docs(plugin): fix inaccuracies and flag real gaps found building a plugin

Found while building an out-of-tree scripting plugin from scratch against
this doc and the actual ocs_plugin_api/host source. Two categories:

Fixed outright (docs/examples didn't match the real code):
- The worked CadModule example returned Vec<RibbonGroup> from
  ribbon_groups(); the real trait requires &[RibbonGroup] - the example
  wouldn't compile. Fixed with the OnceLock pattern the host's own
  benchmark code already uses.
- Reconciled a contradiction between "process isolation removes the need
  for a shared Rust ABI" and the exact-rustc_version requirement described
  a few paragraphs earlier in the same doc.
- The roadmap's "Next" list still had external automation as unstarted;
  --mcp/--serve are real and operational (src/cli.rs, src/mcp.rs).
- Added the missing plugin.toml to docs/plugin-template-v2 (its own
  DESIGN.md already claimed one could be installed).
- Documented that plugin-template's CI floats rust-toolchain@stable, which
  doesn't guarantee matching the host's exact rustc - added acadrust_source
  to both templates' plugin.toml plus the release.yml step that fills it
  from Cargo.lock's resolved acadrust source, alongside the existing
  rustc_version fill.

Flagging for your call, not fixed here (found the behavior, not sure it's
the intended one, prefer to ask than guess at a fix):
- acadrust_compatible()'s ABI gate only runs at all if plugin.toml declares
  acadrust_source - an undeclared field is silently treated as compatible,
  unlike rustc_version (undeclared = incompatible). The same shortcut
  appears in two places: ExternalPlugin::acadrust_compatible
  (src/plugin/external.rs) and the inline check inside fetch_release_info
  (src/plugin/marketplace.rs). If this is deliberate (e.g. back-compat with
  manifests from before the field existed), no action needed beyond a
  comment; if not, both call sites need the same fix.
- The command line still uppercases typed/pasted input even with the `>`
  literal-spaces prefix (Message::CommandInput, src/app/update/mod.rs) -
  `>` only stops a space from auto-submitting the line, it doesn't skip
  `s.to_uppercase()`. A plugin command needing a case-sensitive typed
  argument has no escape today short of automation.
- fetch_release_info (src/plugin/marketplace.rs) returns every release
  under a linked repo with no filter on the manifest's own id field (which
  it already parses to build ReleaseInfo) - a repo hosting more than one
  plugin under tag-namespaced releases surfaces all of them mixed
  together in one plugin's version list.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/plugin-architecture.md

@@ -101,13 +101,27 @@ affect whether a prebuilt plugin can safely be loaded:
 
 A plugin's `plugin.toml` declares the same values under `[opencad]`. For API v4
 and later, `rustc_version` is required and the host refuses to load the plugin
-unless it matches exactly. This turns the current silent runner crash into a
-one-line diagnosis such as:
+unless it matches exactly — omitting it is treated as a mismatch, not skipped.
+This turns the current silent runner crash into a one-line diagnosis such as:
 
 ```
 Plugin built with rustc 1.96.0, host requires 1.98.0 - rebuild required
 ```
 
