diff --git a/test/bash_it/bash_it.bats b/test/bash_it/bash_it.bats
index 6867c7fb..418719b4 100644
--- a/test/bash_it/bash_it.bats
+++ b/test/bash_it/bash_it.bats
@@ -1,20 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bats
 
 load ../test_helper
-load ../../lib/composure
 
 function local_setup {
   setup_test_fixture
-
-  # Copy the test fixture to the Bash-it folder
-  if command -v rsync &> /dev/null
-  then
-    rsync -a "$BASH_IT/test/fixtures/bash_it/" "$BASH_IT/"
-  else
-    find "$BASH_IT/test/fixtures/bash_it" \
-      -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 \
-      -exec cp -r {} "$BASH_IT/" \;
-  fi
+  copy_test_fixtures
 }
 
 @test "bash-it: verify that the test fixture is available" {
diff --git a/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-nonzero.bash b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-nonzero.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dad3bfaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-nonzero.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+about-plugin 'fixture plugin for testing plugins that exit with non-0 exit codes'
+
+printf 'exit-nonzero: stdout message\n'
+printf 'exit-nonzero: stderr message\n' >&2
+
+exit 123
diff --git a/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-zero.bash b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-zero.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87e168a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/exit-zero.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+about-plugin 'fixture plugin for testing plugins that exit with a 0 exit code'
+
+printf 'exit-zero: stdout message\n'
+printf 'exit-zero: stderr message\n' >&2
+
+exit 0
diff --git a/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-nonzero.bash b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-nonzero.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46dcc91e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-nonzero.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+about-plugin 'fixture plugin for testing plugins that return with a non-0 return code'
+
+printf 'return-nonzero: stdout message\n'
+printf 'return-nonzero: stderr message\n' >&2
+
+return 123
diff --git a/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-zero.bash b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-zero.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79df15dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/return-zero.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+about-plugin 'fixture plugin for testing plugins that return with a 0 return code'
+
+printf 'return-zero: stdout message\n'
+printf 'return-zero: stderr message\n' >&2
+
+return 0
diff --git a/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/zz.plugin.bash b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/zz.plugin.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b7b1581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/bash_it/plugins/available/zz.plugin.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+about-plugin 'here to load last. a canary test for silent failures.'
+
+printf 'You found me!'
diff --git a/test/lib/reloader.bats b/test/lib/reloader.bats
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0cb736c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/reloader.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+load ../test_helper
+
+function local_setup {
+  setup_test_fixture
+  copy_test_fixtures
+
+  # log everything to verify output
+  BASH_IT_LOG_LEVEL=3
+}
+
+@test "reloader: exit-nonzero" {
+  # use bash-it to enable the fixture
+  load "$BASH_IT/bash_it.sh"
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin exit-nonzero
+  assert_success
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin zz
+  assert_success
+
+  run source "${BASH_IT}/scripts/reloader.bash"
+  assert_success
+}
+
+@test "reloader: exit-zero" {
+  # use bash-it to enable the fixture
+  load "$BASH_IT/bash_it.sh"
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin exit-zero
+  assert_success
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin zz
+  assert_success
+
+  run source "${BASH_IT}/scripts/reloader.bash"
+  assert_success
+}
+
+@test "reloader: return-nonzero" {
+  # use bash-it to enable the fixture
+  load "$BASH_IT/bash_it.sh"
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin return-nonzero
+  assert_success
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin zz
+  assert_success
+
+  run source "${BASH_IT}/scripts/reloader.bash"
+  assert_success
+
+  assert_line 'DEBUG: bash: return-nonzero.bash: Loading component...'
+  assert_line 'return-nonzero: stdout message'
+  assert_line 'return-nonzero: stderr message'
+
+  assert_line 'DEBUG: plugin: zz: Loading component...'
+  assert_line 'You found me!'
+}
+
+@test "reloader: return-zero" {
+  # use bash-it to enable the fixture
+  load "$BASH_IT/bash_it.sh"
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin return-zero
+  assert_success
+
+  run bash-it enable plugin zz
+  assert_success
+
+  run source "${BASH_IT}/scripts/reloader.bash"
+  assert_success
+
+  assert_line 'DEBUG: bash: return-zero.bash: Loading component...'
+  assert_line 'return-zero: stdout message'
+  assert_line 'return-zero: stderr message'
+
+  assert_line 'DEBUG: plugin: zz: Loading component...'
+  assert_line 'You found me!'
+}
diff --git a/test/run b/test/run
index 88202916..c2fe080e 100755
--- a/test/run
+++ b/test/run
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+
 test_directory="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 bats_executable="${test_directory}/../test_lib/bats-core/bin/bats"
 
 git submodule init && git submodule update
 
 if [ -z "${BASH_IT}" ]; then
-  declare BASH_IT
-  BASH_IT=$(cd ${test_directory} && dirname "$(pwd)")
-  export BASH_IT
+	declare BASH_IT
+	BASH_IT=$(cd "${test_directory}" && dirname "$(pwd)")
+	export BASH_IT
 fi
 
