[Bug] Plugin paths stored as absolute paths break cross-environment usage (devcontainers, multi-user setups)

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?

Bug Description

Plugin configuration files (installed_plugins.json and known_marketplaces.json) store absolute paths based on the host machine's username. When sharing ~/.claude between a host and devcontainers (where the container user differs from the host user), all plugins fail to load because the hardcoded paths don't exist in the container.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.126
• OS: Linux (Debian 12 host, Debian 12 devcontainer)
• Host user: hostuser (home: /home/hostuser)
• Container user: vscode (home: /home/vscode)
• Setup: Named Docker volume for ~/.claude inside container, seeded from host ~/.claude on container creation

Setup

devcontainer.json mounts the host ~/.claude read-only to a staging path, then copies it into a named volume on container creation:

"mounts": [
  "source=${localEnv:HOME}/.claude,target=/tmp/claude-host,type=bind,readonly",
  "source=devcontainer-claude-code-config,target=/home/vscode/.claude,type=volume"
],
"containerEnv": {
  "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR": "/home/vscode/.claude",
  "HOST_HOME": "${localEnv:HOME}"
},
"postCreateCommand": {
  "setup-claude": "sudo chown -R vscode:vscode /home/vscode/.claude && cp -r /tmp/claude-host/. /home/vscode/.claude/ 2>/dev/null || true"
}

This is the recommended pattern for sharing Claude state across devcontainers while keeping the host safe from accidental writes.

Observed Behavior

All plugins fail to load with errors like:

✘ typescript-lsp @ claude-plugins-official (user)
   Plugin "typescript-lsp" not found in marketplace "claude-plugins-official"

Inspecting installed_plugins.json inside the container reveals the root cause — all installPath values are hardcoded to the host user's home directory:

{
  "installPath": "/home/hostuser/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/typescript-lsp/1.0.0"
}

The same issue affects known_marketplaces.json:

{
  "installLocation": "/home/hostuser/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/claude-plugins-official"
}

Inside the container, these paths don't exist — the correct paths would use /home/vscode/ instead of /home/hostuser/.

Expected Behavior

Plugin paths should be stored relative to CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or $HOME, and resolved at runtime — not stored as absolute paths baked to a specific username. For example:

{
  "installPath": "${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR}/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/typescript-lsp/1.0.0"
}

Or simply resolved relative to the config directory:

{
  "installPath": "plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/typescript-lsp/1.0.0"
}

Workaround

Pass the host home directory into the container via containerEnv and use it in the sed rewrite:

"containerEnv": {
  "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR": "/home/vscode/.claude",
  "HOST_HOME": "${localEnv:HOME}"
},
"postCreateCommand": {
  "setup-claude": "sudo chown -R vscode:vscode /home/vscode/.claude && cp -r /tmp/claude-host/. /home/vscode/.claude/ 2>/dev/null || true && sed -i \"s|${HOST_HOME}/.claude|/home/vscode/.claude|g\" /home/vscode/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json /home/vscode/.claude/plugins/known_marketplaces.json /home/vscode/.claude/settings.json"
}

${localEnv:HOME} is supported in containerEnv, so HOST_HOME resolves to the host home directory at container creation time and can be referenced as $HOST_HOME in shell commands. This avoids hardcoding any username, but it is still an ugly workaround that shouldn't be necessary.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install plugins on the host machine
2. Open a project in a VS Code devcontainer with the setup above
3. Start Claude Code inside the container
4. Observe plugin errors on startup

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.126

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Prior Issues

This has been reported multiple times and closed as duplicate or stale without a fix:

• #10379 — Plugin marketplace paths hardcoded as absolute paths, breaking devcontainer usage (closed as not planned)
• #15717 — Plugin paths hardcoded with absolute paths fail across environments (closed as duplicate)
• #20676 — Plugin paths hardcoded to /root, breaks non-root users (closed as duplicate)
• #21916 — Plugin marketplace paths hardcoded as absolute paths, breaking devcontainer usage on Windows (closed)

The fix is straightforward: store paths relative to CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR rather than as absolute filesystem paths.