The tiers

A plugin earns the highest tier it actually satisfies. The gate reports that tier plus a blocked burndown: the exact requirement ids standing between it and the next tier. The burndown is the to-do list, not just a grade.

Bronze (Universal)

The plugin parses and self-describes. A library.json with the required fields, a root AGENTS.md, valid skill frontmatter, names that match directories, resolvable reference links, an instruction budget, and structurally valid mermaid blocks. Checks U1 through U9, U11, U12.

Silver (Convergent)

Cross-agent shape. Declared agent-targets, a component prefix carried by every component, a components index that mirrors disk in both directions, a chain contract when chaining is used, workflow steps that reference real skills, and a native manifest for each declared target. Checks S1 through S8.

Gold (Advanced)

The self-proving bar. Hooks documented, self-hosting CI that passes, eval and regression coverage for chains and hooks, generated INDEX and manifests that are drift-checked, RELEASE-NOTES, and a deprecation policy. Checks G1 through G10.

The milestone-validity model

A plugin declares a tier; the gate enforces errors only up to that declared ceiling. A Gold-tier check on a plugin that declares Silver does not fail CI - it appears in the burndown as a Gold to-do. That is how a library climbs tiers without ever shipping a red gate: it satisfies its declared tier today, and the burndown shows the road up.