fix: make portable plugin skills visible after CLI installs

Portable desktop installs can mutate CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR from an embedded or external CLI while the desktop server is already running. The server skill surface now rereads plugin-related state before listing skills, and /reload-plugins refreshes plugin skills alongside plugin commands so terminal sessions see the same enabled skills without a restart.

Constraint: Portable mode expects CLI, desktop API, and terminal sessions to share the selected CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR even when writes happen from separate processes
Rejected: Require a desktop restart after plugin install | leaves the portable install workflow stale and contradicts the existing /reload-plugins handoff
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep skill discovery and reload summaries counting plugin skills separately from plugin slash commands
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/skills.test.ts
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/plugins.test.ts
Tested: bun test src/server/__tests__/sessions.test.ts
Tested: bun run check:server
Tested: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=/tmp portable smoke with anthropics/skills, two cwd /api/skills checks, and DeepSeek skill slash-command calls
Tested: bun run quality:gate --mode baseline --allow-live --provider-model deepseek:main:deepseek-main --only provider-smoke:*
Not-tested: Packaged desktop UI visual smoke

src/commands/reload-plugins/reload-plugins.ts

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ export const call: LocalCommandCall = async (_args, context) => {
 
   const parts = [
     n(r.enabled_count, 'plugin'),
-    n(r.command_count, 'skill'),
+    n(r.skill_count, 'skill'),
     n(r.agent_count, 'agent'),
     n(r.hook_count, 'hook'),
     // "plugin MCP/LSP" disambiguates from user-config/built-in servers,

src/server/__tests__/plugins.test.ts

@@ -256,6 +256,7 @@ describe('Plugins API', () => {
 
     await fs.mkdir(path.join(pluginRoot, '.claude-plugin'), { recursive: true })
     await fs.mkdir(path.join(pluginRoot, 'commands'), { recursive: true })
+    await fs.mkdir(path.join(pluginRoot, 'skills', 'paint'), { recursive: true })
     await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(marketplaceFile), { recursive: true })
     await fs.mkdir(pluginsDir, { recursive: true })
 
@@ -273,6 +274,11 @@ describe('Plugins API', () => {
       '---\ndescription: Render a drawing.\n---\nRender this drawing.',
       'utf-8',
     )
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      path.join(pluginRoot, 'skills', 'paint', 'SKILL.md'),
+      '---\ndescription: Paint with the drawing plugin.\n---\nPaint this drawing.',
+      'utf-8',
+    )
     await fs.writeFile(
       marketplaceFile,
       JSON.stringify({
@@ -345,14 +351,24 @@ describe('Plugins API', () => {
 
     expect(result.enabled_count).toBe(1)
     expect(result.command_count).toBe(1)
+    expect(result.skill_count).toBe(1)
     expect(result.pluginCommands).toContainEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
         name: 'draw:render',
         description: 'Render a drawing.',
       }),
     )
+    expect(result.pluginSkills).toContainEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        name: 'draw:paint',
+        description: 'Paint with the drawing plugin.',
+      }),
+    )
     expect(appState.plugins.commands).toContainEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({ name: 'draw:render' }),
     )
+    expect(appState.plugins.commands).toContainEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: 'draw:paint' }),
+    )
   })
 })

