Plugin + install.sh: component duplication when following Quick Start

[SongChangseok]

Context

Following the README Quick Start:

1. /plugin install everything-claude-code@everything-claude-code
2. ./install.sh typescript

After both steps, I found significant duplication in ~/.claude/.

What I found

Component	Plugin cache	install.sh → ~/.claude/	Duplicated?
Skills	125 in plugins/cache/.../skills/	46 → ~/.claude/skills/	Partial overlap
.agents/skills	29 in plugins/cache/.../.agents/skills/	29 → ~/.claude/.agents/skills/	Full overlap
Agents	28 in plugins/cache/.../agents/	28 → ~/.claude/agents/	Full overlap
Commands	60 in plugins/cache/.../commands/	60 → ~/.claude/commands/	Full overlap
Rules	65 files in plugins/cache/.../rules/	65 files → ~/.claude/rules/	Full overlap
Hooks	plugins/cache/.../hooks/hooks.json	~/.claude/hooks/hooks.json	Identical file

Additionally, the language argument appears to have no effect — ./install.sh typescript,
./install.sh golang, and ./install.sh python all produce identical results
(same 447 files, verified with diff).

Questions

1. Is this duplication intentional?
   The README notes that "the Claude Code plugin system does not support distributing rules
   via plugins (upstream limitation)", so install.sh is needed for rules.
   But install.sh also copies agents, commands, skills, and hooks that the plugin already
   provides. Is this expected, or should install.sh skip components the plugin already covers?

2. Can I selectively install only the components I need?
   I expected ./install.sh typescript to install only TypeScript-relevant components,
   but it installs everything regardless of the language argument.
   --modules offers some control but is coarse-grained, and configure-ecc allows
   skill/rule selection but doesn't cover agents, commands, or hooks.
   Is there a recommended way to install only the components relevant to my stack?

[borzov]

I hit the same issues. Here's what worked for me after some trial and error:

Short answer: use only install.sh, skip the plugin. Running both creates full duplication — they target the same ~/.claude/ directory. If you already have both, remove the plugin first.

The language argument alone doesn't filter. ./install.sh typescript runs in "legacy-compat" mode and installs everything. The selective install works through --profile + --with/--without:

cd ~/ecc && npm install

# Preview first
node scripts/install-apply.js --dry-run \
  --profile developer \
  --with lang:python \
  --with lang:typescript \
  --with framework:django \
  --with capability:security \
  --without capability:supply-chain

# Then install (remove --dry-run)

To discover all valid component names:

grep -rohE '"(lang|framework|capability|skill|agent):[a-z_-]+"' manifests/*.json | tr -d '"' | sort -u

The framework-language module is monolithic: even with --with lang:python, it installs skills/rules for ALL languages. You'll need to rm -rf ~/.claude/rules/{cpp,kotlin,...} and similar for skills after install

Would be nice if framework-language respected --with lang: filters in a future version.

[affaan-m]

Current maintainer answer here is different from the older workaround path:\n\n- plugin install and full manual install should not be stacked\n- the repo already has uninstall/reset lifecycle support now, but it is not surfaced prominently enough in the main docs yet\n- if someone ends up with a duplicated install, the correct next step should be an ECC-managed uninstall/reset path, not manual filesystem archaeology\n\nI am opening follow-up cleanup work specifically for this because the install surface is still too easy to misread. The real problem now is less “ECC cannot uninstall” and more “ECC does not make the uninstall/reset path obvious enough up front.”

[affaan-m]

Follow-up from the maintainer side: this duplication/install-surface confusion is now tracked more explicitly in #1554. The repo already has uninstall lifecycle support in code, but it is not surfaced prominently enough in the main install docs yet, which is exactly what is being corrected there.

[affaan-m]

There is now a concrete docs fix PR for this exact failure mode: #1555

What it changes:

• makes one default install path explicit
• warns much more clearly against stacking /plugin install with the full installer
• adds a visible Reset / Uninstall ECC section
• points cleanup to the existing install-state lifecycle commands in the repo

That should give users a single canonical cleanup path instead of layered advice.

[affaan-m]

Also tracking the next piece separately now: #1557.

That one is not about uninstall docs; it is about the product surface itself:

• smaller default footprint
• clearer low-context install story
• explicit hook opt-out / hook-disable guidance where supported

So the work is now split correctly:

• docs: clarify install and uninstall paths #1555 fixes install/uninstall clarity
• install: add low-context / no-hooks path and hook opt-out guidance #1557 tracks the lower-footprint follow-up

[borzov]

Nice!