# elizaOS Development Discord - 2025-02-20

## Overall Discussion Highlights

### Architecture & Technical Design
- **Dual-LLM Architecture**: ElizaOS uses two separate LLMs - one to determine if a response is needed, and another to generate the actual response content
- **RAG Implementation**: Retrieval-Augmented Generation is implemented locally (typically with PostgreSQL) and operates independently from LLM providers
- **Deployment Options**: AWS with SST (infrastructure as code framework) was discussed as a deployment method
- **Repository Structure**: Clarification on the difference between `eliza` (full development environment) and `eliza-starter` (simpler turnkey solution for deploying agents)
- **Modular Agent Design**: Discussion about building modular agents with specialized sub-agents sharing memory through RAG, with warnings about increased costs from multiple LLM calls

### Plugin System & Registry
- **Plugin Registry Development**: Jin shared a prototype of a plugin registry website (elizaos-plugin-registry.netlify.app/plugins)
- **Plugin Showcase**: PR #3620 was submitted to implement a plugin showcase page in the documentation
- **Plugin Contribution Process**: Plugins should be submitted to the elizaos-plugins repository rather than the main elizaOS repo
- **Registry-Based Discovery**: The system is moving toward a registry-based plugin discovery model with upcoming command-line tools

### Package Management
- **Dependency Management Improvements**: PR #3609 addresses dependency management, making it more strict with pnpm to ensure each package explicitly declares its dependencies
- **Maintainability Focus**: Changes prevent packages from implicitly using dependencies declared in other packages

### Documentation Efforts
- **Documentation Structure**: Jin is working on enhancing docs organization, particularly for plugins
- **Missing Documentation**: Identified need for "How to Use a Plugin" page and better flow in documentation
- **Installation Complexity**: Discussion about simplifying installation documentation and reducing configuration complexity

## Key Questions & Answers

**Q: What is the difference between eliza and eliza-starter?**  
A: Eliza-starter is meant for when you don't need plugin development; it's for building agents and plug-and-play different plugins, whereas eliza is all development in one massive repo.

**Q: How can a list of URLs be loaded into the knowledge of the agent in v0.1.9?**  
A: Knowledge wasn't removed; characters in the folder still have knowledge in the form of text strings, but the default character file has no knowledge section.

**Q: Is having multiple sub-agents with similar traits but different actions/plugins a good approach for scalability?**  
A: It uses more LLM calls (more costly) but agentic loops can improve output through iteration; RAG knowledge provides unified memory across multiple agents.

**Q: Is ElizaOS using LLMs for text generation but traditional pattern matching for routing?**  
A: No, ElizaOS uses two LLMs - one to decide if it should respond and another for what to say.

**Q: Can agents load multiple plugins?**  
A: Yes, agents can load multiple plugins simultaneously.

**Q: How to get better images/descriptions for plugins?**  
A: A standard info file is recommended, containing basic information like title, description, and tags.

**Q: I want to contribute a new plugin. Where should I submit it?**  
A: Submit to the registry repo (elizaos-plugins), not the main elizaOS repository.

## Community Help & Collaboration

- **Modular Agent Architecture**: Odilitime advised Julian Neuss on using multiple specialized sub-agents, explaining that RAG provides unified memory across agents but warning about increased costs and potential infinite loops

- **Knowledge Migration**: Odilitime helped AlexOP303 with confusion about the knowledge section missing in character files when migrating to v0.1.9, clarifying that knowledge wasn't removed

- **Documentation Structure**: Jin acknowledged gin_chan's confusion about plugin documentation flow and missing pages, agreeing to improve documentation structure

- **Installation Simplification**: SotoAlt | BOSSU suggested to jin that focusing on eliza-starter would provide simpler installation and a smaller .env file for new users

- **Plugin Information Standardization**: W3_Bounty suggested to jin that using a standard info file with title, description, and tags would be a good approach for plugin metadata

- **Dependency Management**: NaN explained to lefrog how PR #3609 makes dependency management stricter and more maintainable, potentially addressing unmet dependencies issues

## Action Items

### Technical
- Review and merge PR #3561 (Mentioned by Odilitime)
- Review and merge PR #3609 for dependency management improvements (Mentioned by NaN)
- Review and merge PR #3618 for small bug fix (Mentioned by NaN)
- Implement command line tools to list and install plugins from registry (Mentioned by Odilitime)
- Build and run using `pnpm docker` command (Mentioned by Odilitime)
- Extend plugin registry format to include descriptions and image URLs (Mentioned by jin)
- Research standard practices for package metadata in package managers (Mentioned by Odilitime)
- Submit new plugin contribution to the elizaos-plugins repository (Mentioned by vincent)

### Documentation
- Create a "How to Use a Plugin" page before the "How to Build an API Plugin" page (Mentioned by gin_chan)
- Consider adding a design philosophy or vision page (Mentioned by jin)
- Improve the core overview page with flow charts and icons for each component (Mentioned by witch and SotoAlt | BOSSU)
- Reorganize documentation structure, possibly nesting actions/providers/evaluators under plugins (Mentioned by jin)
- Simplify installation documentation and reduce unnecessary configuration information (Mentioned by jin)
- Document the dual-LLM architecture of ElizaOS (Mentioned by Odilitime)
- Create standard info file format for plugins with title, description, and tags (Mentioned by W3_Bounty)

### Feature
- Implement plugin showcase page in documentation (PR #3620) (Mentioned by jin)
- Develop plugin registry system to showcase ElizaOS plugins with proper metadata (Mentioned by jin)
- Trust-building/progression mechanism with users (Mentioned by lefrog)