[BUG] User-scope plugins show "not cached at (not recorded)" — /plugins TUI cannot refresh or reinstall

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet (closest match is #57001, which covers TUI mislabeling but not the cache-miss + refresh-failure symptom described here)
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Multiple user-scope plugins simultaneously show "Plugin \<name\> not cached at (not recorded)" in the /plugins Errors tab. The TUI's install/update actions fail to fix them — likely because the TUI defaults to project scope while the plugins are installed at user scope, so the cache lookup targets the wrong location.

The error message itself — (not recorded) in place of a path — suggests the cache path was never written or was lost, not merely stale.

Observed Behavior

Running /plugins and navigating to the Errors tab shows:

Errors (3)

  ❯ vergil (user)
     Plugin "vergil" not cached at (not recorded)
     Run /plugins to refresh the plugin cache

  ✘ superpowers (user)
     Plugin "superpowers" not cached at (not recorded)
     Run /plugins to refresh the plugin cache

  ✘ diogenes (user)
     Plugin "diogenes" not cached at (not recorded)
     Run /plugins to refresh the plugin cache

The advice to "Run /plugins to refresh the plugin cache" does not work — running /plugins again shows the same errors. Attempting to install or update from the TUI also fails.

Attempting claude plugin uninstall <plugin> from the CLI also fails:

Failed to uninstall: Plugin "diogenes@diogenes" is not installed in project scope.
Use --scope to specify the correct scope.

The workaround is claude plugin uninstall <plugin> --scope user followed by claude plugin install <plugin> --scope user, but the TUI does not expose the --scope flag.

What Should Happen?

1. /plugins should be able to refresh and re-cache user-scope plugins without requiring CLI workarounds.
2. The TUI install/update/uninstall actions should route operations to the correct scope (the scope where the plugin is actually installed), rather than defaulting to project scope.
3. The error message should not advise "Run /plugins to refresh" if that action doesn't actually fix the problem.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have multiple plugins installed at user scope in ~/.claude/settings.json:

``json
"enabledPlugins": {
"vergil@vergil-marketplace": true,
"superpowers@claude-plugins-official": true,
"diogenes@diogenes": true
}
``

1. The plugin cache at ~/.claude/plugins/cache/ either lacks entries for these plugins or has entries under old names (e.g., a plugin was renamed upstream).
2. Launch Claude Code, run /plugins.
3. Observe: all three plugins appear under Errors with "not cached at (not recorded)".
4. Attempt to install/update from the TUI → fails silently or with scope error.
5. Attempt claude plugin uninstall <plugin> from CLI → fails with "not installed in project scope".
6. Only claude plugin uninstall <plugin> --scope user works.

Workaround

Use the CLI with explicit --scope user:

claude plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace> --scope user
claude plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace> --scope user

Related Issues

• #57001 — /plugin lists user-scope plugins under "Project" tab, blocks disable without --scope user (same root cause: TUI defaults to project scope for user-scope plugins)
• #44470 — Enhancement request to allow changing plugin scope from the TUI
• #56863 — /doctor permanently reports plugins as not cached (different symptom, same cache-resolution area)
• #41922 — Plugin cache ignores marketplace SHA, installs stale version

Claude Code Version

2.1.133 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API (direct)

Operating System

macOS (Darwin 25.4.0)

Terminal/Shell

Terminal / zsh