Plugin Reload & Deploy

Validates plugin structure, syncs files, and reloads plugins in Claude Code.

Protocol

Phase 1: Validate Plugin Structure

For the target plugin directory, verify:

1. .claude-plugin/plugin.json exists and has valid JSON with name, version, description
2. commands/ directory exists with .md files (each with description: + user-invocable: true frontmatter)
3. agents/ directory exists with .md files (each with name: + description: frontmatter)
4. skills/ directory exists with subdirectories containing SKILL.md
5. hooks/hooks.json exists and is valid JSON
6. CLAUDE.md exists as the orchestrator hub

Report counts: X commands, X agents, X skills, X hooks.

Phase 2: Check for Common Issues

• Orphaned files (commands referencing non-existent agents/skills)
• Missing sofka- prefix in agent/skill names
• Stale version numbers
• Invalid hook matchers
• Broken file references in CLAUDE.md

Phase 3: Sync to Active Location

If the plugin is under ~/skills/plugins/, it's already in the active location. Verify Claude Code can see it by checking:

# Plugin should be discoverable
ls ~/.claude/plugins/ 2>/dev/null
# Or check if it's in the project settings
cat .claude/settings.json 2>/dev/null | grep -i plugin

Phase 4: Reload

Instruct the user to run:

/reload-plugins

This reloads all commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP servers without restarting Claude Code.

If hooks changed: Run /hooks to verify hook registration. If LSP changed: Full restart required (exit + relaunch Claude Code).

Phase 5: Verify

After reload, verify:

1. Run /sdf:menu — should show command palette
2. Check a few random skills are accessible: /sdf:demo, /sdf:run-auto
3. Verify hook activation: check if .discovery/ gets created on next session

Output

=== Plugin Reload Report ===
Plugin: {name} v{version}
Location: {path}
Commands: {count} ✅
Agents: {count} ✅
Skills: {count} ✅
Hooks: {count} ✅
Status: READY — run /reload-plugins to activate

Edge Cases

Scenario	Action
Plugin JSON invalid	Show error, suggest fix
Missing directories	Create them with mkdir -p
Duplicate skill names	Flag conflict and suggest rename
Hook script not executable	Run chmod +x on scripts

Usage

Example invocations:

• "/plugin-reload" — Run the full plugin reload workflow
• "plugin reload on this project" — Apply to current context

Validation Gate

• Output follows the defined structure and format [EXPLICIT]
• All claims are tagged with evidence markers [EXPLICIT]
• No placeholder content (TBD, TODO) [EXPLICIT]
• Actionable recommendations with priority levels [EXPLICIT]
• Assumptions explicitly documented [EXPLICIT]

Assumptions & Limits

• Assumes access to project artifacts (code, docs, configs) [EXPLICIT]
• Requires English-language output unless otherwise specified [EXPLICIT]
• Does not replace domain expert judgment for final decisions [EXPLICIT]