diff --git a/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/RightPanel.tsx b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/RightPanel.tsx
index 205ea2c1..220b4682 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/RightPanel.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/RightPanel.tsx
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ import {
   type RightPanelSectionModule,
   type RightPanelTabModule,
 } from "./registry"
+import { loadRightPanelPluginManifests } from "./plugin-manifest"
+import { RIGHT_PANEL_PLUGIN_MANIFESTS } from "./plugins"
 import { CORE_STATUS_SECTION_ITEMS } from "./tabs/status-sections"
 
 const LazyGitChangesTab = lazy(() => import("./tabs/GitChangesTab"))
@@ -120,6 +122,10 @@ const RightPanel: Component<RightPanelProps> = (props) => {
     parseRightPanelCustomization(readClientLayoutValue(RIGHT_PANEL_CUSTOMIZATION_STORAGE_KEY)),
   )
   const [draggedTabId, setDraggedTabId] = createSignal<string | null>(null)
+  const rightPanelPluginRuntime = loadRightPanelPluginManifests(RIGHT_PANEL_PLUGIN_MANIFESTS, { instanceId: props.instanceId })
+  onCleanup(() => {
+    rightPanelPluginRuntime.unload()
+  })
 
   const [browserPath, setBrowserPath] = createSignal(".")
   const [browserEntries, setBrowserEntries] = createSignal<FileNode[] | null>(null)
@@ -814,6 +820,7 @@ const RightPanel: Component<RightPanelProps> = (props) => {
         },
       ],
     },
+    ...rightPanelPluginRuntime.modules,
   ])
 
   const allRightPanelTabs = createMemo(() => collectRightPanelItems<RightPanelTabModule>(rightPanelModules(), "tabs"))
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.test.ts b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f31d508c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict"
+import { describe, it } from "node:test"
+
+import { loadRightPanelPluginManifests, type RightPanelPluginManifest } from "./plugin-manifest"
+
+const manifest = (id: string, events: string[]): RightPanelPluginManifest => ({
+  id,
+  tabs: [{ id: `${id}-tab`, labelKey: id, order: 10, render: () => undefined as any }],
+  lifecycle: {
+    onLoad: (context) => {
+      events.push(`${id}:load:${context.instanceId}`)
+      return () => events.push(`${id}:cleanup`)
+    },
+    onUnload: () => events.push(`${id}:unload`),
+  },
+})
+
+describe("right panel plugin manifests", () => {
+  it("loads modules and unloads lifecycle hooks in reverse order", () => {
+    const events: string[] = []
+    const runtime = loadRightPanelPluginManifests([manifest("first", events), manifest("second", events)], { instanceId: "abc" })
+
+    assert.deepEqual(runtime.modules.map((entry) => entry.id), ["first", "second"])
+    assert.deepEqual(events, ["first:load:abc", "second:load:abc"])
+    assert.deepEqual(runtime.unload(), [])
+    assert.deepEqual(events, ["first:load:abc", "second:load:abc", "second:cleanup", "second:unload", "first:cleanup", "first:unload"])
+  })
+
+  it("skips duplicate ids without blocking other plugins", () => {
+    const events: string[] = []
+    const runtime = loadRightPanelPluginManifests([manifest("plugin", events), manifest("plugin", events), manifest("other", events)], {
+      instanceId: "abc",
+    })
+
+    assert.deepEqual(runtime.modules.map((entry) => entry.id), ["plugin", "other"])
+    assert.equal(runtime.errors.length, 1)
+    assert.equal(runtime.errors[0]?.pluginId, "plugin")
+  })
+
+  it("skips plugins that fail during load", () => {
+    const runtime = loadRightPanelPluginManifests(
+      [
+        { id: "bad", lifecycle: { onLoad: () => { throw new Error("boom") } } },
+        { id: "good", tabs: [{ id: "good-tab", labelKey: "good", order: 10, render: () => undefined as any }] },
+      ],
+      { instanceId: "abc" },
+    )
+
+    assert.deepEqual(runtime.modules.map((entry) => entry.id), ["good"])
+    assert.equal(runtime.errors.length, 1)
+    assert.equal(runtime.errors[0]?.pluginId, "bad")
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.ts b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6d7b293
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugin-manifest.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import type { RightPanelModule, RightPanelSectionModule, RightPanelTabModule } from "./registry"
+
+export type RightPanelPluginCleanup = () => void
+
+export interface RightPanelPluginContext {
+  instanceId: string
+}
+
+export interface RightPanelPluginLifecycle {
+  onLoad?: (context: RightPanelPluginContext) => void | RightPanelPluginCleanup
+  onUnload?: (context: RightPanelPluginContext) => void
+}
+
+export interface RightPanelPluginManifest {
+  id: string
+  tabs?: readonly RightPanelTabModule[]
+  statusSections?: readonly RightPanelSectionModule[]
+  lifecycle?: RightPanelPluginLifecycle
+}
+
+export interface RightPanelPluginLoadError {
+  pluginId: string
+  phase: "load" | "unload"
+  error: unknown
+}
+
+export interface LoadedRightPanelPlugins {
+  modules: RightPanelModule[]
+  errors: RightPanelPluginLoadError[]
+  unload: () => RightPanelPluginLoadError[]
+}
+
+export function loadRightPanelPluginManifests(
+  manifests: readonly RightPanelPluginManifest[],
+  context: RightPanelPluginContext,
+): LoadedRightPanelPlugins {
+  const modules: RightPanelModule[] = []
+  const cleanupStack: { manifest: RightPanelPluginManifest; cleanup?: RightPanelPluginCleanup }[] = []
+  const errors: RightPanelPluginLoadError[] = []
+  const seen = new Set<string>()
+
+  for (const manifest of manifests) {
+    if (!manifest.id || seen.has(manifest.id)) {
+      errors.push({ pluginId: manifest.id || "<missing>", phase: "load", error: new Error("Duplicate or missing right panel plugin id") })
+      continue
+    }
+    seen.add(manifest.id)
+
+    try {
+      const cleanup = manifest.lifecycle?.onLoad?.(context)
+      modules.push({ id: manifest.id, tabs: manifest.tabs, statusSections: manifest.statusSections })
+      cleanupStack.push({ manifest, cleanup: typeof cleanup === "function" ? cleanup : undefined })
+    } catch (error) {
+      errors.push({ pluginId: manifest.id, phase: "load", error })
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    modules,
+    errors,
+    unload: () => {
+      const unloadErrors: RightPanelPluginLoadError[] = []
+      for (const { manifest, cleanup } of cleanupStack.slice().reverse()) {
+        try {
+          cleanup?.()
+          manifest.lifecycle?.onUnload?.(context)
+        } catch (error) {
+          unloadErrors.push({ pluginId: manifest.id, phase: "unload", error })
+        }
+      }
+      return unloadErrors
+    },
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugins.ts b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugins.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bda52c73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/components/instance/shell/right-panel/plugins.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import type { RightPanelPluginManifest } from "./plugin-manifest"
+
+export const RIGHT_PANEL_PLUGIN_MANIFESTS: readonly RightPanelPluginManifest[] = []