4. The recommended workflow: build, export, extend

For a new, unfamiliar data source, the fastest path to a working analyzer is usually not to start from a blank PHP file:

1. Build the simplest version in the Custom Analyzer Builder — pick the table, pick the one column that most obviously holds the path, use Check Configuration to confirm real sample data resolves correctly.
2. Export it as a plugin. You now have a real, installed, working plg_mat_<yourkey> that already satisfies the Fact Contract.
3. Open the generated PHP file and extend it by hand for whatever the Builder couldn't reach: additional columns, additional JSON keys, HTML body scanning, a Reserved-folders declaration, a Cache Locations declaration, or any conditional logic the fixed field-mapping can't express.

This turns the Builder into a scaffolding tool rather than a competing approach — you get Joomla's plugin boilerplate, the manifest, the language files, and a correct method signature for free, and spend your actual development time on the part that's specific to your data source.