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
-  test_dirs=( ${test_directory}/{bash_it,completion,install,lib,plugins,themes} )
+	test_dirs=("${test_directory}"/{bash_it,completion,install,lib,plugins,themes})
 else
-  test_dirs=( "$1" )
+	test_dirs=("$1")
 fi
 
 # Make sure that the `parallel` command is installed,
@@ -21,28 +22,24 @@ fi
 # If that is the case, try to guess the number of CPU cores,
 # so we can run `bats` in parallel processing mode, which is a lot faster.
 if command -v parallel &> /dev/null \
-  && parallel -V &> /dev/null \
-  && { parallel -V 2> /dev/null | grep -q '^GNU\>'; }
-then
-  # Expect to run at least on a dual-core CPU; slightly degraded performance
-  # shouldn't matter otherwise.
-  declare -i -r test_jobs_default=2
-  declare -i -r test_jobs_effective="$(
-    if [ "${TEST_JOBS:-detect}" = "detect" ] \
-      && command -v nproc &> /dev/null
-    then
-      nproc
-    elif [ -n "${TEST_JOBS}" ] \
-      && [ "${TEST_JOBS}" != "detect" ]
-    then
-      echo "${TEST_JOBS}"
-    else
-      echo ${test_jobs_default}
-    fi
-  )"
-  exec "$bats_executable" ${CI:+--tap} --jobs ${test_jobs_effective} \
-    "${test_dirs[@]}"
+	&& parallel -V &> /dev/null \
+	&& { parallel -V 2> /dev/null | grep -q '^GNU\>'; }; then
+	# Expect to run at least on a dual-core CPU; slightly degraded performance
+	# shouldn't matter otherwise.
+	declare -i -r test_jobs_default=2
+	declare -i -r test_jobs_effective="$(
+		if [ "${TEST_JOBS:-detect}" = "detect" ] \
+			&& command -v nproc &> /dev/null; then
+			nproc
+		elif [ -n "${TEST_JOBS}" ] \
+			&& [ "${TEST_JOBS}" != "detect" ]; then
+			echo "${TEST_JOBS}"
+		else
+			echo ${test_jobs_default}
+		fi
+	)"
+	exec "$bats_executable" ${CI:+--tap} --jobs "${test_jobs_effective}" "${test_dirs[@]}"
 else
-  # Run `bats` in single-threaded mode.
-  exec "$bats_executable" ${CI:+--tap} "${test_dirs[@]}"
+	# Run `bats` in single-threaded mode.
+	exec "$bats_executable" ${CI:+--tap} "${test_dirs[@]}"
 fi
diff --git a/test/test_helper.bash b/test/test_helper.bash
index 4e077090..99addd43 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.bash
+++ b/test/test_helper.bash
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bats
-load ../../lib/composure
 
 unset BASH_IT_THEME
 unset GIT_HOSTING
@@ -20,14 +19,16 @@ load "${TEST_DEPS_DIR}/bats-assert/load.bash"
 load "${TEST_DEPS_DIR}/bats-file/load.bash"
 
 # support 'plumbing' metadata
+load ../../lib/composure
 cite _about _param _example _group _author _version
+cite about-alias about-completion about-plugin
 
 local_setup() {
-  true
+	true
 }
 
 local_teardown() {
-  true
+	true
 }
 
 # This function sets up a local test fixture, i.e. a completely
@@ -35,71 +36,81 @@ local_teardown() {
 # messing with your own Bash-it source directory.
 # If you need this, call it in your .bats file's `local_setup` function.
 setup_test_fixture() {
-  mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"
-  lib_directory="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
-  local src_topdir="$lib_directory/../../../.."
+	mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"
+	lib_directory="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+	local src_topdir="$lib_directory/../../../.."
 
