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Version: v0.9.0a2
Integrator

Alpha Tester Migration Guide

3 min readAlpha testerv0.9.0a1

What this guide covers

Migration guidance for testers moving from deferred or pre-plugin Stigmem feature flows to the v0.9.0aN plugin infrastructure path.

Audience: Alpha testers who used deferred Stigmem feature surfaces before the plugin infrastructure landed.

The v0.9.0a1 default install is the supported critical-path surface.

It includes typed facts, scopes, basic recall, federation, audit, SQLite storage, Docker Compose deployment, and CIDs as core behavior. It does not include production support for deferred features such as lazy instruction discovery, time-travel queries, RTBF tombstones, advanced Memory Garden ACLs, source attestation, multi-tenant isolation, or advanced recall graph features.

The plugin infrastructure now exists on main: stable 22-hook dispatch, package entry-point discovery, dependency ordering, lifecycle health checks, operator CLI inspection, production signing/trust policy, and author/operator documentation. Lazy instruction discovery, time-travel queries, RTBF tombstones, advanced Memory Garden ACLs, and source attestation have been extracted as opt-in experimental plugin source packages under experimental/.

What changed​

Area
Current main
Later v0.9.0aN work
Default node install
unchanged · opt-in plugins
Default install remains critical-path only.
Plugin package loading
entry-point discovery
Lazy-instruction and time-travel plugin source packages extracted for validation.
Plugin signing and trust
verified metadata required
Unsigned loading is development-only. Package publication matures with releases.
Deferred feature behavior
still gated
Not promoted by plugin infrastructure alone; lazy instruction and time-travel now require plugin registration/configuration.
Internal/pre-plugin test flows
retire
Should be retired unless they test the supported default surface.

Migration rules​

  1. Do not rely on dormant code paths for production behavior. If a feature is listed as experimental or dormant, treat it as unavailable in supported deployments.
  2. Do not assume a plugin exists because hooks exist. Hook infrastructure is available now; feature plugins are separate packages that land later.
  3. Keep CIDs as core. Content-addressed IDs are not moving to a plugin.
  4. Pin alpha artifacts. Pre-1.0 builds do not carry a stability guarantee; pin exact versions and re-test on every upgrade.
  5. Use public docs and specs as the migration source.

Feature destinations​

Feature
Status
Migration destination
Lazy instruction discovery
experimental plugin
Keep using ordinary typed facts and explicit recall inputs in default installs. Test the plugin only in isolated alpha environments.
Content-addressed IDs
core
Continue using core CID/fact-ID behavior; no CID plugin is planned.
Time-travel as_of
experimental plugin
Default installs return time_travel_plugin_not_loaded. Test only in isolated alpha environments.
RTBF tombstones
experimental plugin
Default installs expose access-gated tombstone route contracts but do not enable tombstone behavior. Use ordinary retractions for supported tests.
Memory Garden advanced ACL
experimental plugin
Use stable scopes and basic garden behavior for default-surface tests.
Source attestation
experimental plugin
Use existing API-key and audit attribution for default-surface tests.
Multi-tenant isolation
no Spec-X yet
Wait for the multi-tenant plugin. Do not treat tenant isolation as part of the default install.
Subscriptions / Decay / Synthesis
dormant
Wait for future reintroduction paths. Use polling or supported federation flows.
Intent envelope
deferred indefinitely
Remove dependencies on this behavior.
Recall graph / vectors / cards
dormant
Wait for the recall-graph reintroduction path.
Non-OpenClaw adapters
dormant
Treat as unsupported until each adapter passes the reintroduction gates.
Helm/Fly/systemd/PaaS/Grafana
experimental
Use Docker Compose for supported v0.9.0a1 testing.

What to test now​

Use current main or the next alpha artifact to test the plugin infrastructure itself:

Author a minimal plugin

Using the Plugin Author Guide.

Register documented hooks

From the Plugin Hook Reference.

Declare capabilities

From the Plugin Capability Reference.

Install and inspect

Per the Operator Plugin Management Guide.

Default with no plugins

Verify default behavior with no plugins registered.

Signing policy

Verify production signing/trust policy and development-only unsigned loading.

Do not test a deferred feature as though it has graduated just because its future hook points now exist.

Retiring pre-plugin tests​

Test type
Action
Notes
Default-surface tests
keep
Remove assumptions about deferred feature behavior.
Plugin-infrastructure tests
rewrite
Rewrite them around manifest, hook, capability, signing, CLI, health, and audit behavior.
Deferred-feature behavior tests
move or block
Move to the relevant feature's experimental area or mark as blocked until that feature plugin exists.

Operator checklist​

Before enabling tester plugins in a shared environment:

  1. Pin the plugin package version.
  2. Keep STIGMEM_PLUGIN_SIGNING_REQUIRED=true.
  3. Set STIGMEM_PLUGIN_TRUSTED_PUBLISHERS to reviewed signing identities.
  4. Use STIGMEM_PLUGIN_TRUST_OVERRIDE_PUBLISHERS only for explicit, short-lived exceptions.
  5. Run stigmem plugins list --json and stigmem plugins describe <name> --json after startup.
  6. Review plugin.registered, plugin.registration_failed, plugin.handler_denied, and plugin.handler_error audit events.

References​