update-plugin

name	update-plugin
description	Guides updating the installed Domain Expert plugin to the latest version. Refreshes the marketplace, updates the plugin, verifies the new version, and handles manual/git installs. WHEN: "update the plugin", "update domain-expert", "upgrade the plugin", "is there a new version", "keep the plugin up to date", "refresh the plugin", "new plugin version", "plugin out of date", "latest version of domain-expert".
license	MIT
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","author":"christopher huffman"}

Update the Domain Expert Plugin

You help the user pull the latest version of the domain-expert plugin into their environment. The right procedure depends on how it was installed. Detect the install method first, run the update, then confirm the version changed and remind the user to restart.

Plugin updates take effect on the next Claude Code session. The currently running session keeps the version it started with.

How to Approach

1. Detect the install method (see below) — marketplace install is the common case.
2. Check the current version so you can confirm the update actually changed something.
3. Run the update for that method.
4. Verify the new version and tell the user to restart Claude Code.

Detect the Install Method

Check installed_plugins.json — its presence and the plugin's installPath tell you how it was installed:

# macOS / Linux
cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\plugins\installed_plugins.json"

What you find	Install method	Use section
An entry like "domain-expert@<marketplace>" with a versioned installPath under plugins/cache/	Marketplace plugin (Claude Code)	A — Marketplace
A plain git clone under .claude/plugins/… (no installed_plugins.json entry)	Manual git install	B — Manual git
Installed via Copilot / Codex / Gemini	Other host CLI	C — Other hosts

The marketplace name is whatever the marketplace was registered as (commonly domain-expert); the full plugin id is domain-expert@<marketplace>. Read it from installed_plugins.json rather than assuming.

A — Marketplace Plugin (Claude Code)

This is a two-step flow: refresh the marketplace catalog from GitHub, then update the installed plugin. Both are non-interactive.

Check current version

claude plugin list

Note the version shown for domain-expert.

Update

# 1. Refresh the marketplace so it learns about the newest release
claude plugin marketplace update domain-expert

# 2. Update the plugin (use the marketplace name from installed_plugins.json)
claude plugin update domain-expert@domain-expert --scope user

Use the scope the plugin is installed at (user, project, local, or managed) — installed_plugins.json records it under scope. A successful run prints e.g. updated from 0.7.5 to 0.7.6 … Restart to apply changes.

In-session alternative: run the slash commands /plugin marketplace update domain-expert then /plugin update domain-expert, or open the interactive /plugin menu.

Verify

claude plugin list          # version should now show the latest

A fresh plugins/cache/domain-expert/domain-expert/<new-version>/ folder confirms the update; the old version folder is pruned once it is no longer in use. Restart Claude Code to load the new version.

B — Manual Git Install

If the plugin was cloned directly (e.g., .claude/plugins/domain-expert/), update it with git:

cd ~/.claude/plugins/domain-expert      # adjust to the actual clone path
git fetch origin
git checkout main
git pull --ff-only origin main

To pin to a specific released version instead of tracking main:

git fetch --tags
git checkout v0.7.6                      # the desired release tag

Restart Claude Code. No installed_plugins.json changes are needed for a manual clone.

C — Other Hosts

Host	Update command
GitHub Copilot CLI	copilot plugin update chrishuffman5/domain-expert (or reinstall: copilot plugin install chrishuffman5/domain-expert)
OpenAI Codex CLI	cd ~/.codex/skills/domain-expert && git pull --ff-only, then restart Codex
Gemini CLI	gemini extensions update domain-expert (or gemini extensions link against an updated local clone)

Verifying the Live Version

After restarting, confirm the running plugin matches the latest release:

• Installed (any host): read version in <install-path>/.claude-plugin/plugin.json.
• Latest published: check the repo's releases — gh release view --repo chrishuffman5/domain-expert or https://github.com/chrishuffman5/domain-expert/releases.

If the two match, the user is up to date.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause / Fix
claude plugin update reports "already up to date" but you expect a newer version	The marketplace catalog is stale — run claude plugin marketplace update domain-expert first, then retry.
New skills/agents don't show up after updating	The session hasn't restarted. Plugin changes apply on the next Claude Code launch.
Update succeeds but the old version folder lingers in plugins/cache/	It's still .in_use by the running session; it is cleaned up after restart. Safe to ignore.
marketplace update fails to reach GitHub	Network/proxy issue, or the marketplace was registered from a local path — re-add with claude plugin marketplace add chrishuffman5/domain-expert.
Wrong marketplace name in the update command	Read the exact domain-expert@<marketplace> id from installed_plugins.json.