src/server/__tests__/skills.test.ts

@@ -279,4 +279,105 @@ describe('Skills API', () => {
       }),
     )
   })
+
+  it('lists plugin skills after an external CLI install updates portable config on disk', async () => {
+    const marketplaceRoot = path.join(tmpHome, 'marketplace-root')
+    const pluginRoot = path.join(marketplaceRoot, 'plugins', 'draw')
+    const pluginsDir = path.join(tmpHome, '.claude', 'plugins')
+    const marketplaceFile = path.join(
+      marketplaceRoot,
+      '.claude-plugin',
+      'marketplace.json',
+    )
+
+    await fs.mkdir(path.join(pluginRoot, '.claude-plugin'), { recursive: true })
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(marketplaceFile), { recursive: true })
+    await fs.mkdir(pluginsDir, { recursive: true })
+    await writeSkill(
+      path.join(pluginRoot, 'skills'),
+      'render',
+      ['---', 'description: Render with the drawing plugin.', '---', '', '# Render'].join('\n'),
+    )
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      path.join(pluginRoot, '.claude-plugin', 'plugin.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({
+        name: 'draw',
+        version: '1.0.0',
+        description: 'Drawing plugin',
+      }),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      marketplaceFile,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        name: 'test-market',
+        owner: { name: 'Test' },
+        plugins: [
+          {
+            name: 'draw',
+            source: './plugins/draw',
+            version: '1.0.0',
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      path.join(pluginsDir, 'known_marketplaces.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({
+        'test-market': {
+          source: { source: 'directory', path: marketplaceRoot },
+          installLocation: marketplaceRoot,
+          lastUpdated: new Date(0).toISOString(),
+        },
+      }),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+
+    const settingsPath = path.join(tmpHome, '.claude', 'settings.json')
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      settingsPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        enabledPlugins: {
+          'draw@test-market': false,
+        },
+      }),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+
+    const initial = makeRequest('/api/skills')
+    const initialRes = await handleSkillsApi(initial.req, initial.url, initial.segments)
+    const initialBody = await initialRes.json() as {
+      skills: Array<{ name: string; source: string }>
+    }
+    expect(initialBody.skills).not.toContainEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: 'draw:render', source: 'plugin' }),
+    )
+
+    // Simulates the embedded terminal running the CLI against the same
+    // CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR while the desktop server process stays alive.
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      settingsPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        enabledPlugins: {
+          'draw@test-market': true,
+        },
+      }),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+
+    const after = makeRequest('/api/skills')
+    const afterRes = await handleSkillsApi(after.req, after.url, after.segments)
+    const afterBody = await afterRes.json() as {
+      skills: Array<{ name: string; source: string; description: string }>
+    }
+
+    expect(afterBody.skills).toContainEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        name: 'draw:render',
+        source: 'plugin',
+        description: 'Render with the drawing plugin.',
+      }),
+    )
+  })
 })

src/server/api/skills.ts

@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ import { parseFrontmatter } from '../../utils/frontmatterParser.js'
 import { getClaudeConfigHomeDir } from '../../utils/envUtils.js'
 import { getProjectDirsUpToHome } from '../../utils/markdownConfigLoader.js'
 import { getCwd } from '../../utils/cwd.js'
-import { loadAllPlugins, loadAllPluginsCacheOnly } from '../../utils/plugins/pluginLoader.js'
+import { clearInstalledPluginsCache } from '../../utils/plugins/installedPluginsManager.js'
+import { clearPluginCache, loadAllPlugins, loadAllPluginsCacheOnly } from '../../utils/plugins/pluginLoader.js'
 import { getSkillDirCommands } from '../../skills/loadSkillsDir.js'
+import { resetSettingsCache } from '../../utils/settings/settingsCache.js'
 import type { LoadedPlugin } from '../../types/plugin.js'
 import { ApiError, errorResponse } from '../middleware/errorHandler.js'
 
@@ -306,6 +308,10 @@ async function collectPluginSkillDirectories(): Promise<Map<string, PluginSkillL
 
   let enabledPlugins: LoadedPlugin[]
   try {
+    resetSettingsCache()
+    clearInstalledPluginsCache()
+    clearPluginCache('skills-api-external-plugin-state')
+
     const result = await loadAllPluginsCacheOnly()
     if (result.errors.some((error) => error.type === 'plugin-cache-miss')) {
       enabledPlugins = (await loadAllPlugins()).enabled

