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Using Features Still in the Forge

Features in the Feature Forge are real and usable, but they stay off until you ask for them. This guide covers how to turn one on, what to expect while it is in preview, and how it eventually graduates.

1. Find What’s Available

Section titled “1. Find What’s Available”

Check What’s in the Forge for the current preview features. Preview commands and flags are also marked with a preview badge on their reference pages.

2. Turn It On

Section titled “2. Turn It On”

Preview features are opt-in by design; a new plugin version never switches one on for you. How you opt in depends on the feature:

  • A preview flag (for example --farm on /ca:sprint) is enabled by passing the flag when you run the command. Some flags need environment variables set first; What’s in the Forge lists the required and optional variables for each preview feature (for --farm, FARM_API_KEY is required). See Run an autonomous sprint for the full walkthrough.
  • A preview command (for example live transcript pruning) is opted into through an environment variable, not just by running the command. Pruning stays dormant until you set CODEARBITER_PRUNE (start with dry); What’s in the Forge lists the modes.
  • A preview plugin is a separate sibling plugin you install on its own. ca-pi is installed from a pinned Git tag, and ca-sandbox is installed from the marketplace. Installing ca-pi opts into its global rich footer; repository-aware governance still requires the normal arbiter: enabled marker and affirmative Pi project trust. Each plugin carries its own prerequisites.

3. What to Expect While It’s in Preview

Section titled “3. What to Expect While It’s in Preview”

A preview feature ships dormant and runs the same gates as everything else when you do use it: the commit gate, the reviewer chain, and every hard stop are unchanged. What is not guaranteed is stability of behavior. A preview feature’s interface or output may change between releases while it earns its evidence, so do not build an unattended workflow on one until it is promoted.

4. How It Graduates

Section titled “4. How It Graduates”

A preview feature becomes stable (on by default) only when real-world evidence shows it holds up. That promotion is a deliberate, recorded decision in the project’s decision log, not a calendar event and not something the plugin flips on its own. Until then it stays in the Forge.

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