diff --git a/src/__tests__/plugins/definePlugin.test.ts b/src/__tests__/plugins/definePlugin.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..100135e4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/plugins/definePlugin.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/**
+ * Regression test for a real gap found building a content-editor-kind
+ * plugin (wyre.approvals, 2026-09-08): `definePlugin()` silently dropped
+ * `contentAccess` from the manifest it returns, even though it's a real
+ * field on `DefinePluginConfig`/`PluginManifest` and the CLI's own
+ * `init --kind content-editor` scaffold writes it into the generated
+ * `instatic-plugin.config.ts`. Any plugin declaring a `cms.content.*`
+ * permission then failed manifest validation with "contentAccess is
+ * required..." despite having declared it correctly — the config field
+ * existed, the builder just never copied it into its output.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test'
+import { definePlugin } from '@core/plugin-sdk'
+import { parsePluginManifest } from '@core/plugins/manifest'
+
+describe('definePlugin — contentAccess', () => {
+  it('carries contentAccess through into the returned manifest', () => {
+    const { manifest } = definePlugin({
+      id: 'acme.example',
+      name: 'Example',
+      version: '0.1.0',
+      permissions: ['cms.content.read', 'cms.content.publish'],
+      contentAccess: [{ table: 'pages', modes: ['read', 'publish'] }],
+    })
+
+    expect(manifest.contentAccess).toEqual([{ table: 'pages', modes: ['read', 'publish'] }])
+  })
+
+  it('omits contentAccess entirely when not declared (matches every other optional field)', () => {
+    const { manifest } = definePlugin({
+      id: 'acme.example',
+      name: 'Example',
+      version: '0.1.0',
+      permissions: ['cms.storage'],
+    })
+
+    expect(manifest.contentAccess).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('the resulting manifest passes parsePluginManifest — the actual failure mode this fixes', () => {
+    const { manifest } = definePlugin({
+      id: 'acme.example',
+      name: 'Example',
+      version: '0.1.0',
+      permissions: ['cms.content.read', 'cms.content.publish'],
+      contentAccess: [{ table: 'pages', modes: ['read', 'publish'] }],
+    })
+
+    // Before the fix this threw: "contentAccess is required when any
+    // cms.content.* permission is granted" — parsing the manifest built by
+    // definePlugin() itself failed even though the author had declared
+    // contentAccess correctly in instatic-plugin.config.ts.
+    expect(() => parsePluginManifest(manifest)).not.toThrow()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/core/plugin-sdk/builders/definePlugin.ts b/src/core/plugin-sdk/builders/definePlugin.ts
index 369849fbb..93953a384 100644
--- a/src/core/plugin-sdk/builders/definePlugin.ts
+++ b/src/core/plugin-sdk/builders/definePlugin.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import type {
   PluginPermission,
   PluginResource,
 } from '../types'
+import type { ContentAccessEntry } from '../contentSchemas'
 import type { PluginModuleDefinition } from '../modules'
 import type { PluginPackContents } from './definePack'
 import {
@@ -83,6 +84,16 @@ export interface DefinePluginConfig {
    */
   resources?: PluginResource[]
 
+  /**
+   * Per-table allowlist for the `cms.content.*` SDK surface. Required
+   * (non-empty) when `permissions` includes any of `cms.content.read` /
+   * `cms.content.write` / `cms.content.publish` / `cms.content.delete` —
+   * `parsePluginManifest` fails closed otherwise. Each entry's `modes[]`
+   * must be covered by the matching `cms.content.*` permission (a `write`
+   * mode with no `cms.content.write` permission is rejected at parse time).
+   */
+  contentAccess?: ContentAccessEntry[]
+
   /**
    * Admin pages registered by the plugin (markdown / map / resource / app).
    * Auto-deduped against the page id.
@@ -188,6 +199,9 @@ export function definePlugin(config: DefinePluginConfig): PluginDefinition {
     ...(config.frontend !== undefined
       ? { frontend: { assets: config.frontend.assets.map((asset) => ({ ...asset })) } }
       : {}),
+    ...(config.contentAccess
+      ? { contentAccess: config.contentAccess.map((entry) => ({ ...entry, modes: [...entry.modes] })) }
+      : {}),
   }
   return {
     manifest,