Plugin skills not usable after /reload-plugins in existing session
Description
After reloading plugins mid-session with /reload-plugins, plugin skills from the skills/ directory are listed in the system-reminder but cannot be invoked. Slash commands resolve to deprecated command stubs instead of the actual skills. Starting a new session fixes the problem — all skills work correctly in a fresh session.
Reproduction
- Have the
superpowersplugin (v5.0.7) installed - In a session where the plugin was previously disabled or had issues, run
/reload-plugins - Output confirms reload:
Reloaded: 1 plugin · 3 skills · 6 agents · 1 hook - The system-reminder now lists all 14 skills (e.g.,
superpowers:brainstorming) - Attempt to invoke
superpowers:brainstorming— it resolves tosuperpowers:brainstorm(a deprecated command stub) instead - No combination of
/reload-plugins,/pluginenable/disable, or fully qualified skill names fixes it within the session - Starting a new session: all skills work correctly
Expected behavior
After /reload-plugins, skills should be fully usable in the current session, not just listed in the system-reminder.
Actual behavior
Skills appear in the system-reminder after reload but cannot be invoked. The session's skill resolution state appears stale — it continues using the pre-reload index where only the 3 deprecated commands/*.md files were loaded as skills.
Environment
- Claude Code version: 2.1.90
- Plugin: superpowers v5.0.7 (
superpowers@superpowers-dev) - OS: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
Workaround
Start a new session. Skills load and resolve correctly in fresh sessions.
3 Comments
Additional reproduction
Same issue here with a different plugin and slightly different symptom.
Setup
~/.claude/plugins/cache/enabledPluginscorrectly configured in~/.claude/settings.jsonDifference from original report
/reload-pluginsoutput shows0 skills— hooks, agents, and MCP servers load fine, but skills are reported as zero. Invoking any skill returnsUnknown skill.Workaround
Full restart of Claude Code resolves the issue. Skills load and work correctly in the new session.
Environment
This was fixed in v2.1.98 — /reload-plugins now makes newly loaded plugin skills usable as slash commands in the current session without a restart. If you're still seeing this in the latest version, please comment with your version and repro and we'll reopen.
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