Run manifest

The mere.run/plugin-run.v1 manifest is the durable state record for a plugin workflow. Its authoritative shape is contracts/run-manifest.v1.schema.json.

Lifecycle states

A run begins as planned, moves through execution, and finishes in a success or failure state. Cleanup status is recorded separately because a failed workflow can still clean up successfully—and a successful provider workflow can still need cleanup attention.

Identity and timing

The manifest records a validated run ID, contract version, timestamps, plugin identity, and recipe identity. Run IDs begin with a letter or digit and contain only letters, digits, ., _, or -.

Local execution

The local section records input paths, output paths, resolved commands, and workflow-specific controls needed to understand or reproduce the run.

Provider state

Provider plugins record requested settings and the created resource identity. That identity must be persisted immediately after resource creation so cleanup can recover after interruption.

Steps

Ordered steps capture the plan and execution status. Plugins update these as the workflow progresses rather than relying on ephemeral terminal logs.

Artifacts

Artifact items describe outputs such as images, masks, media, JSON, models, or reports. Successful local artifacts are hashed; remote artifact fetches can also produce an artifact-bundle.v1 inventory.

Cleanup

Local-only plugins record a no-op or skipped remote cleanup. Provider plugins record termination attempts and results. cleanup must be safe to invoke more than once against the same manifest.

Operational rule

Never hand-edit a provider resource ID out of a manifest to make a run appear clean. Preserve the real state, invoke cleanup, and keep any failure details for operator follow-up.