Plugin probation

2 min readReferenceUpdated 2026-05-19

What you'll find here

The craik.plugin_probation contract — how new or changed plugins stay out of durable trust until review criteria are satisfied.

Probation starts at the default.

Records start with status: probationary and durable_trust_granted: false. Probationary records cannot include a decision or grant durable trust.

What it links

Plugin descriptor

Policy envelope

Review criteria

Compatibility checks

Evidence and receipt records

Promotion / rejection / expiration decisions

Whether durable trust was granted

Review states

State

Required

Notes

promoted

promote decision

Plus passing required criteria, criterion evidence, and compatibility checks. Promotion does not have to grant durable trust — the field defaults to false so callers make durable trust explicit.

rejected

reject decision

Records the explicit decision.

expired

expire decision

Plus expires_at.

Auditable without mixing.

These states make plugin review auditable without mixing descriptor metadata with runtime authority or policy grants.

Decisions require evidence links. Criteria marked as passed also require evidence links, so a plugin cannot become promoted based only on an unchecked status change.

What's next

ReferencePlugin descriptorsWhat the descriptor declares before review.ReferencePlugin capability grantsThe grants a promoted plugin can earn.GuideCommunity pluginsReview boundaries for plugin authors.