[BUG] Plugin skill references resolved against local .claude/skills/ instead of plugin cache

[iamadalek]

Bug Report

Claude Code Version: 2.1.49
OS: macOS (Darwin, Apple Silicon M4 Max)
Platform: macOS

Summary

When a plugin command references a skill using the namespace prefix (e.g., coding-workflows:issue-workflow), Claude Code searches the local project .claude/skills/ directory instead of the plugin cache at ~/.claude/plugins/cache/<marketplace>/<plugin>/<version>/skills/.

This causes "skill not found" warnings even though the skill exists in the correctly installed plugin.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install a plugin from a custom marketplace (e.g., coding-workflows@ai-coding-resources)
2. Plugin is cached at ~/.claude/plugins/cache/ai-coding-resources/coding-workflows/1.1.3/
3. Plugin contains skills like skills/issue-workflow/SKILL.md
4. Run a command that references the skill: e.g., /coding-workflows:prepare-issue 1
5. The command internally says: "Read the coding-workflows:issue-workflow skill"

Expected Behavior

Claude Code resolves coding-workflows:issue-workflow to the plugin cache path:
~/.claude/plugins/cache/ai-coding-resources/coding-workflows/1.1.3/skills/issue-workflow/SKILL.md

Actual Behavior

Claude Code globs .claude/skills/**/issue-workflow* (the local project skills directory), finds nothing, and reports:

Note: coding-workflows:issue-workflow skill not found — proceeding without it.

The skill exists at the correct plugin cache location and works fine when loaded via --plugin-dir (local path), but the marketplace-installed version fails to resolve skill references within its own commands.

Diagnosis

The namespace prefix coding-workflows: should tell Claude Code to look in the plugin directory, not locally. When loaded via --plugin-dir /path/to/plugins/coding-workflows, skills resolve correctly because they are at a known local path. When loaded via marketplace (enabledPlugins in settings.json), the skill resolution does not follow the namespace to the plugin cache.

Workaround

Use --plugin-dir pointing to the local plugin directory instead of marketplace installation. This correctly resolves all skill references.

Related Issues

• [BUG] Claude Cowork for Windows, plugin skills searched at wrong location #24859 (Windows Cowork plugin skills wrong path — similar family, different platform)
• Bug: Plugin path resolution uses marketplace.json file path instead of marketplace directory #11278 (marketplace.json path resolution — similar root cause area)

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Claude Cowork for Windows, plugin skills searched at wrong location #24859
2. Plugin skill agent path resolution looks in wrong directory #18013
3. [Bug] Skill plugin scripts fail on first execution with relative path resolution #11011

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #24859.

If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.