Blog post: OFT plugins

.github/workflows/gh-pages.yml

@@ -7,17 +7,17 @@ on:
   pull_request:
 
 env:
-  HUGO_VERSION: "0.159.2"
+  HUGO_VERSION: "0.168.0"
 
 jobs:
   build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-26.04
     concurrency:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
     permissions:
       contents: read
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           submodules: true  # Fetch Hugo themes (true OR recursive)
           fetch-depth: 0    # Fetch all history for .GitInfo and .Lastmod
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     if: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
     needs: build
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-26.04
     permissions:
       pages: write    # to deploy to Pages
       id-token: write # to verify the deployment originates from an appropriate source

content/posts/2026/10/18/openfasttrace-4.11.0-and-gradle-plugin-3.5.0.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+---
+title: "OpenFastTrace 4.11.0 and Gradle Plugin 3.5.0: Plugins Everywhere"
+date: 2026-10-18
+draft: false
+author: "christoph"
+---
+
+Today we released [OpenFastTrace 4.11.0](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/releases/tag/4.11.0) and [OpenFastTrace Gradle Plugin 3.5.0](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace-gradle/releases/tag/3.5.0). Both releases share one theme: making OFT extension plugins easier to use.
+
+## OpenFastTrace 4.11.0
+
+Until now, extension plugins had to be installed in OFT's predefined plugin directory. With [#610](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/610), embedders can now pass plugin JARs to OFT at runtime through the Java API:
+
+```java
+Oft.builder().addPlugin("asciidoc", pluginJarFile).build();
+```
+
+This means plugins resolved through an external dependency mechanism — a build tool, a container image, or your own classloader — no longer need to touch the plugin directory at all.
+
+Further changes in 4.11.0:
+
+* [#612](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/612): The source tag importer now supports Visual Basic (`.vb`) source files.
+* [#423](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/423): Fixed a tag parsing inconsistency between the Markdown and reStructuredText importers.
+* [#574](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/574): Fixed invalid HTML when inline code contains underscores.
+* [#401](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/401): Added a regression test for an RST parser corner case.
+* [#605](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/issues/605): The user guide now has automatic lateral navigation.
+
+## Gradle Plugin 3.5.0
+
+The Gradle plugin follows up with [#77](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace-gradle/issues/77): OFT extension plugins can now be declared as build dependencies via the new `pluginDependencies` property. The declared artifacts are added to the classpath used by requirement collection and tracing:
+
+```groovy
+plugins {
+  id 'org.itsallcode.openfasttrace' version '3.5.0'
+}
+
+repositories {
+  mavenCentral()
+}
+
+requirementTracing {
+  pluginDependencies = ['org.itsallcode:openfasttrace-asciidoc-plugin:1.0.0']
+}
+```
+
+With this in place, a build that traces AsciiDoc requirements is just one dependency away — no manual copying of JARs into a plugin directory.
+
+Note that these are OpenFastTrace extension plugins, not Gradle build plugins. Plugin JARs must provide the appropriate OpenFastTrace service descriptors and should not include a duplicate incompatible `openfasttrace-api` dependency. Plugin discovery remains additive to OFT's built-in plugin directory.
+
+See the [Gradle plugin user guide](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace-gradle#using-openfasttrace-plugins) for details.
+
+As always, the releases are available on [GitHub](https://github.com/itsallcode/openfasttrace/releases) and the Gradle plugin on the [Gradle Plugin Portal](https://plugins.gradle.org/plugin/org.itsallcode.openfasttrace). Feedback and contributions are welcome.