Claude Plugin Update Id Scope

Claude plugin update: use installed id + scope

Use this when claude plugin update <name> reports Plugin "<name>" not found even though claude plugin list shows the plugin installed.

Root cause

Claude plugin updates can fail when automation uses only the short plugin name (for example superpowers) and/or assumes the default scope (user).

In practice, the updater may require:

• the actual installed plugin id from claude plugin list --json, such as superpowers@claude-plugins-official
• the actual installed scope, such as project

Example failure:

• Installed: superpowers@claude-plugins-official, scope project
• Failing command: claude plugin update superpowers
• Working command: claude plugin update superpowers@claude-plugins-official --scope project

Debug workflow

1. Inspect help first:

claude plugin update --help
claude plugin list --help

2. Read installed plugins as JSON:

claude plugin list --json

3. Extract the target plugin entry and capture:

• id
• scope
• version
• enabled

4. Retry update using the full installed id and explicit scope:

claude plugin update <plugin-id> --scope <scope>

5. Re-run inventory after update and compare before/after.

Automation pattern

For scripts:

1. call claude plugin list --json
2. parse plugin entries where id matches the target family (for example startswith superpowers@)
3. for each installed scope, run:

claude plugin update "$plugin_id" --scope "$scope"

4. treat the JSON inventory as the health source of truth
5. only fall back to legacy git checkout logic if JSON inventory returns no installed plugin

Verification

• Dry run or summary should show the detected scope/version, e.g.:
  • project:5.0.7:true
• Successful update output should mention the full plugin id and correct scope.
• Regression test should assert all of:
  • script uses claude plugin list --json
  • script filters installed entries by plugin family (for example plugin_id.startswith("superpowers@"))
  • script updates with claude plugin update "$plugin_id" --scope "$scope"
• In workspace-hub, a concrete regression test was added at:
  • tests/work-queue/test-harness-update-superpowers.sh

Known working example

For an installed entry:

• id: superpowers@claude-plugins-official
• scope: project

The short-name command fails:

claude plugin update superpowers --scope project

The full-id command succeeds:

claude plugin update superpowers@claude-plugins-official --scope project

Pitfalls

• Default update scope is user; project-installed plugins will fail if scope is omitted.
• claude plugin list text output is less reliable than --json for automation.
• A plugin can appear installed locally while automation still fails if it uses the short name rather than the installed id.
• Windows rollout depends on repo sync actually pulling latest main; verify scheduler cadence and machine reachability separately.