[DOCS] Plugin auto-update docs omit version-constraint skip diagnostics

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/discover-plugins

Section/Topic

Configure auto-updates, the /plugin Errors tab description, and related /doctor troubleshooting guidance for plugin update failures

Current Documentation

The docs currently say:

Claude Code can automatically update marketplaces and their installed plugins at startup. When auto-update is enabled for a marketplace, Claude Code refreshes the marketplace data and updates installed plugins to their latest versions. If any plugins were updated, you'll see a notification prompting you to run /reload-plugins.

Run /plugin to open the plugin manager. This opens a tabbed interface with four tabs you can cycle through using Tab (or Shift+Tab to go backward): Discover: browse available plugins from all your marketplaces Installed: view and manage your installed plugins Marketplaces: add, remove, or update your added marketplaces Errors: view any plugin loading errors

Run /doctor to diagnose issues. It checks: Installation type, version, and search functionality Auto-update status and available versions Invalid settings files (malformed JSON, incorrect types) MCP server configuration errors Keybinding configuration problems Context usage warnings (large CLAUDE.md files, high MCP token usage, unreachable permission rules) * Plugin and agent loading errors

Plugin versions determine cache paths and update detection.

| version | string | Optional. Version or version range (for example, 2.1.0, ^2.0.0, ~1.5.0) |

What's Wrong or Missing?

The docs explain plugin auto-updates, the /plugin Errors tab, and /doctor in general terms, but they do not document a new user-visible failure mode added in changelog v2.1.118: a plugin auto-update can be skipped because another installed plugin's version constraint blocks it.

The docs also do not tell users where that skip reason now appears: /doctor and the /plugin Errors tab.

Without that guidance, users can see a plugin remain on an older version and have no documented explanation that the update was intentionally skipped due to a conflicting version constraint, or where to look for the diagnostic.

Suggested Improvement

Add a short troubleshooting note to the plugin docs that covers this specific update outcome:

1. In discover-plugins, extend Configure auto-updates to note that auto-update may skip a plugin when another installed plugin has a conflicting version constraint.
2. Explicitly tell users to check /doctor and the /plugin Errors tab for the skip reason.
3. In plugin-marketplaces or troubleshooting docs, add a brief explanation that plugin version ranges can prevent an update from being applied when installed plugins are constrained incompatibly.

Suggested wording:

If Claude Code skips a plugin auto-update because another installed plugin's version constraint would be violated, the reason appears in /doctor and in the /plugin Errors tab. Review installed plugin version ranges or pinned versions to resolve the conflict.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

| Page | Context |
|------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/discover-plugins | Plugin manager tabs, including Errors, plus plugin auto-update behavior |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces | Plugin version ranges and update detection behavior |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/troubleshooting | /doctor troubleshooting coverage, including plugin and agent loading errors |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands | /doctor command reference |

Total scope: 4 pages affected

Source: Changelog v2.1.118

Exact changelog entry: When auto-update skips a plugin due to another plugin's version constraint, the skip now appears in /doctor and the /plugin Errors tab