Dynamic packages

A dynamic package is an extension Oda writes and runs inside one chat. A package comes with up to two halves: a browser half that adds interface to DataMind Oda, and a host half that does the work behind it. This page covers running, approving, stopping and removing packages. Writing the halves is on The browser half of a dynamic package and The host half of a dynamic package; looking inside the extension runtime is on Inspect and manage extensions.

Run and approve a package

Everything starts from the plugins panel in the sidebar footer, above Settings.

1. Open the panel and find the package's row.
2. Choose Run to start its current version. Once you pick a different version, the same action reads Update and replaces the current version with that one.
3. If the package has a browser half, it may ask for your decision before loading. The panel opens itself when a request arrives and offers Allow this version only, Allow future versions of this plugin or Decline.
4. The package's own interface appears in the chat, inside the card of its latest run.

A few things to know while you work:

• Approvals are window-wide: any open window can answer a request, and the first answer wins. You do not need to be in the window that started the run to answer.
• Running a package yourself from the panel needs no approval: your own action is the decision.
• Every control on the panel is disabled while an action is in progress.
• A package runs one version at a time: asking again while it runs joins the run already in progress.
• After a page reload, run the package again from the panel to load its browser half back into this page.

The plugins panel

The plugins panel sits above Settings in the sidebar footer, and it is part of Oda's developer surface: it appears while Developer tools is enabled. Its badge counts the packages that run plus the ones that wait for you, and highlights while an approval is pending. With nothing defined and nothing running, the panel keeps out of the way; open it and its list reads No plugins defined yet.

Open it to see every package the app knows, grouped under This session and Other sessions, with the current chat's packages first. Each row reports a status:

A package with no browser half needs no page at all: it runs host-only and reads Running.

The panel also tells you what state the list itself is in:

• While it reads the list it shows Reading…, never an early empty list.
• An empty list reads No plugins defined yet.
• If the list cannot be read, the panel shows Reading the plugin inventory failed: followed by the reason, and keeps the rows it already had.
• While packages run, a count line reads {count} running.

Stop and remove a package

From a panel row you can end a package's run in two ways:

• Stop ends the running package and keeps it defined, so it stays ready to run again.
• Remove stops it and forgets the package and its versions.

Both gestures leave a note in the chat, so the assistant knows what happened: that the package was stopped (its versions remain defined) or removed (it no longer exists). Declining tells the chat you rejected the request, and not to ask again unless you ask. A completed run is reported to the chat too.

The cards in the chat follow along:

• When a newer run exists, an earlier card reads A newer run card is available below, and its status reads Newer run available.
• After removal, the card reads This package no longer exists.

The cards in the chat

Every step leaves a card that replays the same way later:

• The definition appears as a Register Plugin card, a record only. It carries the package's name and purpose, opens with Host and Client source tabs (the Client tab first when the package has client code), and offers Copy (Copied once copied). It expands only when there is source or output to show, and Inspect, revealed on hover or focus, exposes the raw call and result. A missing purpose reads (no purpose given), and the card points to the panel for run controls.
• The run appears as a Run Plugin card, or Update Plugin when it starts a different version. The card of the newest run hosts the package's own interface.
• Stopping and removing leave Stop Plugin and Remove Plugin cards with the package's output.

Versions and updates

A package can hold several versions.

• Run starts the current version; when a different one is picked, the action reads Update and replaces the current version with the newer one.
• The Version picker marks the change in progress: Current: names the version in use, and Next: names the version on its way.
• Retry and Roll back sit beside the transition.
• If an update fails, the package keeps running its current version, and the version that failed stays recorded as the next one.

Scope, trust and limits

• It belongs to one chat. A package is defined and run inside a single chat, and other chats do not see it. A package is never stored: restarting Oda clears every definition, though each chat keeps its cards.
• It is not a plugin bundle. Installed bundles are part of the installation and survive restarts; a package lives only in its chat (Plugins and bundles covers bundles).
• A successful run is not proof of a rendered interface. The interface renders after the run reports success, and a render problem shows against the package in the panel and is reported to the chat that owns the run.
• Waiting has no clock. A package with a browser half suspends where no page is connected, and a waiting request has no timeout. The only time bound is the host half's first synchronous step, five seconds by default; code that awaits is not cut off by it.

Questions, answered

Where do I manage a package once Oda has defined it?

In the plugins panel: it sits above Settings in the sidebar footer and carries run controls on every row. It lists what runs in this chat first, under This session, then everything else under Other sessions.

What do the labels in the plugins panel mean?

Ready means defined and idle; Awaiting approval means a run needs your decision; Client ready to activate means the browser half is not loaded in this page; Running covers both host-only runs and runs with the interface loaded; Run failed is a failed run; Removed marks a package that was removed but still shows in the history.

How do I approve a package that is waiting for me?

Open the plugins panel (it opens itself when a request arrives) and choose Allow this version only, Allow future versions of this plugin or Decline. Any open window can answer, and the first answer wins. Declining tells the chat you rejected the request.

What is the difference between Stop and Remove?

Stop ends the run and keeps the package defined, ready to run again. Remove stops it and forgets the package and its versions. Both leave a note in the chat so the assistant knows what happened.

Why does a package show Client ready to activate?

The package has a browser half that the page you are looking at has not loaded. That is normal after a page reload, or when the run was carried out from another window. Open the panel in this window and choose Run to load it back into this page.

Can someone approve a package from another window?

Yes, by design. A request is window-wide: every open window sees it, any of them can answer, and the first answer wins. Once it is answered, the other windows' buttons drop away.

Do packages survive a restart, or reach my other chats?

No. A package belongs to the chat that defined it and lives only in the running app: other chats do not see it, and restarting Oda clears it. When a package is needed again, it is defined and run again; the old chat keeps its cards.

How long can a package wait or run?

There is no timeout on a package that waits: one that needs a page suspends until a page answers, and an unattended run stays waiting until the asking turn is cancelled. The only time bound is the host half's first synchronous step, five seconds by default; code that awaits is not cut off by it.

Is it safe to run a package that Oda wrote?

Only if you trust what it does. The sandbox keeps a package away from Oda's internals but is not a security boundary; treat a package like commands you run in the terminal, and run only packages you are comfortable executing.

What happens if an update fails?

The package keeps running its current version. The version that failed stays recorded as the next version, and the transition stays in the Version picker so you can retry or roll back.