Core concepts

One Cordis graph

Mayfly does not create a nested plugin system. External plugins, official Mayfly rows, and native dsh services are members of one Cordis tree. inject is both an activation dependency and a reload boundary.

Fiber is lifecycle

Command, pane, status, overlay, and editor-extension registrations belong to the caller's Fiber. They disappear on unload. Bind other subscriptions, timers, and external listeners through ctx.effect() or an explicit disposer.

Native domain, Mayfly UI

Reuse dsh behavior directly. Mayfly does not copy command, tool, projection, setting, or Agent APIs. Mayfly seams exist only for terminal UI.

Inject mayflyCurrentAgent when native Agent-scoped behavior needs the current selection:

const agent = ctx.mayflyCurrentAgent.current()
if (agent !== null) {
  const snapshot = ctx.sessionProjections.snapshot(agent.session, ['myProjection'])
}

Do not retain Agent or Session across selection revisions.

Renderer-neutral

UI contributions return MayflyUiNode. Plugins do not import pi-tui, assemble ANSI, or read terminal width. Core owns validation, layout, theme, focus, and terminal safety.

Failure semantics

Native dsh services keep their own result and exception behavior. Mayfly registries throw for invalid ids, missing callbacks, and duplicate ids. Registration handles expose refresh()/dispose(); overlays also expose close().