+**`acadrust_source` is checked differently, and this matters:** unlike
+`rustc_version`, the check only runs if the plugin's `plugin.toml` declares
+`acadrust_source` at all — the same `if !acadrust_declared { return true; }`
+(or equivalent inline match) appears in **two** places,
+`ExternalPlugin::acadrust_compatible` in `src/plugin/external.rs` (used when
+loading an installed plugin) and the inline check inside
+`fetch_release_info` in `src/plugin/marketplace.rs` (used when listing
+releases in the Plugin Manager) — a manifest that omits the key entirely is treated
+as compatible, not rejected. In practice this means the ABI gate is
+opt-in per plugin rather than enforced across the board: a `plugin.toml` copied
+from an older template that never added the field sails through unchecked.
+**Always declare `acadrust_source`** (see the worked example below) so the gate
+actually applies to your plugin; don't rely on the host to catch its absence.
+
 ### `PluginManifest`
 
 ```rust
@@ -202,11 +216,14 @@ struct ExampleModule;
 impl CadModule for ExampleModule {
     fn id(&self) -> &'static str { "example" }
     fn title(&self) -> &'static str { "Example" }
-    fn ribbon_groups(&self) -> Vec<RibbonGroup> {
-        vec![RibbonGroup { title: "Demo", tools: vec![RibbonItem::LargeTool(ToolDef {
+    // Returns a slice, not an owned Vec — build once into a static and hand
+    // back a reference, rather than rebuilding (and dropping) it every call.
+    fn ribbon_groups(&self) -> &[RibbonGroup] {
+        static GROUPS: std::sync::OnceLock<Vec<RibbonGroup>> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();
+        GROUPS.get_or_init(|| vec![RibbonGroup { title: "Demo", tools: vec![RibbonItem::LargeTool(ToolDef {
             id: "EX_HELLO", label: "Hello", icon: IconKind::Glyph("◆"),
             event: ModuleEvent::Command("EX_HELLO".to_string()),
-        })]}]
+        })]}]})
     }
 }
 
@@ -235,8 +252,12 @@ api_version = 5
 ribbon_order = 50
 command_prefixes = ["EX_"]
 xdata_apps = []
-# Filled with the exact compiler output while staging the release asset.
+# Both filled at release-build time, not by hand — see the CI step below.
+# Declare both; omitting acadrust_source silently skips that half of the
+# compatibility check instead of failing it (see "Build-time ABI metadata"
+# above), which defeats the point of declaring either field.
 rustc_version = "rustc 1.98.0 (hash date)"
+acadrust_source = "git+https://github.com/HakanSeven12/cadcodec.git?rev=<short>#<full-40-char-commit>"
 ```
 
 The full, buildable scaffold is in [`docs/plugin-template/`](plugin-template);
@@ -255,6 +276,27 @@ tool fires `ModuleEvent::Command("EX_FOO")`, which round-trips to
 tool request a native file picker; on selection the host dispatches
 `"<command> <path>"` back with the path's original case preserved.
 
+**Known gap: typed/pasted commands still get uppercased even when a leading
+`>` is used to keep spaces literal.** The interactive command line
+(`Message::CommandInput` in `src/app/update/mod.rs`) unconditionally calls
+`s.to_uppercase()` on typed input unless a free-form text prompt is active
+(`is_free_text_active()` — cell text, `TEXT`/`MTEXT` bodies). The `>` prefix
+and `literal_spaces` mode (added since this was first found) correctly stop
+a typed space from auto-submitting the line early — solving multi-word
+arguments — but neither one skips the uppercase call, so a plugin command
+needing a case-sensitive argument (a file path with mixed case, an embedded
+expression, anything not meant to be all-caps) still gets mangled when
+typed or pasted directly, even with `>`. Automation (`--serve`/`--mcp`)
+bypasses this input path entirely and is unaffected — this is specifically
+a typed/pasted-into-the-command-line issue. `ModuleEvent::PluginFileDialog`
+sidesteps it for file paths (dispatches back with original case intact, as
+noted above) but there's no equivalent for a plugin command that needs
+case-sensitive *typed* text more generally. Fix direction: extend whatever
+condition currently gates `literal_spaces`/`>` to also skip the uppercase
+call, rather than treating "keep spaces literal" and "keep case literal" as
+solved by the same escape when a plugin command may need one without the
+other.
+
 ### Interactive (click-to-place) commands
 
