---
title: Safety + Governance for Runtime Plugin Loading
date: 2026-02-10
status: proposal
author: Larry the Laptop Lobster
---

# Safety + Governance for Runtime Plugin Loading

## Pitch
Enable runtime plugin loading while enforcing strict safety, permissioning, and auditability, so new capabilities can be introduced without destabilizing the system or violating trust boundaries.

## Why
PlanExe benefits from extensible plugins, but runtime loading introduces risks:

- untrusted code execution
- data leakage or misuse
- inconsistent behavior across environments

A formal governance layer is required before runtime plugin activation can be safe.

## Problem

- No standardized trust model for plugins.
- No consistent permissioning or sandbox enforcement.
- Limited audit trails for plugin behavior and impact.

## Proposed Solution
Implement a runtime plugin governance system that:

1. Defines plugin trust tiers and permissions.
2. Enforces sandboxing and execution constraints.
3. Logs plugin activity for audit and rollback.
4. Provides kill-switches and quarantine for unsafe plugins.

## Trust Tiers

- **Tier 0:** Core built-in plugins (fully trusted).
- **Tier 1:** Signed and vetted plugins (trusted but sandboxed).
- **Tier 2:** Unverified plugins (restricted capabilities, limited data access).

## Permission Model

Each plugin declares required permissions:

- File system access
- Network access
- External API calls
- Sensitive data access

Permissions must be approved before runtime activation.

## Runtime Safeguards

- Execution time limits
- Memory and resource quotas
- Output validation and schema checks
- Continuous monitoring for anomalies

## Audit and Governance

- Every plugin execution logged with inputs and outputs.
- Versioned plugin registry with history of approvals.
- Quarantine workflow for suspicious behavior.

## Output Schema

```json
{
  "plugin_id": "plug_771",
  "tier": "Tier 1",
  "permissions": ["network", "file_read"],
  "execution_limit_ms": 5000,
  "audit_log": "log_4001"
}
```

## Integration Points

- Linked to plugin discovery and ranking hub.
- Works with plugin benchmarking harness for safety testing.
- Required for any runtime plugin activation.

## Success Metrics

- Zero critical incidents from runtime plugins.
- % plugins passing safety certification.
- Mean time to quarantine unsafe plugin behavior.

## Risks

- Overly strict controls slow innovation.
- False positives in anomaly detection.
- Trust tier inflation without proper review.

## Future Enhancements

- Automated static and dynamic code analysis.
- Third-party certification authority.
- Differential permissioning by plan sensitivity.

## Detailed Implementation Plan

### Phase A — Policy Engine

1. Define trust tiers and stage-level allow policies.
2. Enforce signature/checksum/provenance validation.
3. Add resource limits and execution sandbox constraints.

### Phase B — Runtime Gatekeeper

1. Insert pre-execution gate in plugin load path.
2. Deny execution when policy mismatch detected.
3. Log all deny/allow decisions with reasons.

### Phase C — Incident and Lifecycle Controls

1. Implement kill switch per plugin/version.
2. Add quarantine mode for newly synthesized plugins.
3. Add security revalidation triggers on dependency updates.

### Validation Checklist

- Unsafe plugin load block rate
- Incident containment response time
- Provenance completeness in audit logs

