[BUG] Cowork installs stale cached plugin version; ignores all marketplace repo updates

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?

A plugin installed from a custom (user-created) marketplace will not update in Cowork. After editing the skill in the marketplace repo and pushing to GitHub, the installed plugin keeps loading the old cached version (v1.0.0, old SKILL.md) even though the repo is at v1.0.1 with updated content. This persists through a full cache purge, a version bump, a marketplace rename, and switching the repo from private to public, so the installed plugin appears to never be re-pulled from the repo.

What Should Happen?

After updating the skill, bumping the version, pushing to the default branch, and reinstalling the plugin (with the cache cleared), Cowork should install the latest commit — v1.0.1 with the updated SKILL.md.

Error Messages/Logs

No error is surfaced in the app — the reinstall reports success but silently installs the stale version. Evidence:

Installed plugin version shows 1.0.0 while marketplace.json and plugin.json on main are 1.0.1.

Steps to Reproduce

1. In a custom marketplace repo, edit a skill's SKILL.md; commit and push to the default branch (main).
2. Bump the plugin version 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 in both .claude-plugin/marketplace.json and the plugin's plugin.json; push.
3. Quit Claude (Cmd+Q) and clear the cache: rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins.
4. Reopen Claude → remove the marketplace → re-add it from the GitHub repo → reinstall the plugin.
5. Open a new conversation and inspect the installed skill.

Expected: The installed plugin reflects the latest commit (v1.0.1, updated SKILL.md).
Actual: The installed plugin is still v1.0.0 with the old SKILL.md. Verified with:
diff ~/.claude/skills/persuade/SKILL.md "$(find ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude -name SKILL.md -path 'persuade' -newermt '-10 minutes' 2>/dev/null | head -1)"
which shows the installed copy is the old version, and the installed plugin's version reads 1.0.0.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.13576.0 (1290fc) 2026-06-16T05:46:10.000Z

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Additional Context

• Repeating after a version bump, a marketplace rename (changed the internal name in marketplace.json), and switching the repo private → public made no difference — it still installs v1.0.0.
• After re-adding the marketplace, ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/<name>/ does not reappear, suggesting the re-add isn't producing a fresh clone.
• Likely related: #43745 (updates don't sync), #41885 (auto-sync fetches but never pulls), #42411 (plugin update reports "not found").
• Also removed the explicit version from both plugin.json and the marketplace plugin entry (so versioning falls back to the git commit SHA, per the plugins-reference docs), pushed, purged ~/.claude/plugins, and reinstalled — it still installs the old skill. This rules out version-based deduplication as the cause; the installed plugin is simply never re-pulled from the repo.

{
  "name": "generic-skill-name",
  "pluginId": "plugin_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "version": null,
  "updatedAt": "2026-07-02T13:49:45.017870Z"
}