Basically the Authen::SASL module gathers some info. When ->client_new is called the plugin is called to create a $conn object. At that point it should query the Authen::SASL object for mechanisms and callbacks Properties are then set on the $conn object by calling $conn->property Then client_start is called Currently client_start returns the mechanism name and the initial string, but I am thinking about changing that to just the initial string. The mecanism is avaliabe via a method call anyway. Then we call client_step with a challenge string to get a response string. Quite simple really I think. So the plugin just needs to support client_new client_start client_step property # set/get for properties mechanism # returns the name of the chosen mechanism service # the service name passed to client_new host # the hostname passed to client_new properties and callbacks are passed by name, so you will need to convert them to numbers. There are three types of call back user => 'fred' When the user callback is called, it will just return the string 'fred' user => \&subname When the user callback is called, &subname will be called and it will be passed the $conn object as the first argument. user => [ \&subname, 1, 2, 3] When the user callback is called, &subname will be called. It will be passed the $conn object, followed by all other values in the array