Claude Code Plugin Fix Session

Date: 2025-12-27 Duration: Extended session (continued from previous context)

Summary

Fixed 83 broken Claude Code plugins across 11 marketplaces. The plugins had incorrect cache paths pointing to non-existent directories, preventing them from loading properly.

Problem

Plugins in ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json had install paths pointing to:

  • /unknown version directories that didn’t exist
  • Incorrect version identifiers (e.g., 22356299237c instead of 1.0.0)
  • Missing .claude-plugin/marketplace.json files in cache directories

Root Cause

The plugin installation system was creating cache entries with placeholder version strings (unknown) instead of copying the actual plugin content from marketplace directories.

Solution

For each broken plugin:

  1. Copied the full marketplace directory to the plugin’s cache location
  2. Updated installed_plugins.json with correct paths and version numbers
  3. Fixed plugin name mismatches (e.g., compounding-engineering → compound-engineering)

Plugins Fixed by Marketplace

Marketplace Count Examples
claude-code-marketplace 22 refractor, ui-designer, sugar, lyra
claude-code-plugins-plus 18 devops-automation-pack, api-test-automation
awesome-claude-skills 14 file-organizer, canvas-design, mcp-builder
claude-code-templates 5 testing-suite, devops-automation, git-workflow
fradser-dotagent 5 git, utils, github, review, swiftui
claude-code-plugins 5 agent-sdk-dev, feature-dev, ralph-wiggum
claude-plugins-official 4 commit-commands, greptile, feature-dev
anthropic-agent-skills 2 document-skills, scientific-skills
claude-scientific-skills 1 scientific-skills (128 sub-skills)
every-marketplace 1 compound-engineering
superpowers-marketplace 1 elements-of-style
chrome-devtools-plugins 1 chrome-devtools-mcp

Total: 83 plugins fixed

Technical Details

Key Files Modified

  • ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json - Updated all plugin paths
  • ~/.claude/config/settings.json - Fixed plugin name typo

Fix Script Pattern

src = marketplace_base + "/" + marketplace
dst = cache_base + "/" + marketplace + "/" + plugin_name + "/1.0.0"

shutil.copytree(src, dst, symlinks=True)

data["plugins"][plugin_key][0]["installPath"] = dst
data["plugins"][plugin_key][0]["version"] = "1.0.0"

Plugin Structure Types

  1. Root-level plugins (source: "./")
    • Entire marketplace directory copied to cache
    • Examples: claude-code-templates, anthropic-agent-skills
  2. Subdirectory plugins (source: "./dist/claude/plugins/git")
    • Marketplace root copied, plugin accessed via relative path
    • Examples: fradser-dotagent plugins

Verification

Final validation confirmed all 83 plugins have:

  • Valid marketplace.json files
  • Correct plugin definitions matching plugin names
  • Accessible cache directories

Next Steps

  1. Restart Claude Code to load the fixed plugins
  2. Test key plugins to verify functionality:
    • /git:commit - Git workflow
    • /sugar-run - Sugar autonomous mode
    • Agent invocations for testing-suite, devops-automation

Lessons Learned

  1. Plugin cache paths must point to directories containing .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
  2. Root-level plugins (with source: "./") need the full marketplace directory copied
  3. Plugin names in installed_plugins.json must exactly match names in marketplace.json
  4. Always validate JSON structure after bulk edits

This session also addressed:

  • Chrome extension cleanup (removed 7 risky extensions)
  • Chrome “Managed by your organization” message resolved
  • Safari extension audit (no third-party extensions found)

Session documented for future reference and troubleshooting.