandSchema{
        Name:        "greet",
        Description: "Say hello to someone.",
        Hints:       []string{"name"},
    }
}

func ExecuteCommand(_ context.Context, args string, _ sdk.Context) (sdk.CommandResult, error) {
    if args == "" {
        args = "world"
    }
    return sdk.CommandResult{Output: fmt.Sprintf("Hello, %s!", args)}, nil
}

CommandSchema.Forward: true sends output to the LLM as a user message. Built-in commands take priority over custom commands, which take priority over plugin commands.

Tool Functions

func Schema() sdk.ToolSchema { ... }                                              // required
func Execute(ctx context.Context, sc sdk.Context, args map[string]any) (string, error) { ... } // required
func Paths(args map[string]any) (sdk.ToolPaths, error) { ... }                   // optional
func Sandboxable() bool { ... }                                                   // optional, default true
func Parallel() bool { ... }                                                      // optional, default true
func Init(cfg sdk.ToolConfig) { ... }                                             // optional
func Available() bool { ... }                                                     // optional

ToolPaths has five path lists: Read, Write (sandbox permissions), Record (mark file as seen by LLM), Guard (require prior read), Clear (invalidate prior read).

The notepad example plugin under .aura/plugins/tools/notepad/ has a complete Schema(), Execute(), and Paths() implementation.

aura tools Notepad
aura tools Notepad action=read path=/tmp/file.txt
aura tools Notepad '{"action": "write", "path": "/tmp/file.txt", "content": "hello"}'

SDK

Every hook receives a base sdk.Context with runtime state (agent, mode, tokens, model info, session stats, tool history) plus timing-specific fields:

Context	Extra Fields
`BeforeChatContext`	(base context only)
`AfterResponseContext`	`Response string`, `Thinking string`, `Calls []ToolCall`
`BeforeToolContext`	`ToolName string`, `Arguments map[string]any`
`AfterToolContext`	`ToolName`, `ToolResult`, `ToolError`, `ToolDuration`
`OnErrorContext`	`Error string`, `ErrorType string`, `Retryable bool`, `StatusCode int`
`BeforeCompactionContext`	`Forced bool`, `TokensUsed int`, `ContextPercent float64`, `MessageCount int`, `KeepLast int`
`AfterCompactionContext`	`Success bool`, `PreMessages int`, `PostMessages int`, `SummaryLength int`
`OnAgentSwitchContext`	`PreviousAgent string`, `NewAgent string`, `Reason string`
`TransformContext`	`Messages []Message`

Return sdk.Result{} (empty) to skip injection. Plugin errors are non-fatal — they log and skip.

Imports and Unsafe Mode

Category	Packages
SDK	`github.com/idelchi/aura/sdk`
Stdlib	All standard library packages (`fmt`, `strings`, `net/http`, `time`, etc.)
Third-party	Any package vendored via `go mod vendor`
Restricted	`os/exec`, `syscall` — require unsafe mode (see below)

os/exec is blocked by default. Enable it:

# .aura/config/features/plugins.yaml
plugins:
  unsafe: true

Or: aura --unsafe-plugins

Environment Variables

os.Getenv returns empty strings by default. Grant access in plugin.yaml:

env:
  - MY_API_KEY
  - MY_API_URL

Use "*" to grant access to all environment variables.

Plugin Feature Config

# .aura/config/features/plugins.yaml
plugins:
  dir: "" # plugin directory (relative to home; empty = "plugins/")
  unsafe: false # allow os/exec in plugins
  include: [] # only load these plugins (empty = all, supports wildcards)
  exclude: [] # skip these plugins (applied after include, supports wildcards)

Plugin Config Values

Three layers (lowest to highest precedence):

Plugin defaults — config: in plugin.yaml
Global — plugins.config.global (sent to all plugins)
Local — plugins.config.local.<plugin-name> (per-plugin overrides)

plugins:
  config:
    global:
      verbose: true
    local:
      failure-circuit-breaker:
        max_failures: 5

Access via ctx.PluginConfig["key"].(int) — YAML integers decode as Go int, not float64.

Limitations

No generics — slices.SortFunc, maps.Keys, and similar generic stdlib functions are unsupported.
No min/max builtins — use math.Min/math.Max.
No cgo or assembly — plugins and vendored deps must be pure Go.
No range-over-func (Go 1.23 iterators).
Goroutines work but hooks must return synchronously; goroutines are fire-and-forget.
Panics are caught and surfaced as display-only errors.