 For tools that collect points — placing a structure, drawing a pipe — call
@@ -306,7 +348,18 @@ plugin.toml
 ```
 
 A GitHub Actions matrix workflow (see the example repo / template) cross-builds
-and uploads these on a `v*` tag.
+and uploads these on a `v*` tag. It also fills `plugin.toml`'s `rustc_version`
+and `acadrust_source` placeholders from the CI run's actual toolchain and
+resolved dependency, rather than hand-editing them per release — see
+`docs/plugin-template/.github/workflows/release.yml` for the exact `sed`
+substitutions, including reading `acadrust_source` out of `Cargo.lock`'s
+resolved `acadrust` package entry (`source = "git+...#<hash>"`) since that's
+the same value the host embeds at its own build time. The template's CI pins
+`rust-toolchain@stable`, which is a floating target — a real release pipeline
+should pin the exact toolchain version the host was built with (check
+`crates/ocs_plugin_api/src/version_info.rs`'s embedded value, or the host's
+own CI config) rather than trusting "whatever's current stable today" to
+keep matching it.
 
 ---
 
@@ -383,6 +436,24 @@ dynamic libraries:
 - **Enable/disable** — toggles a loaded plugin's ribbon tab + dispatch without
   uninstalling.
 
+**Known gap: one linked repo is treated as one plugin's release history, even
+when it hosts several.** `fetch_releases`/`fetch_release_info`
+(`src/plugin/marketplace.rs`) fetch and parse *every* release under a linked
+`owner/repo` into one flat `Vec<ReleaseInfo>`, with no filter on the parsed
+manifest's own `id` field — which is already available at that point, since
+each release's `plugin.toml` is downloaded and parsed to build `ReleaseInfo`
+in the first place. A repo that ships more than one plugin (tag-namespaced
+releases like `pluginA-v1.0.0`, `pluginB-v1.0.0`) will surface every other
+plugin's releases as if they belonged to whichever one the user is looking
+at, and any future "is there a newer version" check that walks this same
+list by date/tag would need the same fix. A user can still install correctly
+by picking the right tagged release (each release's own bundled `plugin.toml`
+is what actually gets installed), but the discovery/version list itself
+doesn't distinguish plugins sharing a repo. Fix direction: filter
+`fetch_release_info`'s result (or its caller) to releases whose manifest
+`id` matches the plugin currently being viewed/installed, the same `id`
+`ReleaseInfo` already carries.
+
 ---
 
 ## Compatibility & ABI
@@ -391,9 +462,16 @@ Plugins are loaded as `cdylib`s by a plugin-runner child process. The host spawn
 this child from its own executable (`--ocs-plugin-runner` mode), so the runner
 and host always share the same `ocs_plugin_api` build. The runner checks
 `ocs_plugin_api_version` before any plugin code runs. Each plugin runs in its
-own OS process, so the host is protected from plugin crashes and memory
-corruption. Process isolation removes the need for the host and plugin to share
-a Rust toolchain ABI beyond the stable `ocs_plugin_api` contract.
+own OS process, so a plugin crash or memory-corruption bug cannot take down the
+host process itself — but process isolation alone does **not** mean a
+toolchain mismatch is safe to ignore: the plugin and host still exchange data
+across the shared `ocs_plugin_api` types over IPC, and a struct-layout or ABI
+difference between toolchain versions could corrupt that exchange in ways
+subtler than an immediate crash. That's why, independently of process
+isolation, API v4+ *also* enforces an exact `rustc_version` match (and,
+correctly declared, `acadrust_source` — see above) before loading a plugin at
+all, rather than relying on isolation to make a mismatch merely "someone
+else's problem."
 
 A future hardening step is a `#[repr(C)]` vtable (a true C ABI) so binaries built
 by any toolchain interoperate — required before trusting prebuilt binaries from
@@ -414,6 +492,12 @@ Done:
       reinstall / uninstall, enable/disable.
 - [x] Interactive command round-trip over IPC (prompt, point/enter/object-pick).
 - [x] Spawn and per-call IPC timeouts so a stuck runner cannot freeze the host.
+- [x] External automation (`--mcp` — local stdio MCP/JSON-RPC server for AI
+      clients; `--serve` — headless JSON automation server; both drive OCS
+      from a separate process without the GUI, per `src/cli.rs`/`src/mcp.rs`/
+      `app::serve`). This closes the "drive OCS headless from a process" goal
+      of issue #29; this line previously and incorrectly listed it as not yet
+      started.
 
 Next:
 
@@ -421,7 +505,9 @@ Next:
 - [ ] `#[repr(C)]` vtable / strict handshake for cross-toolchain binaries.
 - [ ] Trust: checksums / signatures before spawning plugin processes.
 - [ ] Interchange (LandXML / SWMM) and live `on_entity_committed` hooks.
-- [ ] External automation API (drive OCS headless from a process) — issue #29.
+- [ ] Close the `acadrust_source` enforcement gap noted above (see
+      "Build-time ABI metadata") — an omitted field is currently accepted as
+      compatible instead of rejected, unlike `rustc_version`.
 
 ---
 

docs/plugin-template-v2/DESIGN.md

@@ -64,8 +64,12 @@ From the workspace root:
 cargo build -p plugin-template-v2
 ```
 
