# CLAUDE.md

This repo **is** a `dotnet new` project template (identity `SCPSL.LabApi.PluginTemplate`,
shortName `labapi-plugin`), not a runnable plugin. It scaffolds SCP: Secret Laboratory
LabAPI plugins.

The next section only applies while you're editing **this template repository**
(i.e. a `.template.config/` folder is present next to this file). It does not apply
if you're instead looking at a plugin someone already generated from this template —
that folder never contains `.template.config/`, and its `EntryPoint.cs`/`Config.cs`
are ordinary project files at that point, not template scaffolding.

## Repo is template *source* — read before touching any file

`.template.config/template.json` sets this folder's name as the template's
`sourceName` and defines one text-replacement `symbol`, `PluginAuthor` (plus
`skipRestore` and `SkipGit`, which only toggle post-generation actions and replace no
text). The dotnet templating engine does a literal, repo-wide **string replacement**
at generation time — not semantic renaming — driven by that config:

- The folder/project name (`sourceName` in `template.json`, currently this repo's own
  folder name) → whatever `-n`/`--name` the consumer passes to `dotnet new`.
- The placeholder value of the `PluginAuthor` symbol (the string currently sitting in
  `EntryPoint.cs`'s `Author` property) → the consumer's `--PluginAuthor`.

Open `template.json` to see the exact current literal for each — don't hardcode them
again here or anywhere else in prose, because this file itself ships inside every
generated project and any exact match gets rewritten too (self-referential text like
"the project is called X" would silently turn into nonsense after generation).

Consequences:
- Never introduce an exact match of one of those two literals elsewhere in the repo
  unless you intend it to be substituted too.
- If you add a new thing that should be configurable at generation time, add a symbol
  to `template.json` (`type: parameter`, `replaces: "<literal>"`) instead of
  hardcoding a magic string.
- `EntryPoint` and `Config` (the class names) are **not** substituted and must stay
  literally named that — LabAPI's `PluginLoader` discovers plugins by type
  inheritance, not by name, and the file names `EntryPoint.cs`/`Config.cs` are a fixed
  part of this template's contract. Only the *namespace* tracks the project name.

## Repo layout (only what affects decisions)

- `.template.config/template.json` — template identity, the symbols above plus
  `SkipGit` (a display-only toggle, see below), `primaryOutputs` (points at the
  project file using its pre-substitution literal name — that's correct and expected,
  not a bug), and two `postActions`: the standard dotnet-templating "restore NuGet
  packages" action (id `210D431B-...`; skipped in Visual Studio, which restores on
  its own) and a "display manual instructions" action (id `AC1156F7-...`) that prints
  a reminder to run `git init` — see "Git on generation" below for why it's just a
  printed reminder and not an executed command.
- `.template.config/ide.host.json` — Visual Studio-only UI hints for the New Project
  wizard. It does **not** rename any symbol (the CLI flags stay `PluginAuthor`/
  `skipRestore`/`SkipGit` — a flag can't contain a space); it only maps each symbol's
  `id` to a human-readable `name.text` label (e.g. `SkipGit` → "Skip Git") shown in
  VS's UI, via `isVisible: "true"` per entry (VS hides a symbol from that UI unless
  explicitly marked visible here). Ignored entirely by `dotnet new` on the CLI.
- The `.csproj` at the repo root — the project file every generated plugin ships with.
- `EntryPoint.cs` / `Config.cs` — the scaffolded plugin (`Plugin<Config>`) and its
  YAML-backed settings class.
- `.editorconfig` — formatting/naming only (indentation, brace style). It does **not**
  enforce the comment/language rules below — those aren't analyzer-checkable.
- No `.sln`, no test project, no CI, no packaging (`.nupkg`) project, no GitHub
  Copilot instructions file currently exist in this folder. Don't assume any of them.
  This repo itself does have its own git history (see `git log`) — that's unrelated
  to whether a *generated* project gets one, which is what "Git on generation" below
  covers.

## Git on generation — why there's no automated `git init`

A generated project is **not** a git repository by default; a `postAction` only
prints a reminder to run `git init && git add -A && git commit -m "Initial commit"`.
This was a deliberate choice after testing the alternative:

- `dotnet new`'s only postAction capable of running an arbitrary process is the
  "Run script" action (id `3A7C4B45-...`). Actually wiring it to run `git init`/
  `git add`/`git commit` was tested and it **hangs forever** in any non-interactive
  shell: the CLI's script-execution security gate demands an explicit `Y` typed at a
  `Do you want to run this action [Y(yes)|N(no)]?` prompt, once per script action,
  with no flag on this SDK to pre-approve it — unlike the NuGet-restore postAction,
  which the CLI treats as trusted and never gates. Do not reintroduce "Run script"
  postActions for this without re-verifying that gate no longer applies.
- Visual Studio's own "New Project" dialog already has a built-in "Create new Git
  repository" checkbox that works for any template, including this one, with zero
  template-side configuration — so VS users get this for free regardless.
- CLI users see the printed reminder above (governed by the `SkipGit` symbol) and run
  the one-liner themselves.