Example Plugins

The repository includes examples under .aura/plugins/ (not installed by aura init):

Injectors:

Plugin	Timing	What
`todo-reminder`	BeforeChat	Reminds about pending todos every N iterations
`max-steps`	BeforeChat	Disables tools when iteration limit reached
`session-stats`	BeforeChat	Shows session stats every 5 turns
`todo-not-finished`	AfterResponse	Warns if todos incomplete and no tool calls
`empty-response`	AfterResponse	Handles empty LLM responses
`done-reminder`	AfterResponse	Reminds LLM to call Done when stopping
`loop-detection`	AfterToolExecution	Detects repeated identical tool calls
`failure-circuit-breaker`	AfterToolExecution	Stops after 3+ consecutive different tool failures
`repeated-patch`	AfterToolExecution	Warns after N patches to same file

Diagnostics:

Plugin	Timing	What
`tool-logger`	AfterToolExecution	Logs every tool call and result to a file
`turn-tracker`	BeforeChat	Injects a status line every N turns

Tools:

Plugin	What
`gotify`	Sends push notifications via Gotify (opt-in)
`notepad`	Read/write scratch files

Conditions

The condition field in plugin.yaml accepts an expression. Invalid expressions are rejected at config load time.

Boolean Conditions

Condition	True when
`todo_empty`	No todo items exist
`todo_done`	All todo items completed
`todo_pending`	Pending or in-progress items exist
`auto`	Auto mode is enabled

Comparison Conditions

Greater-than	Less-than	Compares
`context_above:<N>`	`context_below:<N>`	Token usage percentage
`history_gt:<N>`	`history_lt:<N>`	Message count
`tool_errors_gt:<N>`	`tool_errors_lt:<N>`	Tool error count
`tool_calls_gt:<N>`	`tool_calls_lt:<N>`	Tool call count
`turns_gt:<N>`	`turns_lt:<N>`	LLM turn count
`compactions_gt:<N>`	`compactions_lt:<N>`	Compaction count
`iteration_gt:<N>`	`iteration_lt:<N>`	Current iteration
`tokens_total_gt:<N>`	`tokens_total_lt:<N>`	Cumulative tokens
`model_context_gt:<N>`	`model_context_lt:<N>`	Model max context

Model Conditions

Condition	True when
`model_has:vision`	Model supports vision/image input
`model_has:tools`	Model supports tool calling
`model_has:thinking`	Model supports reasoning output
`model_has:thinking_levels`	Model supports configurable thinking depth
`model_is:<name>`	Model name matches (case-insensitive)
`model_params_gt:<N>`	Parameter count > N billion
`model_params_lt:<N>`	Parameter count < N billion

Filesystem & Shell Conditions

Condition	True when
`exists:<path>`	File or directory exists (relative to CWD or absolute)
`bash:<cmd>`	Shell command exits 0 (120s timeout)

Negation and Composition

condition: "not auto"
condition: "auto and context_above:70"
condition: "todo_pending and not turns_gt:50"

Managing Plugins

# List and inspect
aura plugins list
aura plugins show <name>

# Install from git
aura plugins add https://github.com/user/aura-plugin-metrics
aura plugins add https://github.com/user/aura-plugin-metrics --ref v0.2.0
aura plugins add https://github.com/user/aura-plugins-collection --subpath tools/metrics
aura plugins add https://github.com/user/aura-plugin-metrics --global

# Install from local path
aura plugins add ./path/to/my-plugin --name my-plugin

# Update and remove
aura plugins update gotify
aura plugins update --all
aura plugins remove my-plugin
aura plugins remove tools         # remove entire pack

Authentication: public repos (no auth), then GITLAB_TOKEN/GITHUB_TOKEN/GIT_TOKEN, then git credential fill. SSH uses the SSH agent.

aura plugins add and aura plugins update run go mod tidy && go mod vendor automatically (requires Go in PATH). Pass --no-vendor to skip.

Pack plugins cannot be removed individually — set disabled: true in plugin.yaml to skip one.

Lifecycle

Event	What happens
Startup	Source loaded, interpreter created, hooks + tools probed, registered
Each turn	Hooks fire at their timing point; condition evaluated first if set
`/reload`	Old interpreter destroyed, new one created from current files
Shutdown	Interpreter released

Package-level variables persist across hook invocations but reset on /reload.

Visibility

/plugins lists all loaded plugin hooks grouped by timing:

BeforeChat:
  todo-reminder/BeforeChat       enabled
  max-steps/BeforeChat           enabled

AfterToolExecution:
  loop-detection/AfterToolExecution    enabled
  my-plugin/BeforeChat                 enabled  condition="auto and context_above:70" once=true (fired)