reload_plugins can now hold off reloading if it would invalidate the prompt cache, via a new hold_on_cache_impact option
The reload_plugins request (used by the /reload-plugins command and by the SDK) now accepts an optional hold_on_cache_impact flag. When set, if reloading plugins would change the session's tool list in a way that invalidates the prompt cache (the cached record of the conversation-so-far that lets Claude skip reprocessing it), the reload is skipped instead of applied. The response then reports held: true along with a cache_impact breakdown of what would have changed: mcp_servers_added, mcp_servers_removed, or lsp_tool_change. The session keeps its current plugins in that case.
This mirrors a check the interactive /reload-plugins command already makes before it asks for --force. In the Agent SDK, the equivalent reloadPlugins() call now accepts a holdOnCacheImpact flag that gets sent as this same option.
This lets SDK integrations and other callers opt into the same cache-safety check the interactive command already had, avoiding a silent, expensive cache invalidation when plugins change.
The entry above is what we published on the day. These lines were added later, as Anthropic's own pages caught up, and they sit beside the original rather than replacing it.
If the install summary reports `Run /reload-plugins to activate.`, you don't need to act on it here, because restarting in the next step picks up the plugin.channels see the edit
Anthropic's documentation has since written up /reload-plugins, on Push events into a running session with channels.
Improved /plugin: installing, enabling or disabling a plugin now takes effect when you close the menu; /reload-plugins is no longer needed…