Feature request: automatic plugin updates
Open 💬 0 comments Opened Jun 25, 2026 by oeisenberg
Problem
Plugins installed from marketplace repos are cached at a specific git commit SHA and version string. They never update unless the user manually runs claude plugin update <name>. This creates several issues:
- Team members run stale plugin versions without realizing it
- Plugin authors push fixes/features that don't reach users for days or weeks
/reload-pluginsreloads from cache — it doesn't pull new versions- If the marketplace clone gets corrupted or deleted, the plugin silently stops loading with no actionable error
Proposed solution
Add an autoUpdate option, either:
Per-plugin during install:
claude plugin install my-plugin --auto-update
Global setting in settings.json:
{
"plugins": {
"autoUpdate": true,
"autoUpdateIntervalHours": 24
}
}
Per-marketplace in extraKnownMarketplaces:
{
"polyai-marketplace": {
"source": { "source": "github", "repo": "org/repo" },
"autoUpdate": true
}
}
Expected behavior
- On session start (or at a configurable interval), check if the installed version/SHA matches the latest on the marketplace repo's default branch
- If not, pull the latest version into cache automatically
- Show a one-line notice:
Updated plugin "my-plugin" (0.1.0 → 0.1.1) - Respect an opt-out flag for users who want manual control
Context
- The CLI itself already has
autoUpdatesChannelfor self-updates — this would extend the same concept to plugins - Org-managed plugins especially benefit, since admins push updates expecting them to propagate without user intervention
- Currently the only workaround is CI or shell hooks that run
claude plugin updateon a schedule