docs(roadmap): add #420 — plugins help json returns mutation shape; sibling subgroups use help envelope

ROADMAP.md

@@ -6301,4 +6301,4 @@ Original filing (2026-04-18): the session emitted `SessionStart hook (completed)
 380. **Top-level `tokens --help --output-format json` hangs with zero stdout/stderr instead of returning bounded command help JSON** — dogfooded 2026-04-30 for the 02:30 nudge on current `origin/main` / rebuilt `./rust/target/debug/claw` with embedded `git_sha` `d95b230c`. After verifying #358 covered `cost --help`, a fresh adjacent probe on the token-budget surface showed the same silent failure class: repeated bounded runs of `timeout 8 ./rust/target/debug/claw tokens --help --output-format json` exited `124` with `stdout=0` and `stderr=0`. In the same rebuilt binary, `version --output-format json` returned promptly with version/build metadata, proving the binary itself and JSON output path are reachable. This is distinct from #358's cost help hang: the affected surface is the sibling `tokens` command help, which agents use before estimating prompt/session token budgets. **Required fix shape:** (a) make `tokens --help --output-format json` return static/bounded stdout JSON with `kind:"help"` or `kind:"tokens"`, `action:"help"`, usage, options, examples, supported output formats, and related slash/direct commands; (b) ensure help rendering does not initialize slow token accounting, session, or provider state; (c) if any dynamic provider is consulted, return a typed JSON timeout/unavailable error instead of hanging; (d) add regression coverage proving tokens help in JSON mode returns within a deterministic budget. **Why this matters:** token budgeting is a preflight clawability surface. If help hangs silently, automation cannot safely discover how to inspect or constrain token usage before running expensive prompts, and budget-aware wrappers stall at the discovery step. Source: gaebal-gajae dogfood follow-up for the 02:30 nudge on rebuilt `./rust/target/debug/claw` `d95b230c`.
 381. **Top-level `cache --help --output-format json` hangs with zero stdout/stderr instead of returning bounded command help JSON** — dogfooded 2026-04-30 for the 03:00 nudge on current `origin/main` / rebuilt `./rust/target/debug/claw` with embedded `git_sha` `d95b230c`. After #358 and #380 landed for the cost/tokens preflight help hangs, a fresh adjacent probe on the cache-control surface showed the same silent failure class: repeated bounded runs of `timeout --kill-after=1s 8s ./rust/target/debug/claw cache --help --output-format json` exited `124` with `stdout=0` and `stderr=0`. In the same rebuilt binary, `version --output-format json` returned promptly with version/build metadata, proving the binary itself and JSON output path are reachable. This is distinct from the separate `/cache` slash-command envelope mismatch class: the affected surface here is top-level `cache` command help, where agents need bounded local discovery before deciding whether to inspect, clear, or summarize cache state. **Required fix shape:** (a) make `cache --help --output-format json` return static/bounded stdout JSON with `kind:"help"` or `kind:"cache"`, `action:"help"`, usage, options, examples, supported output formats, and related slash/direct commands; (b) ensure help rendering does not initialize slow cache/session/provider state; (c) if any dynamic provider is consulted, return a typed JSON timeout/unavailable error instead of hanging; (d) add regression coverage proving cache help in JSON mode returns within a deterministic budget. **Why this matters:** cache inspection and cleanup are recovery/control-plane operations. If cache help hangs silently, claws cannot safely discover cache semantics before attempting cleanup, and automation stalls before it can choose a non-destructive cache action. Source: gaebal-gajae dogfood follow-up for the 03:00 nudge on rebuilt `./rust/target/debug/claw` `d95b230c`.
 
