plugins
A Claude Code settings key, read out of the shipped bundle. It was in the build from v2.1.315 and was gone by v2.1.317.
Signing in can request an extra permission for plugin search, though search itself remains policy-gated.
Not Anthropic's. This is the line from the earliest changelog entry here that named it, v2.1.223.
In the changelogs
28Releases whose published page names plugins.
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v2.1.318
Plugin marketplace files are recognized in more shapes
Claude Code now recognizes a plugin marketplace file in more cases, so fewer valid ones are wrongly reported as invalid plugins
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.317
Startup errors with --await-initialize now say which check failed
Errors raised by
--await-initializenow carry a cause of either the first input line or the plugins listfound in this entry's text
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v2.1.301
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
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v2.1.283
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
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v2.1.280
New project-directory cloud-sync coverage checker
New checker determines whether a project directory's files are actually reachable by cloud-session sync
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v2.1.280
Plugin listing result now carries a trigger field
Plugin listing results now include a 'trigger' field alongside label, plugins, note, and counts
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v2.1.277
New 'Local tools' row in cloud session sync status
Cloud session sync status now tracks a fourth category: 'Local tools'
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v2.1.273
New OAuth scope
user:pluginsgated by PLUGINS_SCOPE_REGISTEREDA new OAuth scope, user:plugins, is requested for accounts with plugin access registered
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v2.1.269
OAuth token refresh now requests and reports the user:plugins scope
Token refresh now also asks for the user:plugins permission scope and logs whether it was granted
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v2.1.269
Refresh retries once with the full scope set if the server rejects an expanded scope request
If a server rejects the new expanded OAuth scope request, Claude Code retries once with the old scopes
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v2.1.269
OAuth refresh now tracks whether the plugins scope was requested/granted, with automatic downgrade retry on invalid_scope
OAuth token refresh now requests a plugins scope and retries without it if the server rejects the scope
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.269
New plugin-search scope gate: skip_no_scope decision function Qt()
New gate decides whether to skip plugin/skill search requests based on OAuth scope and session type
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v2.1.267
New "safeguards" permission-context capability
Permission settings gained a new 'safeguards' flag alongside remote tools, hooks, and plugins
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v2.1.267
Remote control now filters/strips forwarded plugin and safeguard settings per capability
Remote control now strips plugin and safeguard settings from forwarded requests unless explicitly permitted
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v2.1.267
Automatic OAuth plugin-scope expansion now skipped in non-interactive sessions
Automatic OAuth plugin-scope refresh no longer runs silently in non-interactive sessions
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v2.1.267
New 'safeguards' trust category added to the remote-io flag-settings filter, with skip reporting
Remote connections get a new 'safeguards' trust category that blocks unverified attempts to disable protections
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v2.1.261
New SDK launch flag: --await-initialize
A new SDK CLI flag makes the process wait for an initialize request over stdin before starting.
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v2.1.261
SDK session init accepts a
pluginsfield over stdinThe SDK's initialize request can now carry plugin paths over stdin instead of one flag per plugin.
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v2.1.261
initialize control request can now report whether requested plugins loaded
The initialize request now reports whether plugins you asked for actually loaded.
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v2.1.260
Remote session now propagates skills/plugins list from worker init
Remote session init now also captures the skills and plugins list, not just commands and model.
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v2.1.260
SDK init frame now reports skills and plugins in use
SDK init handshake now reports which skills and plugins are in use.
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v2.1.246
Marketplace clones get a whole-tree address form that nothing calls yet
Storage can now address any file inside a marketplace clone, though nothing uses that form yet.
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v2.1.238
New storage area for cached plugin assets
Cached plugin assets got their own storage area, keyed by content hash.
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v2.1.224
Eval-authoring guidance had two wrong field names
Plugin eval guidance now names the real fields, suite.plugins and costUsd.
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v2.1.223
Plugin and skill search requests a new
user:pluginsOAuth scopeSigning in can request an extra permission for plugin search, though search itself remains policy-gated.
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v2.1.213
SDK Protocol: Plugin Version Field
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v2.1.140
Plugin Folder-Shadowing Warnings
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v2.1.15
Cowork Plugins Directory Support [Hidden]
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First cited
0No release's published evidence quotes this name. The ledger indexes the Evidence lines of every changelog on this site, so this says nobody here has ever quoted it; it says nothing about how old the name is.
Presence across releases
2Build by build
5One 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 settings key does. All settings keys.