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Sweep 25 Sep 2026 · 19:33Z Build v2.1.283 504 read Stable v2.1.274 Latest v2.1.283 Next v2.1.283 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt llms-full.txt Unofficial

Claude Code v2.1.280 ·

New CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS environment variable for sideloading plugin directories

CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS lets a session list extra plugin folders to load alongside --plugin-dir

Group of 3 Use it now Notable New Features
JSON All of v2.1.280
Use it nowTier: how much it should matter to you
5Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
2Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
PluginsArea: what it touches
New FeaturesKind: in v2.1.280,
What probably matters to youSection of the release

What

A new environment variable, CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS, lets a session specify extra plugin folders (as a colon/path-list separated string) that get merged with any folders passed via --plugin-dir at startup.

  • A new helper module parses, validates, dedupes, and can subtract these directories. Entries that are absolute paths outside the home directory, or use ~, are rejected with a warning rather than accepted, and there's a canned hint message for unsetting the variable.
  • When set, CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS is subject to the same enterprise sideload policy block as --plugin-dir and --plugin-dir-no-mcp, with its own recovery hint.
  • Plugin sources of type pluginDirectory are now exempted from the usual blocklist check when a separate gate condition holds, before normal blocklist matching runs.

Why

This gives users and scripts a way to sideload plugin directories via environment configuration instead of only command-line flags, while keeping the same validation and enterprise policy controls that apply to --plugin-dir.

Read from
What the documentation says
Since it was published

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.

Confirmed since Anthropic's documentation has since written up CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS, on All settings. The same check covers plugin folders named in the [`CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS`](/docs/en/env-vars#variables) environment variable, which requires Claude Code v2.1.280 or later. When the variable names a folder, Claude Code exits with the sam… settings-reference see the edit
Added since A small documentation edit on Manage multiple agents with agent view touched a line naming --plugin-dir after this was published. | [`--plugin-dir <path>`](/docs/en/plugins/create#load-a-directory-or-archive-for-one-session) | Load a plugin from a local directory | agent-view see the edit
Confirmed since Anthropic's documentation has since written up --plugin-dir, on Claude Code changelog. * Fixed `--plugin-dir` on a folder of plugins that also has a `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` loading one empty plugin instead of the plugins in it changelog see the edit
How sure we are
Two sources agreeTwo things we can check say the same as this entry.
Anthropic's documentation agreesAnthropic's documentation has since written up --plugin-dir, on Claude Code changelog.
The name it cites is new in this buildNew in this build: CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS

See this entry in the whole of v2.1.280 →

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