[BUG] SSH remote session fails when local plugins/skills archive is corrupted

Preflight Checklist

• [ ] 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?

Summary

When using Claude Code to connect to a remote machine via SSH, the connection repeatedly failed. After several hours of debugging, I discovered that Claude Code automatically uploads local plugins and skills to the remote session, and a corrupted archive on the client side was breaking the connection — not SSH itself.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior

• Claude Code should validate local plugin/skill archives before uploading them.
• If an archive is corrupted, it should be skipped with a clear warning, not silently break the entire remote connection.
• Error messages should distinguish between SSH failures and plugin-sync failures.

<img width="851" height="328" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e72cf041-d50f-4563-a6bb-12bc6e39f1e3" />

Error Messages/Logs

Keep showing setting up plugins.

The remote connection fails repeatedly with errors that point at SSH, making it very hard to identify the real cause (a corrupted local plugin archive being auto-uploaded).

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have at least one plugin or skill installed locally (with a corrupted archive).
2. Use Claude Code to SSH into a remote machine to read/edit code.
3. Observe that the remote session fails to establish.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.8555.2 (a476c3) 2026-05-22T23:04:37.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

How to Slove

Disabling all plugins before connecting fixes the issue immediately.

Suggestions

1. Validate plugin/skill archives before uploading; fail gracefully with a clear message.
2. Make auto-upload of local plugins/skills optional, or surface what's being transferred.
3. Improve error messages so users can tell whether the failure is SSH or plugin-sync.