Microkernel Pattern Guide

Microkernel (Plug-in) Architecture

A minimal core plus independent plug-ins, selected through a registry: extend the system by adding a plug-in, never by editing the core.

Essentials

• Core + plug-ins + registry - the minimal core holds the least; features are registered plug-ins, see references/core-plugins-registry.md
• Open/closed - add a plug-in and register it once; never edit a central switch, see references/core-plugins-registry.md
• Capabilities, fail-closed - plug-ins self-declare guarantees; the core gates generically and securely-by-default, see references/capabilities-fail-closed.md
• Bind as late as cost allows - compile vs load vs run-time selection picks the mechanism, see references/binding-time.md
• Wire at the root, don't locate - inject the resolved plug-in; passing the registry into business logic is the service-locator anti-pattern, see references/wiring.md
• Built on ports and adapters - plug-ins are adapters behind contracts; for the port substrate see hexagonal-pattern-guide

Gotchas

• A microkernel is not "just a hexagon". It adds an open, registered plug-in set plus extensibility machinery; ports/adapters is only the substrate (hexagonal-pattern-guide).
• Passing the registry into business logic is the service-locator anti-pattern: hidden dependencies, runtime not-found errors, untestable; resolve at the root and inject the plug-in.
• A churning plug-in contract forces edits across every plug-in: the open/closed violation wearing an interface; keep the contract narrow and versioned.
• The capability gate must name no concrete plug-in: fail-closed on a self-declared guarantee, or a new plug-in can violate an invariant silently.
• The OS microkernel and this architecture pattern share a name, not a definition: keep the two senses separate, see references/metapatterns-lens.md.

Example

// composition root: the only importer of concrete plug-ins
reg := Registry{Backends: map[string]Backend{
	"s3": s3.New(), "gcs": gcs.New(), // adding "azure" = one leaf + one line
}}
b, ok := reg.Backends[kind] // open/closed: no central switch to edit
if !ok { return ErrUnknownBackend }
if !b.Guarantees().Has(Durable) { return ErrPolicy } // fail-closed, names no plug-in

Progressive Disclosure

• Read references/core-plugins-registry.md - Load when designing the core, plug-in contract, and registry (open/closed)
• Read references/capabilities-fail-closed.md - Load when gating plug-ins by self-declared capabilities, secure-by-default
• Read references/binding-time.md - Load when deciding when a plug-in is selected (compile/load/run-time)
• Read references/wiring.md - Load when wiring plug-ins (dependency injection vs service locator, lazy activation, contract versioning)
• Read references/metapatterns-lens.md - Load when relating microkernel to hexagonal/middleware/mesh (one non-canonical synthesis, with caveats)