Plugin manifest (`plugin.json`) — A.3 reference

Every Phlix plugin ships a plugin.json at the root of its package. This file is the source of truth for the loader (A.4), the admin UI (A.5), and the signature verifier (A.7+). A.3 defines:

The schema — docs/plugins/manifest.schema.json (JSON Schema draft 2020-12). IDEs and CI lint manifests against this file.
The parser — Phlix\Shared\Plugin\Manifest, an immutable PHP value object (shipped in the detain/phlix-shared Composer package). Parses plugin.json into typed properties. The validator (Phlix\Plugins\Manifest\ManifestSchema) stays in phlix-server and emits Phlix\Shared\Plugin\ManifestValidationError instances. The legacy Phlix\Plugins\Manifest and Phlix\Plugins\ManifestValidationError FQCNs remain available as deprecated aliases through 0.11.x.

Scope reminder. A.3 ships the spec and the parser only. The loader, sandbox, signature verification, and event-alias→FQCN resolution all live in A.4.

Canonical example

json

{
    "name": "phlix-plugin-lastfm",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "phlix_min_server_version": "0.10.0",
    "type": "scrobbler",
    "entry": "Phlix\\Plugins\\Lastfm\\Plugin",
    "events": ["phlix.playback.started", "phlix.playback.stopped"],
    "settings": {
        "api_key": { "type": "string", "required": true, "secret": true },
        "api_secret": { "type": "string", "required": true, "secret": true }
    },
    "signature": "sha256:..."
}

This is the same example as PHLIX_EXPANSION_PLAN.md §5 — keep them in sync. The two valid-*.json fixtures under tests/Fixtures/Plugins/ are minimal, working manifests you can copy to bootstrap a new plugin.

Field reference

Required

Field	Type	Constraints
`name`	string	Kebab-case. Must start with `phlix-plugin-`. Max 64 chars. Regex `^phlix-plugin-[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$`.
`version`	string	Plugin semver. Regex `^\d+\.\d+\.\d+(?:[-+][A-Za-z0-9.\-]+)?$`.
`phlix_min_server_version`	string	Minimum supported Phlix server semver. Same regex.
`type`	string	One of the eleven values below.
`entry`	string	Fully-qualified entry class name. Regex `^[A-Z][A-Za-z0-9_](?:\\[A-Z][A-Za-z0-9_])+$`.

Plugin types (`type` enum)

Mirrors PHLIX_EXPANSION_PLAN.md §5 and Phlix\Shared\Plugin\ManifestType:

Value	Purpose
`metadata-provider`	Pulls media metadata (e.g. an alternative TMDb).
`subtitle-provider`	Downloads or generates subtitles.
`auth-provider`	Authenticates users (OIDC, LDAP, SSO, …).
`library-type`	Adds a brand-new library kind.
`notifier`	Sends notifications (push, email, chat).
`scrobbler`	Reports playback to an external service.
`tuner`	Live-TV tuner backend.
`transcoder-hook`	Adjusts the transcoder pipeline.
`ui-theme`	Restyles the web portal.
`arr-integration`	Integrates with *arr stack (Sonarr, Radarr).
`analytics-sink`	Exports analytics to external systems.

Optional

`events`

An array of manifest aliases. Each alias is a dotted string of the form phlix.<area>.<verb>(.<sub>)* (regex ^phlix\.[a-z]+(?:\.[a-z]+)*$). The canonical alias list lives in docs/dev/event-reference.md. The A.4 loader resolves these aliases to event FQCNs at install time.

`settings`

A keyed object describing the settings the plugin exposes to operators via the admin UI. Each value is an object:

Key	Type	Notes
`type`	string	One of `string`, `int`, `bool`, `float`, `array`. Required.
`required`	boolean	Whether the operator must set a value. Default `false`.
`secret`	boolean	Hides the value in UI/logs and stores it encrypted. Default `false`.
`default`	any	Default value when the operator leaves the field blank.

`signature`

Either null (unsigned plugin) or a string matching ^sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}$. Signature verification lives in A.7; A.3 only validates the format.

Parsing and validating in PHP

php

use Phlix\Plugins\Manifest\ManifestSchema;
use Phlix\Shared\Plugin\Manifest;
use Phlix\Shared\Plugin\ManifestType;
use RuntimeException;

try {
    $manifest = Manifest::fromJson(file_get_contents('plugin.json'));
} catch (RuntimeException $e) {
    // Hard parse failure — the file isn't even valid JSON.
    throw $e;
}

$errors = (new ManifestSchema())->validate($manifest);
if ($errors !== []) {
    foreach ($errors as $error) {
        printf("[%s] %s — %s\n", $error->code, $error->field, $error->message);
    }
    return;
}

assert($manifest->manifestType() instanceof ManifestType);

Error codes returned by `validate()`

The code field on ManifestValidationError mirrors the JSON Schema constraint that failed (required, pattern, enum, type, additionalProperties, …), plus a Phlix-specific unknown_field code for top-level keys that the schema does not allow.

Authoring checklist

Copy tests/Fixtures/Plugins/valid-lastfm.json (scrobbler) or valid-oidc.json (auth provider) into your plugin's root.
Replace name, entry, events, and settings to match your plugin.
Run npx ajv-cli validate -s docs/plugins/manifest.schema.json -d plugin.json (optional — the loader will validate again at install time).
Commit the manifest alongside your PHP entry class. Wiring the plugin into the runtime arrives in A.4.

Plugin manifest (plugin.json) — A.3 reference ​

Canonical example ​

Field reference ​

Required ​

Plugin types (type enum) ​

Optional ​

events ​

settings ​

signature ​

Parsing and validating in PHP ​

Error codes returned by validate() ​

Authoring checklist ​

See also ​