Pet Plugin Template

A comprehensive template demonstrating OpenPets best practices. Copy this folder and customize it to build your own pet.

Best Practices Demonstrated

This template includes all required patterns:

1. Test Connection Tool - Every pet MUST have {pet-name}-test-connection
2. Graceful Degradation - Returns limited toolset when not configured
3. Proper Tool Naming - All tools follow {pet-name}-{action} pattern
4. Structured Responses - All tools return JSON with success/error status
5. Environment Handling - Uses loadEnv() for configuration
6. Logging - Uses createLogger() for debugging

Quick Start

1. Copy This Template

# From the pets directory
cp -r _TEMPLATE_ my-pet
cd my-pet

2. Update package.json

Change these fields:

{
  "name": "@openpets/my-pet",
  "title": "My Pet",
  "description": "What my pet does",
  "envVariables": {
    "required": [
      {
        "name": "MY_PET_API_KEY",
        "description": "API key from My Service"
      }
    ]
  },
  "queries": [
    "test my-pet connection",
    "list items from my-pet"
  ]
}

3. Update index.ts

export const MyPetPlugin = async () => {
  const logger = createLogger("my-pet")
  const env = loadEnv("my-pet")  // Loads MY_PET_* variables
  
  const API_KEY = env.MY_PET_API_KEY
  const isConfigured = !!API_KEY
  
  if (!isConfigured) {
    // Return limited toolset when not configured
    return createPlugin([
      {
        name: "my-pet-test-connection",
        description: "Test my-pet connection status",
        schema: z.object({}),
        async execute() {
          return JSON.stringify({
            success: false,
            status: "not_configured",
            message: "Please set MY_PET_API_KEY"
          }, null, 2)
        }
      }
    ])
  }
  
  // Return full toolset when configured
  const tools: ToolDefinition[] = [
    {
      name: "my-pet-test-connection",
      // ... full implementation
    },
    {
      name: "my-pet-list-items",
      // ... your tools
    }
  ]
  
  return createPlugin(tools)
}

4. Update .env.example

# My Pet Configuration
MY_PET_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

5. Test Your Pet

bun install
opencode run "test my-pet connection" --print-logs

Tool Naming Convention

All tools MUST follow the pattern: {pet-name}-{action}

| Good | Bad | |------|-----| | jira-list-issues | list-issues | | github-create-pr | create-pr | | stripe-get-customer | getCustomer | | my-pet-test-connection | test-connection |

Required: Test Connection Tool

Every pet MUST have a test-connection tool that:

1. Works even when the pet is not configured
2. Returns structured status information
3. Provides helpful error messages

{
  name: "my-pet-test-connection",
  description: "Test connection and configuration status",
  schema: z.object({}),
  async execute() {
    return JSON.stringify({
      success: true,  // or false
      status: "connected",  // or "not_configured", "error"
      message: "Connected successfully",
      details: {
        // Add relevant details
      }
    }, null, 2)
  }
}

Graceful Degradation

When your pet is not configured, return a limited toolset:

if (!isConfigured) {
  logger.warn("Pet not configured - returning limited toolset")
  return createPlugin([
    // Only include test-connection tool
    testConnectionTool
  ])
}

// Full toolset when configured
return createPlugin(allTools)

Response Format

Always return JSON strings with consistent structure:

// Success response
return JSON.stringify({
  success: true,
  data: result,
  message: "Operation completed"
}, null, 2)

// Error response
return JSON.stringify({
  success: false,
  error: error.message,
  code: "INVALID_INPUT"  // optional error code
}, null, 2)

// List response
return JSON.stringify({
  success: true,
  total: items.length,
  items: items
}, null, 2)

Schema Types (Zod)

Use these supported Zod types:

schema: z.object({
  // Primitives
  name: z.string().describe("User name"),
  age: z.number().describe("User age"),
  active: z.boolean().describe("Is active"),
  
  // Optional with default
  limit: z.number().optional().default(50).describe("Max results"),
  
  // Enum
  status: z.enum(["active", "archived"]).describe("Status filter"),
  
  // Arrays (primitives only)
  tags: z.array(z.string()).describe("Tags list"),
  ids: z.array(z.number()).describe("ID list")
})

NOT supported (will cause errors):

• z.array(z.object({...})) - No nested objects in arrays
• z.record() - No record types
• z.union() with objects - No complex unions

For complex data, use JSON strings:

schema: z.object({
  filtersJson: z.string().describe("JSON string of filter options")
}),
execute(args) {
  const filters = JSON.parse(args.filtersJson)
}

Environment Variables

Use loadEnv() from openpets-sdk:

const env = loadEnv("my-pet")

// This loads variables with the prefix:
// MY_PET_API_KEY -> env.MY_PET_API_KEY
// MY_PET_BASE_URL -> env.MY_PET_BASE_URL

Document in package.json:

{
  "envVariables": {
    "required": [
      {
        "name": "MY_PET_API_KEY",
        "description": "API key from My Service",
        "provider": "My Service",
        "priority": 1
      }
    ],
    "optional": [
      {
        "name": "MY_PET_DEBUG",
        "description": "Enable debug logging",
        "provider": "Configuration",
        "priority": 2
      }
    ]
  }
}

Logging

Use the logger for debugging:

const logger = createLogger("my-pet")

logger.debug("Debug info", { context: data })
logger.info("Operation started")
logger.warn("Warning message")
logger.error("Error occurred", { error: err.message })

Validation Checklist

Before publishing, verify:

• [ ] Package name is @openpets/my-pet
• [ ] Has my-pet-test-connection tool
• [ ] Test-connection works when NOT configured
• [ ] All tool names follow my-pet-{action} pattern
• [ ] All tools return JSON strings
• [ ] Environment variables documented in package.json
• [ ] .env.example has all variables
• [ ] queries array has example prompts
• [ ] pets validate passes

Publishing

# Validate first
pets validate

# Preview what will be published
pets publish --preview

# Publish to npm
pets publish

Examples

For real-world examples, check out:

• pets/jira/ - Full-featured with 20+ tools
• pets/github/ - GitHub API integration
• pets/stripe/ - Payment processing
• pets/wise/ - Financial services

Need Help?

• AGENTS.md - Comprehensive development guide
• docs/best-practices.md - Best practices
• docs/testing.md - Testing guide