src/server/services/pluginService.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import { loadPluginMcpServers } from '../../utils/plugins/mcpPluginIntegration.j
 import { parsePluginIdentifier } from '../../utils/plugins/pluginIdentifier.js'
 import { loadAllPlugins } from '../../utils/plugins/pluginLoader.js'
 import { loadPluginHooks } from '../../utils/plugins/loadPluginHooks.js'
-import { getPluginCommands } from '../../utils/plugins/loadPluginCommands.js'
+import { getPluginSkills } from '../../utils/plugins/loadPluginCommands.js'
 import { clearPluginCacheExclusions } from '../../utils/plugins/orphanedPluginFilter.js'
 import { parseFrontmatter } from '../../utils/frontmatterParser.js'
 import { extractDescriptionFromMarkdown } from '../../utils/markdownConfigLoader.js'
@@ -238,8 +238,8 @@ export class PluginService {
     const pluginState = await this.loadPluginState()
     const { enabled, disabled, errors } = pluginState
 
-    const [commands, agentDefinitions] = await Promise.all([
-      getPluginCommands(),
+    const [skills, agentDefinitions] = await Promise.all([
+      getPluginSkills(),
       getAgentDefinitionsWithOverrides(cwd),
     ])
 
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ export class PluginService {
       summary: {
         enabled: enabled.length,
         disabled: disabled.length,
-        skills: commands.length,
+        skills: skills.length,
         agents: agentDefinitions.allAgents.length,
         hooks: hookCount,
         mcpServers: mcpCounts.reduce((sum, count) => sum + count, 0),

src/utils/plugins/refresh.ts

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import { errorMessage } from '../errors.js'
 import { logError } from '../log.js'
 import { resetSettingsCache } from '../settings/settingsCache.js'
 import { clearAllCaches } from './cacheUtils.js'
-import { getPluginCommands } from './loadPluginCommands.js'
+import { getPluginCommands, getPluginSkills } from './loadPluginCommands.js'
 import { loadPluginHooks } from './loadPluginHooks.js'
 import { loadPluginLspServers } from './lspPluginIntegration.js'
 import { loadPluginMcpServers } from './mcpPluginIntegration.js'
@@ -49,12 +49,14 @@ export type RefreshActivePluginsResult = {
    * is called unconditionally so the manager picks these up (no-op if
    * manager was never initialized). */
   lsp_count: number
+  skill_count: number
   error_count: number
   /** The refreshed agent definitions, for callers (e.g. print.ts) that also
    * maintain a local mutable reference outside AppState. */
   agentDefinitions: AgentDefinitionsResult
   /** The refreshed plugin commands, same rationale as agentDefinitions. */
   pluginCommands: Command[]
+  pluginSkills: Command[]
 }
 
 /**
@@ -91,10 +93,12 @@ export async function refreshActivePlugins(
   // the plugin, returning plugin-cache-miss. loadAllPlugins warms the
   // cache-only memoize on completion, so the awaits below are ~free.
   const pluginResult = await loadAllPlugins()
-  const [pluginCommands, agentDefinitions] = await Promise.all([
+  const [pluginCommands, pluginSkills, agentDefinitions] = await Promise.all([
     getPluginCommands(),
+    getPluginSkills(),
     getAgentDefinitionsWithOverrides(getOriginalCwd()),
   ])
+  const activePluginCommands = [...pluginCommands, ...pluginSkills]
 
   const { enabled, disabled, errors } = pluginResult
 
@@ -131,7 +135,7 @@ export async function refreshActivePlugins(
       ...prev.plugins,
       enabled,
       disabled,
-      commands: pluginCommands,
+      commands: activePluginCommands,
       errors: mergePluginErrors(prev.plugins.errors, errors),
       needsRefresh: false,
     },
@@ -185,13 +189,15 @@ export async function refreshActivePlugins(
     enabled_count: enabled.length,
     disabled_count: disabled.length,
     command_count: pluginCommands.length,
+    skill_count: pluginSkills.length,
     agent_count: agentDefinitions.allAgents.length,
     hook_count,
     mcp_count,
     lsp_count,
     error_count: errors.length + (hook_load_failed ? 1 : 0),
     agentDefinitions,
-    pluginCommands,
+    pluginCommands: activePluginCommands,
+    pluginSkills,
   }
 }