-The resulting cdylib plus `plugin.toml` can be installed into the host's
-plugins folder (see `docs/plugin-architecture.md`).
+The resulting cdylib plus `plugin.toml` (checked in alongside this file) can
+be installed into the host's plugins folder (see `docs/plugin-architecture.md`).
+`plugin.toml`'s `rustc_version`/`acadrust_source` placeholders are filled by
+CI in `docs/plugin-template` (v1) — this template has no release workflow of
+its own, so fill them by hand (`rustc --version`, and `Cargo.lock`'s resolved
+`acadrust` package `source` line) before installing a real build.
 
 ---
 

docs/plugin-template-v2/plugin.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+[plugin]
+id = "com.example.plugin-template-v2"
+name = "Plugin Template v2"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "Demonstrates read/write object round-trips with the host."
+author = "Your Name"
+license = "GPL-3.0-only"
+repository = "your-account/your-plugin-repo"
+
+[opencad]
+api_version = 5
+# Both filled at release-build time from the actual compiler and Cargo.lock's
+# resolved `acadrust` source — see docs/plugin-template's release.yml for the
+# exact substitution. Do not fill these in by hand. Declare acadrust_source
+# even though it's optional: the host's compatibility check only runs at all
+# if this field is present, so an omitted field is silently treated as
+# compatible rather than rejected (see plugin-architecture.md's "Build-time
+# ABI metadata"). This template ships without its own CI workflow (see
+# DESIGN.md) — copy docs/plugin-template's release.yml if you turn this into
+# a real, released plugin.
+rustc_version = "__RUSTC_VERSION__"
+acadrust_source = "__ACADRUST_SOURCE__"
+ribbon_order = 100
+command_prefixes = [
+    "COUNT_SURVEY_POINTS",
+    "ADD_SURVEY_POINT",
+    "MARK_FIRST_SURVEY_POINT",
+    "COUNT_MARKED_SURVEY_POINTS",
+]
+xdata_apps = ["SURVEYMARK"]

docs/plugin-template/.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      # NOTE: @stable floats to whatever's current when this job runs, which
+      # is NOT the same thing as "matches the host's rustc exactly" — the API
+      # v4+ load check compares plugin.toml's rustc_version to the host's
+      # build-time compiler byte-for-byte (see plugin-architecture.md's
+      # "Build-time ABI metadata"). Pin this to the host's actual toolchain
+      # version (check crates/ocs_plugin_api/src/version_info.rs's embedded
+      # value, or the host's own CI config) before a real release, or your
+      # binary may be refused at load with a version-mismatch error.
       - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
       - run: cargo build --release
       - name: Stage release asset
@@ -36,7 +44,11 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           mkdir -p dist
           cp target/release/*.${{ matrix.ext }} "dist/${{ matrix.asset }}"
-          sed "s|__RUSTC_VERSION__|$(rustc --version)|" plugin.toml > dist/plugin.toml
+          acadrust_source=$(grep -A3 '^name = "acadrust"' Cargo.lock | grep '^source' | head -1 | sed 's/^source = "//;s/"$//')
+          sed \
+            -e "s|__RUSTC_VERSION__|$(rustc --version)|" \
+            -e "s|__ACADRUST_SOURCE__|$acadrust_source|" \
+            plugin.toml > dist/plugin.toml
       - uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
           files: |

docs/plugin-template/plugin.toml

@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ repository = "your-account/your-plugin-repo"
 [opencad]
 api_version = 5
 rustc_version = "__RUSTC_VERSION__"
+# Both placeholders are filled by release.yml at build time (from `rustc
+# --version` and Cargo.lock's resolved `acadrust` source respectively) — do
+# not fill these in by hand. Declare acadrust_source even though it's
+# optional: the host's compatibility check only runs at all if this field is
+# present, so an omitted field is silently treated as compatible rather than
+# rejected (see plugin-architecture.md's "Build-time ABI metadata").
+acadrust_source = "__ACADRUST_SOURCE__"
 ribbon_order = 60
 command_prefixes = ["MP_"]
 xdata_apps = ["MYPLUGIN_RECORD"]