-  if command -v rsync &> /dev/null
-  then
-    # Use rsync to copy Bash-it to the temp folder
-    rsync -qavrKL -d --delete-excluded --exclude=.git --exclude=enabled "$src_topdir" "$BASH_IT"
-  else
-    rm -rf "$BASH_IT"
-    mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"
+	if command -v rsync &> /dev/null; then
+		# Use rsync to copy Bash-it to the temp folder
+		rsync -qavrKL -d --delete-excluded --exclude=.git --exclude=enabled "$src_topdir" "$BASH_IT"
+	else
+		rm -rf "$BASH_IT"
+		mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"
 
-    find "$src_topdir" \
-      -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 \
-      -not -name .git \
-      -exec cp -r {} "$BASH_IT" \;
-  fi
+		find "$src_topdir" \
+			-mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 \
+			-not -name .git \
+			-exec cp -r {} "$BASH_IT" \;
+	fi
 
-  rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/enabled
-  rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/aliases/enabled
-  rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/completion/enabled
-  rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/plugins/enabled
+	rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/enabled
+	rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/aliases/enabled
+	rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/completion/enabled
+	rm -rf "$BASH_IT"/plugins/enabled
 
-  mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/enabled
-  mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/aliases/enabled
-  mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/completion/enabled
-  mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/plugins/enabled
+	mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/enabled
+	mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/aliases/enabled
+	mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/completion/enabled
+	mkdir -p "$BASH_IT"/plugins/enabled
 
-  # Some tests use the BASH_IT_TEST_HOME variable, e.g. install/uninstall
-  export BASH_IT_TEST_HOME="$TEST_TEMP_DIR"
+	# Some tests use the BASH_IT_TEST_HOME variable, e.g. install/uninstall
+	export BASH_IT_TEST_HOME="$TEST_TEMP_DIR"
+}
+
+copy_test_fixtures() {
+	# Copy the test fixture to the Bash-it folder
+	if command -v rsync &> /dev/null; then
+		rsync -qa "$BASH_IT/test/fixtures/bash_it/" "$BASH_IT/"
+	else
+		find "$BASH_IT/test/fixtures/bash_it" \
+			-mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 \
+			-exec cp -r {} "$BASH_IT/" \;
+	fi
 }
 
 setup() {
-  # The `temp_make` function from "bats-file" requires the tralston/bats-file fork,
-  # since the original ztombol/bats-file's `temp_make` does not work on macOS.
-  TEST_TEMP_DIR="$(temp_make --prefix 'bash-it-test-')"
-  export TEST_TEMP_DIR
+	# The `temp_make` function from "bats-file" requires the tralston/bats-file fork,
+	# since the original ztombol/bats-file's `temp_make` does not work on macOS.
+	TEST_TEMP_DIR="$(temp_make --prefix 'bash-it-test-')"
+	export TEST_TEMP_DIR
 
-  export BASH_IT_TEST_DIR="${TEST_TEMP_DIR}/.bash_it"
+	export BASH_IT_TEST_DIR="${TEST_TEMP_DIR}/.bash_it"
 
-  export BASH_IT_ROOT="${BASH_IT_TEST_DIR}/root"
-  export BASH_IT=$BASH_IT_TEST_DIR
+	export BASH_IT_ROOT="${BASH_IT_TEST_DIR}/root"
+	export BASH_IT=$BASH_IT_TEST_DIR
 
-  mkdir -p -- "${BASH_IT_ROOT}"
+	mkdir -p -- "${BASH_IT_ROOT}"
 
-  # Some tools, e.g. `git` use configuration files from the $HOME directory,
-  # which interferes with our tests. The only way to keep `git` from doing this
-  # seems to set HOME explicitly to a separate location.
-  # Refer to https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#FILES.
-  unset XDG_CONFIG_HOME
-  export HOME="${TEST_TEMP_DIR}"
-  mkdir -p "${HOME}"
+	# Some tools, e.g. `git` use configuration files from the $HOME directory,
+	# which interferes with our tests. The only way to keep `git` from doing this
+	# seems to set HOME explicitly to a separate location.
+	# Refer to https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#FILES.
+	unset XDG_CONFIG_HOME
+	export HOME="${TEST_TEMP_DIR}"
+	mkdir -p "${HOME}"
 
-  # For `git` tests to run well, user name and email need to be set.
-  # Refer to https://git-scm.com/docs/git-commit#_commit_information.
-  # This goes to the test-specific config, due to the $HOME overridden above.
-  git config --global user.name "John Doe"
-  git config --global user.email "johndoe@example.com"
+	# For `git` tests to run well, user name and email need to be set.
+	# Refer to https://git-scm.com/docs/git-commit#_commit_information.
+	# This goes to the test-specific config, due to the $HOME overridden above.
+	git config --global user.name "John Doe"
+	git config --global user.email "johndoe@example.com"
 
-  local_setup
+	local_setup
 }
 
 teardown() {
-  local_teardown
+	local_teardown
 
-  rm -rf "${BASH_IT_TEST_DIR}"
-  temp_del "${TEST_TEMP_DIR}"
+	rm -rf "${BASH_IT_TEST_DIR}"
+	temp_del "${TEST_TEMP_DIR}"
 }