## LabAPI contract (verified against northwood-studios/LabAPI source, not guessed)

`Plugin<TConfig>` (`LabApi.Loader.Features.Plugins`) requires implementing:
`Name`, `Description`, `Author`, `RequiredApiVersion` (all abstract get-only) plus
`Enable()`/`Disable()`. Overridable but optional: `Version` (defaults to the
assembly's version), `Priority` (`LoadPriority`, defaults to `Medium`),
`ConfigFileName` (defaults to `"config.yml"`). `Config` is a plain `class` with a
public parameterless constructor and public get/set properties — the base class
(de)serializes it via YamlDotNet automatically; don't hand-roll config I/O.

**Never invent a LabAPI class/namespace/method/property/attribute.** Before using one
you haven't already seen in this repo, check the restored package (`LabApi.dll` +
`LabApi.xml` under `%userprofile%\.nuget\packages\northwood.labapi\<version>\lib\net48\`)
or https://github.com/northwood-studios/LabAPI. If you can't verify a member exists,
say so instead of guessing. No Skill/plugin specific to C#, .NET, MSBuild, NuGet, or
LabAPI exists in the Claude Code skill catalog as of this writing — check
`ToolSearch`/`SearchSkills` for one before editing in case that has changed, but don't
assume one exists.

## Toolchain choices — don't "fix" these without being asked

- The project's `TargetFramework` is `netstandard2.1` on purpose, even though
  LabAPI's own docs and the `Northwood.LabAPI` NuGet package only target
  `net48`/`net481`. This is a deliberate compatibility choice (compiled output still
  loads under the game's Mono/.NET Framework 4.8 host) that trades away some
  netstandard2.1 BCL/language surface .NET Framework can't actually run (e.g. default
  interface members). Don't switch it to `net48`, don't add multi-targeting, unless
  the user asks.
- `LangVersion` is pinned explicitly (currently `14.0`) — don't let it drift to
  `latest`.
- The `.csproj` suppresses exactly two warnings, both scoped as narrowly as MSBuild
  allows, because of the netstandard2.1/net48-only-package combination above:
  `NU1701` (via a per-`PackageReference` `<NoWarn>`, not a project-wide one) and
  `MSB3270` (via `ResolveAssemblyWarnOrErrorOnTargetArchitectureMismatch=None`). Don't
  broaden either into a blanket suppression and don't remove them without
  understanding why (comments sit next to both in the `.csproj`).
- The `Northwood.LabAPI` `PackageReference` uses a floating `Version="*"` on purpose,
  so every `dotnet restore` always pulls whatever is the latest stable release on
  NuGet at that moment — there's no version to bump here. This is intentionally
  **not** wired to `EntryPoint.cs`'s `RequiredApiVersion`, which can't be a floating
  value (`System.Version` has no such concept and would throw at runtime if it tried).
  `RequiredApiVersion` is a separate, manually-maintained literal representing the
  minimum LabAPI version the scaffolded code is known to work with — bump it by hand
  if you verify compatibility with a newer release, don't try to auto-sync it with the
  floating restore. Also be aware a floating version means a plugin generated today can
  restore a different (newer) LabAPI release than one generated last week, with no
  pinning — that's the deliberate trade-off of "always latest" over reproducibility.

## Code style for anything you write here

- No `//`, `/* */`, or `///` comments unless the user explicitly asks for
  comments/documentation in that request. No comments restating self-explanatory code.
  `EntryPoint.cs`/`Config.cs` are already comment-free — keep them that way and follow
  the same standard for any new file.
- All text embedded in code defaults to **English**: string/log/console messages,
  exception messages, `[Description]`/config text, any user-facing string. Example:
  `Logger.Info("Plugin initialized successfully")`, not a Spanish equivalent.
- This never applies to identifiers the user picked — project name, namespace,
  class/method/property/variable names stay exactly as requested (standard C# casing
  rules aside). Honor an explicit request for a specific piece of text in another
  language.

## How to verify a change (no test suite exists — this is the actual check)

There is no automated test project. Verify any template change by actually
generating a project from it and building that output. Replace `<repo-name>` below
with this repo's actual folder name (the value you'd see in `sourceName`):

```bash
dotnet new uninstall .
dotnet new install .
dotnet new labapi-plugin -n VerifyPlugin -o ../_verify/VerifyPlugin
cd ../_verify/VerifyPlugin
dotnet build
```

Expect `Build succeeded. 0 Warning(s) 0 Error(s)`. If it isn't 0/0, the change broke
either the template's own warning suppressions or something in `EntryPoint.cs`/
`Config.cs`/the `.csproj`.

Notes:
- Re-run `dotnet new uninstall .` + `dotnet new install .` after **any** edit to
  `.template.config/template.json` or the scaffolded files — the template cache
  keys off the installed path and stale content otherwise gets regenerated.
- `dotnet build` also works directly inside `<repo-name>` (the placeholder project
  is itself valid and compilable), but that only proves the *unsubstituted*
  placeholder compiles — it does not exercise symbol substitution. Always additionally
  verify through an actual `dotnet new` generation before calling a change done.
- On Windows, if cleaning up `../_verify` fails with "resource busy", run
  `dotnet build-server shutdown` first, then retry.
- Delete the `../_verify` scratch output when done; it isn't part of the template.