f227eeb90c
Local-path plugins (source is a string like "./plugins/foo" in
marketplace.json) without a manifest version cache at
~/.claude/plugins/cache/{marketplace}/{plugin}/unknown/ forever.
The cache check in claude-cli's copyPluginToVersionedCache sees
pathExists(.../unknown/) → true → skips re-extraction, even after
the marketplace content updates. Users are stuck with stale plugin
files until they manually delete the cache.
Adding "version": "1.0.0" fixes this because calculatePluginVersion
reads the manifest from the freshly-synced marketplace tree (not the
stale cache), and manifest.version is priority #1 in version
resolution. New version → new cache path → cache miss → re-extract.
This is preferable to the GCS-SHA fallback approach
(anthropics/claude-cli-internal#24773) because:
- Per-plugin granularity: only bumped plugins re-extract, not all
27 on every marketplace push
- No disk accumulation from unrelated marketplace churn
- Fixes both the runtime loader path AND the migration path
(manifest.version is priority #1 in both)
- No claude-cli code change needed
Remote-sourced plugins (github/git/url) already get a git SHA as
their version and are unaffected.
Explanatory Output Style Plugin
This plugin recreates the deprecated Explanatory output style as a SessionStart hook.
WARNING: Do not install this plugin unless you are fine with incurring the token cost of this plugin's additional instructions and output.
What it does
When enabled, this plugin automatically adds instructions at the start of each session that encourage Claude to:
- Provide educational insights about implementation choices
- Explain codebase patterns and decisions
- Balance task completion with learning opportunities
How it works
The plugin uses a SessionStart hook to inject additional context into every session. This context instructs Claude to provide brief educational explanations before and after writing code, formatted as:
`★ Insight ─────────────────────────────────────`
[2-3 key educational points]
`─────────────────────────────────────────────────`
Usage
Once installed, the plugin activates automatically at the start of every session. No additional configuration is needed.
The insights focus on:
- Specific implementation choices for your codebase
- Patterns and conventions in your code
- Trade-offs and design decisions
- Codebase-specific details rather than general programming concepts
Migration from Output Styles
This plugin replaces the deprecated "Explanatory" output style setting. If you previously used:
{
"outputStyle": "Explanatory"
}
You can now achieve the same behavior by installing this plugin instead.
More generally, this SessionStart hook pattern is roughly equivalent to CLAUDE.md, but it is more flexible and allows for distribution through plugins.
Note: Output styles that involve tasks besides software development, are better expressed as subagents, not as SessionStart hooks. Subagents change the system prompt while SessionStart hooks add to the default system prompt.
Managing changes
- Disable the plugin - keep the code installed on your device
- Uninstall the plugin - remove the code from your device
- Update the plugin - create a local copy of this plugin to personalize this
plugin
- Hint: Ask Claude to read https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugins.md and set it up for you!