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Sweep 28 Sep 2026 · 17:20Z Build v2.1.284 505 read Stable v2.1.274 Latest v2.1.283 Next v2.1.284 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt llms-full.txt Unofficial
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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 Internal Changes
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
Internal ChangesKind: 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
Names in the bundleCLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS
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
How sure we are
Something disagreesSomething we can check disagrees with this entry, or the writer said they could not settle it.
The writer flagged doubtThe finding does not say what these paths are validated or used for beyond plugin loading, or in what situation the refusal message is…
Anthropic's documentation agreesAnthropic's documentation has since written up CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS, on All settings.
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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