Could the early access Smart Plugins be distributed separately?

[samhiatt]

While trying to build obsidian-smart-connections from source I came across the error Could not resolve "smart-plugins-obsidian/utils.js"
Ah, so this must be related to the early access channel, right? This brought up some questions/concerns that I've been meaning to ask you about.

• Do I have to join the early access channel in order to be able to build this project from source?
  (I'm unable to contribute financially at this time, but I'd still like to contribute code / bug fixes.)
• The "Sign in" button for Smart Plugins in the settings page seems to undermine the "local-first" value.
  Proposed solution: Could the early access plugins be distributed separately as independent plugins?

Thanks for your ongoing work, Brian. Looking forward to collaborating some more.