[BUG] Co-work: "Check for updates" does not git-pull marketplace clone — plugins stuck at old version

Note: This issue was generated with the assistance of Claude Code and reviewed by the author before submission.

Description

In co-work (Claude Desktop), clicking "Verifica aggiornamenti" / "Check for updates" on a GitHub-sourced plugin marketplace does NOT update the local git clone. The clone stays frozen at the commit it was first created, preventing plugin updates from reaching the user.

Steps to reproduce

1. Publish a plugin to a GitHub marketplace (e.g., owner/my-marketplace)
2. In co-work, add the marketplace and install a plugin (e.g., at version 1.0.0)
3. Push an update to the marketplace repo (bump plugin version to 2.0.0, update plugin.json)
4. In co-work plugin management UI, click "Check for updates" on the marketplace
5. Click "Update" on the plugin

Expected: Plugin updates to 2.0.0
Actual: Plugin stays at 1.0.0. The marketplace shows "Synced commit: <old-sha>" and never advances.

Root cause (investigated)

Co-work stores marketplace git clones at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/<session-id>/<sub-id>/cowork_plugins/marketplaces/<marketplace-name>/

This clone is a full git repo with origin pointing to the GitHub URL. However, "Check for updates" does not run git pull (or the pull silently fails/is skipped). The clone's HEAD stays at the commit from the initial install.

Proof: Running git pull origin main manually inside the clone directory succeeds instantly and updates HEAD to the latest commit. After that, the plugin can be updated normally from the UI.

Workaround

Manually pull inside the co-work marketplace clone:

cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/<session-id>/<sub-id>/cowork_plugins/marketplaces/<marketplace-name>/
git pull origin main

Then restart Claude Desktop and click "Update" on the plugin.

Environment

• Claude Desktop: latest (as of 2026-04-01)
• macOS 15 (Darwin 25.0.0)
• Marketplace source: GitHub (capazme/mcp-legal-it)
• Plugin installed at v2.1.1 (2026-03-17), latest available v2.3.1
• Clone frozen at commit 90deb05 while repo HEAD was at f7ef30c

Related issues

• #32804 — Plugin marketplace update/upgrade path is unreliable (CLI-focused, same family of bugs)
• #41272 — Cowork: plugin install from UI does not persist after restart