Add more tests to see wtf is going wrong here..

playbooks/tests/check_plugins.yml

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+---
+- name: Check Available Inventory Plugins
+  hosts: localhost
+  gather_facts: false
+  tasks:
+    - name: List all available inventory plugins
+      ansible.builtin.shell: |
+        echo "=== All inventory plugins ==="
+        ansible-doc -t inventory -l 2>/dev/null || echo "ansible-doc failed"
+        echo ""
+        echo "=== Check linode specific plugins ==="
+        ansible-doc -t inventory -l 2>/dev/null | grep -i linode || echo "No linode plugins in doc list"
+        echo ""
+        echo "=== Check plugin files directly ==="
+        find /runner/requirements_collections -name "*.py" -path "*/inventory/*" | grep -i linode || echo "No linode inventory plugins found in files"
+        echo ""
+        echo "=== Collection structure ==="
+        ls -la /runner/requirements_collections/ansible_collections/linode/cloud/plugins/inventory/ 2>/dev/null || echo "Linode inventory directory not found"
+      register: plugin_check
+      ignore_errors: true
+
+    - name: Display plugin check results
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        var: plugin_check.stdout_lines
+
+    - name: Test inventory plugin directly
+      ansible.builtin.shell: |
+        echo "=== Test plugin path ==="
+        export ANSIBLE_COLLECTIONS_PATH="/runner/requirements_collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections"
+        ansible-inventory --list -i /dev/stdin << 'EOF'
+        plugin: linode.cloud.inventory
+        access_token: "fake_token_for_test"
+        EOF
+      register: plugin_test
+      ignore_errors: true
+      environment:
+        LINODE_API_TOKEN: "test"
+
+    - name: Display plugin test results
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: |
+          Plugin test output:
+          {{ plugin_test.stdout }}
+          
+          Plugin test error:
+          {{ plugin_test.stderr }}

playbooks/tests/test_diff_inv_formats.yml

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+# Try 1: Full collection path - inventory/test1.yml
+---
+plugin: ansible_collections.linode.cloud.plugins.inventory.inventory
+access_token: "{{ lookup('env', 'LINODE_API_TOKEN') }}"
+compose:
+  ansible_host: ipv4[0]
+  ansible_user: phlux
+
+---
+# Try 2: Just the collection name - inventory/test2.yml  
+plugin: linode.cloud.inventory
+access_token: "{{ lookup('env', 'LINODE_API_TOKEN') }}"
+compose:
+  ansible_host: ipv4[0]
+  ansible_user: phlux
+
+---
+# Try 3: Community general version - inventory/test3.yml
+plugin: community.general.linode
+api_token: "{{ lookup('env', 'LINODE_API_TOKEN') }}"
+compose:
+  ansible_host: ipv4[0]
+  ansible_user: phlux

playbooks/tests/test_inv_with_collection_path.yml

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+---
+- name: Test Inventory with Collection Paths
+  hosts: localhost
+  gather_facts: false
+  tasks:
+    - name: Test inventory with explicit collection path
+      ansible.builtin.shell: |
+        export ANSIBLE_COLLECTIONS_PATH="/runner/requirements_collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections"
+        export LINODE_API_TOKEN="${LINODE_API_TOKEN}"
+        
+        # Create temp inventory file
+        cat > /tmp/test_inventory.yml << 'EOF'
+        plugin: linode.cloud.inventory
+        access_token: "{{ lookup('env', 'LINODE_API_TOKEN') }}"
+        compose:
+          ansible_host: ipv4[0]
+          ansible_user: phlux
+        EOF
+        
+        echo "=== Testing inventory ==="
+        ansible-inventory -i /tmp/test_inventory.yml --list
+      register: inventory_test
+      ignore_errors: true
+      environment:
+        ANSIBLE_COLLECTIONS_PATH: "/runner/requirements_collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections"
+        LINODE_API_TOKEN: "{{ lookup('env', 'LINODE_API_TOKEN') }}"
+
+    - name: Display inventory test results
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: |
+          Return code: {{ inventory_test.rc }}
+          
+          Stdout:
+          {{ inventory_test.stdout }}
+          
+          Stderr:
+          {{ inventory_test.stderr }}