A new "surface" virtual-module system lets plugin desktop UI code import from special surface:/// and claude: URIs
Claude Code now has a new module-loading scheme for plugin desktop UI components. Plugin source code can import from virtual addresses like surface:///..., surface-unlinked:///computed#..., and virtual modules named claude:hooks-types and claude:surface-runtime. Import statements in plugin source are rewritten to these virtual forms before the plugin code runs inside its sandboxed virtual machine.
This is infrastructure for building plugin UI components, giving plugin code a controlled set of virtual modules to import from rather than reaching into the real filesystem or module system, which fits with running plugin code in a sandbox.
What plugin authors can now build with this that they couldn't before is not detailed.