A Claude Code plugin can disappear for several different reasons, and the error message tells you which layer to inspect first. Do not start by deleting caches or reinstalling everything.
1. Freeze the exact error
These messages are not interchangeable:
-
marketplace not found: the catalog is not registered. -
plugin not found: the marketplace is visible, but the exact plugin identifier is absent. - Installed but missing: check scope, enabled state, activation, loader errors, dependencies, and runtime paths.
-
/pluginor/reload-pluginsunavailable: you may be using the wrong command surface or an unsupported environment.
Record the Claude Code version, terminal or desktop surface, exact marketplace name, exact plugin identifier, intended scope, and complete redacted error.
2. Prove the marketplace before the plugin
In a shell, inventory the registered catalogs:
claude plugin marketplace list
Inside an interactive Claude Code session, the official marketplace can be added with:
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-official
If the named marketplace is not listed, stop at marketplace registration or policy. Installing the plugin again cannot repair an absent catalog.
3. Check the exact identifier and refresh boundary
Compare the full plugin-name@marketplace-name value with the Discover and Installed views.
Claude Code 2.1.221 introduced one stale-catalog refresh and retry when auto-update is enabled. On older versions, or when auto-update is disabled, update the exact marketplace once:
/plugin marketplace update MARKETPLACE_NAME
If the exact identifier still is not listed, do not loop updates or switch catalogs at random.
4. Separate scope, activation, and loader failures
A healthy install can still be hidden by user, project, local, or managed settings. Inspect structured state before adding another copy:
claude plugin list --json
claude plugin details PLUGIN_NAME@MARKETPLACE_NAME
Then check whether the plugin is enabled, whether the current session needs /reload-plugins, and whether the Errors tab reports a manifest, path, dependency, hook, MCP, or LSP failure.
5. Verify the runtime path
A Windows host path does not automatically exist inside WSL, a Dev Container, a cloud session, or another checkout. Verify required executables and plugin paths inside the same runtime that launches Claude Code.
Run one known-answer command, skill, agent, LSP action, or read-only MCP tool from the plugin. A successful install message is not the acceptance test.
What not to do
Do not delete plugin caches, rewrite shared settings, copy plugin directories across environments, or remove marketplaces before the first failed gate is proven. Preserve the evidence needed to distinguish catalog, scope, activation, loader, dependency, and runtime failures.
The full source-linked decision tree, commands, recovery boundaries, and official references are available here:
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