What to build with PAPER

Mod idea	Minimum family	Capabilities	Cost profile
Reload/status HUD	Base	RuntimeState, FrameCallbacks	Cheap transitions
Hand/finger capture inspector	Base	NativeHandPose, FrameCallbacks	Existing capture
Weapon classification tool	Reload observation	ReloadObservations, FrameCallbacks	Passive catalog
Attachment/part geometry exporter	Reload observation	plus ReloadEvidenceGeometry	Larger bounded copies
Live animation viewer	Reload animation	ReloadAnimationTelemetry, FrameCallbacks	Passive/live only
Exact authored clip analyzer	Reload animation	ReloadAnimationEvidence, FrameCallbacks	Policy-gated preharvest
Magazine/slide/bolt event mod	Reload stage	ReloadStageIdentification, FrameCallbacks	Derived state
Pose compatibility debugger	Native pose	NativePosePipeline, FrameCallbacks	Read-only
Physical-part path consumer	Motion catalog	WeaponMotionCatalog, FrameCallbacks	Cache/compile dependent
Manipulation progress mechanic	Manipulation	WeaponManipulationTelemetry, FrameCallbacks	Read-only projection
Motion authoring/diagnostics UI	Motion diagnostics	WeaponMotionDiagnostics, FrameCallbacks	Observes optional work
Explicit authoring capture tool	Development capture	DevelopmentCaptureControl, FrameCallbacks	INI + lease gated

PAPER's native-pose records support inspection and compatibility decisions, not generic pose writes or IK commands. Weapon-motion records describe and project part motion; they do not drive a scene node. Use animation authority only to coordinate an animation system your plugin already owns.

See consumer recipes for concrete call sequences and development capture before enabling any high-cost authoring path.