--plugin-dir

A Claude Code CLI flag, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.138, including the newest one read.

Releases whose published page names --plugin-dir.

1. v2.1.305 20 Oct 2026
   allowManagedPermissionRulesOnly help narrows when --plugin-dir plugins keep their tools

   The setting's description now says plugins loaded with --plugin-dir keep their allowed tools only in Claude Desktop, and only if your organization didn't set it

   found in this entry's text, named in this entry

2. v2.1.301 15 Oct 2026
   Programs driving Claude Code can add plugins during a session

   Programs built on the SDK can now load more plugins into a running session through the plugin reload request, without a restart

   found in this entry's text, named in this entry

3. v2.1.287 1 Oct 2026
   Plugin names that imitate Anthropic's are now flagged when validated

   Plugin checks now give an error for names that start with claude-, anthropic- or similar, and a warning for looser look-alikes

   found in this entry's text

4. v2.1.284 28 Sep 2026
   Managed-rules lockdown keeps plugin tool permissions only from admin-backed sources

   Under allowManagedPermissionRulesOnly, only plugins from admin-backed sources keep their allowed-tools grants; other plugins' grants are ignored

   found in this entry's text

5. v2.1.283 25 Sep 2026
   Validator reports plugin and marketplace names Claude Code cannot install

   Marketplace validation now gives an error for plugin or marketplace names Claude Code cannot install, instead of saying they are accepted

   found in this entry's text

6. v2.1.283 25 Sep 2026
   SDK startup info now says which plugin directory failed to load

   Plugin load errors that Claude Code reports to SDK programs are now documented and can give the path of the directory that failed

   found in this entry's text, named in this entry

7. v2.1.281 23 Sep 2026
   --tmux worktree relaunch absolutizes path arguments

   When --tmux relaunches Claude Code for a worktree, relative file paths in flags are now turned into full paths

   found in this entry's text

8. v2.1.281 23 Sep 2026
   --plugin-dir log explains plugin vs folder-of-plugins

   The --plugin-dir debug log now explains whether a folder was read as one plugin or a folder of plugins

   found in this entry's text, named in this entry

9. v2.1.281 23 Sep 2026
   --managed-settings is carried through to spawned sessions; --setting-sources is accepted and discarded by one argument parser

   --managed-settings is now passed on to sessions Claude Code starts itself, while one parser reads --setting-sources and throws the value away

   found in this entry's text

10. v2.1.281 23 Sep 2026
    bg dispatch carries reattachEnv and retries while the daemon starts

    Background dispatch now retries while the daemon starts, carries a reattach environment, and forwards flags like --settings when attaching

    found in this entry's text

11. v2.1.280 22 Sep 2026
    CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS env var for sideloading plugin directories

    New CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS environment variable lets you register extra plugin directories without --plugin-dir flags

    found in this entry's text, named in this entry

12. v2.1.277 18 Sep 2026
    New disableSideloadFlags settings key hardened against malformed values

    A malformed disableSideloadFlags setting now blocks sideload flags by default instead of being ignored

    found in this entry's text

13. v2.1.265 8 Sep 2026
    --plugin-dir now accepts a folder containing multiple plugins

    --plugin-dir can now point at a folder holding several plugins at once

    found in this entry's text, named in this entry

14. v2.1.265 8 Sep 2026
    --plugin-dir help text now documents loading a folder of plugins

    --plugin-dir help text now documents that a folder of plugins can be passed

    found in this entry's text, named in this entry

15. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    New SDK launch flag: --await-initialize

    A new SDK CLI flag makes the process wait for an initialize request over stdin before starting.

    found in this entry's text, named in this entry

16. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    SDK plugin delivery via initialize request

    SDK plugins can now be sent via an initialize request instead of the command line, with a fallback warning if not applied.

    found in this entry's text

17. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    Poll tool's "evals" toolState scaffolding is unreachable in this build

    Some poll-tool eval-tracking scaffolding exists but can't be reached in this build.

    found in this entry's text

18. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    SDK session init accepts a plugins field over stdin

    The SDK's initialize request can now carry plugin paths over stdin instead of one flag per plugin.

    found in this entry's text

19. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    initialize control request can now report whether requested plugins loaded

    The initialize request now reports whether plugins you asked for actually loaded.

    found in this entry's text

20. v2.1.261 4 Sep 2026
    Plugin loading gains 'sync-attributed' directories and managed-hooks-only enforcement

    Plugin resolution now distinguishes sync-attributed plugins and enforces managed hooks-only rules.

    found in this entry's text

21. v2.1.248 27 Aug 2026
    claude agents respects restricted mode

    The agents view now inherits restricted mode from the session, not just an explicit flag.

    found in this entry's text

22. v2.1.239 21 Aug 2026
    Command-line flag parsing rewritten around an explicit table of value-taking flags

    Flags that take values no longer swallow or drop their arguments, and -- is handled.

    named in this entry, found in this entry's text

23. v2.1.239 21 Aug 2026
    Plugin errors now say what to do based on where the plugin came from

    Plugin load errors now give advice matched to how the plugin was installed, including synced copies being shadowed.

    named in this entry, found in this entry's text

24. v2.1.239 21 Aug 2026
    Plugin sync warns on blocked directories, and load-log wording changed

    Plugin sync now warns when a directory blocks the install path, and footer text comes from the marketplace.

    found in this entry's text

25. v2.1.239 21 Aug 2026
    Plugin commands explain why a plugin cannot be toggled

    Plugin commands now explain refusals for built-ins and org-locked plugins instead of acting oddly.

    found in this entry's text

26. v2.1.193 25 Jun 2026
    disableSideloadFlags Enterprise Setting

    found in this entry's text

27. v2.1.172 10 Jun 2026
    --plugin-dir-no-mcp Flag

    found in this entry's text

28. v2.1.139 11 May 2026

    found in this entry's text

29. v2.1.129 5 May 2026
    Session Plugins from URLs

    found in this entry's text

30. v2.1.128 4 May 2026
    Session-Only Plugin Zip Loading

    found in this entry's text

31. v2.1.84 25 Mar 2026
    Plugin Source Tracking

    found in this entry's text

32. v2.1.76 14 Mar 2026
    --plugin-dir Flag Now Repeatable

    found in this entry's text

33. v2.1.76 14 Mar 2026
    Plugin Dependency Resolution Enhanced

    found in this entry's text

34. v2.0.25 21 Oct 2025
    Session-Only Plugin Loading

    found in this entry's text

The earliest release whose published evidence quoted --plugin-dir was v2.1.76, 14 Mar 2026. That is the oldest release this project wrote about it, so it is a floor on the name's age and not the release that introduced it. It is not a presence reading: which builds carried the name is the table below.

1 further span in the ledger name it. The list above is the earliest first and stops at 6.

One row per release since the first build this name was read out of. Absent means the build was read and the name was not in it, never mined means no bundle for that release was ever archived, and a declared type or a default is only ever what that release's own bundle stated.

Read out of the published npm bundle release by release, and out of Anthropic's own documentation as this site captured it. Nothing on this page is a description anybody here wrote about what the CLI flag does. All CLI flags.