Where Are Claude Code Plugins Installed?

Claude Code installs plugins in the ~/.claude/plugins/ folder. The plugin files themselves are stored in ~/.claude/plugins/cache/<marketplace>/<plugin>/<version>/, with one folder for each installed version.

Whether a plugin is turned on is decided by your settings files, not by this folder. That’s why a plugin can be on disk but still not load.

This article shows what’s inside the plugins folder, how to see which plugins you have, and how to disable or remove them.

The plugins folder location

Here’s where the plugins folder is on each operating system:

You can move it somewhere else by setting the CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR environment variable.

What’s inside ~/.claude/plugins

Here’s what the folder looks like on my Mac:

~/.claude/plugins/
├── cache/
│   └── claude-plugins-official/
│       ├── frontend-design/41f619d61b99/
│       └── superpowers/7.0.0/
├── marketplaces/
│   └── claude-plugins-official/
├── installed_plugins.json
└── known_marketplaces.json

And here’s what each part holds:

The version folder name is either the version number the plugin author set, like 7.0.0, or a short git commit ID, like 41f619d61b99.

When a plugin updates, the old version folder isn’t deleted right away. Claude Code removes it 14 days later, so sessions still using the old version keep working.

How to see which plugins are installed

Run this in your terminal:

claude plugin list

Inside a Claude Code session, run /plugin to open the plugin manager. It has tabs for installed plugins, marketplaces, and errors.

If you want the raw list, you can read installed_plugins.json directly:

cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json

Each entry looks like this:

"superpowers@claude-plugins-official": [
  {
    "scope": "user",
    "installPath": "/Users/nathan/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/superpowers/7.0.0",
    "version": "7.0.0"
  }
]

The name before the @ is the plugin, and the name after it is the marketplace it came from.

How to install a plugin

Use the /plugin menu inside a session, or install from the terminal:

claude plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace>

Add --scope to choose who gets the plugin: user (you, in every project), project (everyone on the project), or local (you, in this project only).

Where is a plugin turned on or off?

Being installed and being enabled are two different things. A plugin is turned on or off by the enabledPlugins key in your settings files:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "superpowers@claude-plugins-official": true
  }
}

This can be set in ~/.claude/settings.json, in a project’s .claude/settings.json, or in .claude/settings.local.json. A project setting wins over your user setting.

So if you disabled a plugin but it still loads, the project probably enables it. Set it to false in the project’s .claude/settings.local.json to turn it off just for you.

How to disable or uninstall a plugin

To turn a plugin off but keep it installed:

claude plugin disable <plugin>@<marketplace>

To remove it completely:

claude plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace>

Uninstalling also deletes the plugin’s data folder. Add --keep-data if you want to keep it.

After changing plugins in the middle of a session, run /reload-plugins so the change takes effect without restarting.

Plugins vs skills

Plugins and skills are related but stored in different places. A plugin is a bundle that can contain skills, subagents, hooks, and MCP servers, and it’s installed from a marketplace into ~/.claude/plugins/.

A standalone skill is just a folder with a SKILL.md file in ~/.claude/skills/ or .claude/skills/. See where Claude Code skills are stored for details.

Conclusion

Claude Code installs plugins in ~/.claude/plugins/cache/, keeps track of them in installed_plugins.json, and turns them on or off with enabledPlugins in your settings files.

Use claude plugin list to see what you have and claude plugin uninstall to remove what you don’t need.