-421. **`version --output-format json` omits the `build_date` field — ROADMAP entry #79 documents `build_date` as a present top-level field but the live binary emits `{git_sha, kind, message, target, version}` without it** — dogfooded 2026-05-01 by Jobdori on `e939777f`. Running `claw version --output-format json` returns five fields: `git_sha`, `kind`, `message`, `target`, `version`. ROADMAP entry #79 (line 1380 on main) explicitly documents the version command schema as `{kind, message, version, git_sha, target, build_date}` — listing `build_date` as a first-class structured field on equal footing with `git_sha` and `target`. The `build_date` value (`2026-04-30`) is present inside the prose `message` field as `Build date       2026-04-30` but is not emitted as a separate top-level JSON key. Automation that reads `build_date` directly from the JSON object gets `undefined`/`null`/KeyError and must fall back to parsing the `message` string, which is the same prose-scraping antipattern the JSON surface is supposed to avoid. This is adjacent to #324 (stale-binary provenance gap) and #391 (version prose mismatch) but distinct: the pinpoint is a schema field documented as present that the binary never emits, not a staleness comparison or a prose string format inconsistency. **Required fix shape:** (a) emit `build_date` as a top-level string field in `version --output-format json` alongside `git_sha`, `target`, and `version`; (b) use an ISO-8601 date format (`YYYY-MM-DD`) for machine parseability rather than a space-padded prose format; (c) verify that `message` and the new `build_date` field agree on the same date; (d) add regression coverage proving `version --output-format json` output contains a `build_date` field matching the pattern `\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}` and that it is consistent with the `message` prose date. **Why this matters:** `build_date` is a provenance signal used by claws to decide whether a binary is recent enough for a given task. If it exists only inside a human-formatted prose string, claws must scrape the `message` to extract it, re-introducing the exact prose dependency the structured JSON field was supposed to eliminate. ROADMAP #79's documented schema creates a false expectation of machine accessibility that the live binary does not fulfill. Source: Jobdori live dogfood, `e939777f`, 2026-05-01.
+420. **`plugins help --output-format json` returns the mutation response shape (`message`, `reload_runtime`, `target`) instead of the help envelope (`action:"help"`, `kind`, `unexpected`, `usage`) that `mcp help`, `agents help`, and `skills help` all use — schema drift within the same command family** — dogfooded 2026-05-01 by Jobdori on `e939777f`. Running `claw plugins help --output-format json` returns `{"action":"help","kind":"plugin","message":"Unknown /plugins action 'help'. Use list, install, enable, disable, uninstall, or update.","reload_runtime":false,"target":null}`. By contrast, `claw mcp help --output-format json`, `claw agents help --output-format json`, and `claw skills help --output-format json` all return a help envelope: `{"action":"help","kind":"<surface>","unexpected":null,"usage":{"direct_cli":"...","slash_command":"...","sources":[...]}}`. The `plugins` subgroup has not adopted the help envelope schema used by all sibling subgroups. Instead it uses the mutation response shape (`message`, `reload_runtime`, `target`) with an error string in `message` that calls `help` an "unknown action." Automation that checks `usage.direct_cli` to discover plugin commands gets a `TypeError` (key not found) on the plugins help path while succeeding on all sibling subgroups. **Required fix shape:** (a) make `plugins help` return the same help envelope as `mcp help`/`agents help`/`skills help`: `{action:"help", kind:"plugin", unexpected:null, usage:{direct_cli:"claw plugins [list|enable|disable|install|uninstall|update|help]", slash_command:"/plugins [...]", sources:[...]}`; (b) drop `reload_runtime` and `target` from help responses for all plugin subcommands; (c) add regression coverage proving `plugins help --output-format json` contains a `usage.direct_cli` field matching the same envelope shape as `mcp help`/`agents help`/`skills help`; (d) audit all subgroup `help` handlers for the same mutation-envelope contamination. **Why this matters:** help discovery is the bootstrap surface for automation. If `plugins help --output-format json` returns a mutation envelope with an error message instead of a usage envelope, automated schema discovery fails silently for the entire plugins subgroup while working for every other subgroup. Source: Jobdori live dogfood, `e939777f`, 2026-05-01.