[BUG] Plugin hooks registered but not firing in VSCode extension

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

GitHub Bug Report: VS Code Plugin Hooks Not Loading

Repository: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/new

Title: VS Code Extension: Plugin hooks.json not loaded - hooks only work from settings.json

---

Summary

Hooks defined in a plugin's hooks/hooks.json file are not loaded by the VS Code extension. Hooks only fire when defined directly in .claude/settings.json or ~/.claude/settings.json.

Environment

• Platform: macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
• Claude Code: VS Code Extension
• Date: 2025-01-16

Expected Behavior

According to hooks documentation, plugins can provide hooks via hooks/hooks.json:

Plugins can provide hooks via hooks/hooks.json

The hookify plugin demonstrates this pattern with its hooks/hooks.json file.

When a plugin is enabled via enabledPlugins in settings.json, its hooks should automatically be registered and fire on the appropriate events.

Actual Behavior

Hooks defined in a plugin's hooks/hooks.json are not loaded by the VS Code extension. The hooks only fire when copied directly into .claude/settings.json.

Impact

• Plugin portability: Plugins cannot be self-contained with their own hooks
• Plugin marketplace: Published plugins with hooks may not work in VS Code
• User experience: Users must manually copy hooks from plugin to settings.json
• Maintenance burden: Hook updates in plugins don't propagate - users must re-copy each time plugin is updated

Additional:

1. CLI loads the plugin hook correctly, without copying to settings.json

Related

• hookify plugin - Official plugin with hooks.json
• Hooks documentation

False positives for duplicate issue:

Have reviewed and the ones below that relate are closed as duplicates or done, but the duplicates were false positives and this issue persist.

https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/10997
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/11509
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/11544
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/6305

What Should Happen?

Claude VSCode extension should recognize local file plugin hooks in place without need to copy into settings.json

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Reproduction Steps

1. Create a plugin with hooks

Create directory structure:

.claude/plugins/my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── marketplace.json.json
│   └── plugin.json
└── hooks/
    ├── __init__.py
    └── hooks.json

marketplace.json

{
  "name": "my-plugin-marketplace",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Test local marketplace",
  "owner": {
    "name": "Local",
    "email": "local@localhost"
  },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "my-plugin",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "description": "Test plugin with hooks"
      "source": "./"
    }
  ]
}

plugin.json:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Test plugin with hooks"
}

hooks/hooks.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "echo '{\"hookSpecificOutput\": {\"hookEventName\": \"UserPromptSubmit\", \"additionalContext\": \"Hook fired from plugin!\"}}'",
            "timeout": 10
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

2. Enable the plugin in settings.json

.claude/settings.json:

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "my-plugin-marketplace": {
      "source": {
        "source": "directory",
        "path": "./.claude/plugins/my-plugin"
      }
    }
  },
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "my-plugin@my-plugin-marketplace": true
  }
}

3. Test in VS Code

1. Open project in VS Code
2. Open Claude Code extension
3. Send any message

Result: No hook output appears. The UserPromptSubmit hook does not fire.

4. Workaround - Add hooks directly to settings.json

.claude/settings.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "echo '{\"hookSpecificOutput\": {\"hookEventName\": \"UserPromptSubmit\", \"additionalContext\": \"Hook fired from settings.json!\"}}'",
            "timeout": 10
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": { ... },
  "enabledPlugins": { ... }
}

Result: Hook ONLY fires correctly when defined in settings.json. Does not fire when in setup as above.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

VSCode Extension v.2.1.9

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_

"hooks": {
  "PreToolUse": [
    {
      "matcher": "Bash",
      "hooks": [
        {
          "type": "command",
          "command": "/home/butterfly/.cargo/bin/cc-toolgate",
          "timeout": 5
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "PreCompact": [],
  "SessionStart": []
}