claude plugin update reports 'at latest' but cache stays stale vs refreshed marketplace (path-based plugins)

[EnosXu]

Summary

claude plugin update <plugin> reports "already at the latest version" for path-based marketplace plugins even when the cached plugin files are stale relative to the (refreshed) marketplace source. The local marketplace is up-to-date; the cache is not; update does nothing but says success. The only workaround is uninstall + install.

Environment

• Claude Code: native 2.1.150 (commit 28d4819e0f0a)
• OS: Linux x64 (Ubuntu 24.04.4)
• Marketplace: claude-plugins-official (GitHub: anthropics/claude-plugins-official)
• Affected plugins: skill-creator@claude-plugins-official, mcp-server-dev@claude-plugins-official (both have source: "./plugins/<name>" in marketplace.json — path-based, no per-plugin SHA pin)

Reproduction

1. Install a path-based plugin from the marketplace at time T0:

   claude plugin install skill-creator@claude-plugins-official

   Cache lands at ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/skill-creator/unknown/ with version: unknown in installed_plugins.json.

2. Some time later (T1), the marketplace's plugin source files are updated upstream. Verify by checking GitHub: there are commits modifying plugins/skill-creator/skills/skill-creator/SKILL.md etc.

3. Refresh the marketplace locally:

   claude plugin marketplace update claude-plugins-official

   .gcs-sha advances to the new HEAD. The marketplace cache at ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/claude-plugins-official/plugins/skill-creator/ now contains the new files.

4. Run plugin update:

   claude plugin update skill-creator@claude-plugins-official

   Output: ✔ skill-creator is already at the latest version (unknown).

5. But the cache is actually stale. Diff the plugin cache against the marketplace source for the same plugin:

   diff -rq \
     ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/skill-creator/unknown/skills/skill-creator/ \
     ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/claude-plugins-official/plugins/skill-creator/skills/skill-creator/

   Returns multiple differing files (e.g., SKILL.md, scripts/improve_description.py, scripts/run_loop.py).

6. lastUpdated in installed_plugins.json does NOT advance after the (no-op) update.

Expected

claude plugin update for a path-based plugin should detect that the marketplace's source files differ from the cached files (by content hash, mtime, or by re-syncing whenever marketplace sha advances) and re-sync the cache.

Actual

claude plugin update reports success without doing anything. The version comparison appears to skip the check entirely when version: unknown (i.e., no semver in marketplace.json).

Hypothesis

The update logic for marketplace plugins compares version strings. For plugins whose marketplace entry has no version: field (path-based plugins under the same repo), version is "unknown" both before and after update — comparison says "no change" without ever consulting actual file content or marketplace sha.

Workaround

claude plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace>
claude plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace>

This clears the cache and re-installs fresh from the (refreshed) marketplace. Confirmed working:

$ diff -rq cache marketplace
# (after workaround) — no differences for .md/.py/.sh files

Suggested fix

For path-based plugins under a marketplace (source: ./plugins/<name>):

1. Store the marketplace .gcs-sha (or marketplace commit sha) at install time
2. On plugin update, if the current .gcs-sha ≠ stored, re-sync the cache from marketplace files
3. Or: when version == "unknown" in marketplace.json, fall back to file-content hash comparison

Alternatively, add --force flag to claude plugin update to bypass the "no change" check.

Impact

Currently low severity (no functional break — workaround exists and is documented above), but invisible drift: users running plugin update get a false confirmation and miss new guidance in updated SKILL.md files. Two cases I caught locally:

• skill-creator/SKILL.md added a new "Updating an existing skill" guidance section (preserve original name, copy to /tmp before editing) and dropped "extended thinking" wording
• mcp-server-dev/build-mcp-server/SKILL.md added a new "Load Claude-specific context first" instruction (fetch https://claude.com/docs/llms-full.txt) and a new "Phase 6 — Test in Claude and publish" section with review-criteria and submission links

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] /plugin update does not invalidate plugin cache #14061
2. Plugin cache never refreshes - autoUpdate doesn't update what Claude reads #17361
3. Plugin update can leave installed_plugins.json pointing at the previous version after cache extraction #57645

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #14061.

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

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[RafaTheGreat]

Reporting in from a small dev shop in Puerto Rico — reproduced this exact class of bug on the claude.ai web "Personal plugins" surface, not just the CLI, so leaving it here since it looks like the same underlying sync mechanism.

Setup: private GitHub-hosted marketplace (single repo, one plugin, no fancy structure — .claude-plugin/marketplace.json + plugins/<name>/.claude-plugin/plugin.json). Installed clean, attached to a conversation via the in-chat "+" → Add Plugin flow. Worked fine on v0.1.0.

Then we pushed an update (v0.2.0 — added a skill, bumped both manifest files). Verified via gh api repos/.../contents/... that GitHub genuinely had the new content, so this wasn't a push failure on our end. claude.ai never picked it up:

• No refresh/update-marketplace action anywhere in the web UI (the CLI at least has /plugin marketplace update to reach for — the web surface doesn't seem to have an equivalent).
• Uninstalling the plugin and reinstalling fresh from the same marketplace still served the stale v0.1.0 (no skill visible).
• Soft browser refresh after reinstall — no change.
• Bonus, previously unreported side quirk: clicking "Manage"/"Settings" on the plugin (in-chat modal or main Plugins panel) silently bumps the active view to a different model (Sonnet 5) regardless of what the conversation is actually running. Not data loss — just disorienting, and cost us a genuine "did we lose the whole conversation" scare before we figured out it was only a settings-view quirk.

What actually fixed it, for the record, since "uninstall/reinstall" clearly isn't enough: removing the marketplace registration entirely (not just the plugin) + a hard refresh + a full browser/OS restart. That's a heavier lift than any user is realistically going to do every time they push a plugin update — so as it stands, updates just sit stale. Happy to share the exact repro repo if that's useful for reproducing on your end.

(Also, yes — we did consider whether this was intentional. Landed on: no, this reads like ordinary low-priority cache-invalidation debt on a newer surface, not a design choice — multiple open, unresolved issues on the same theme argue against anything deliberate. Just flagging it clearly so it doesn't stay quiet.)