Support maintaining ClaudeCode plugin dependencies

[secustor]

Discussed in #42974

^{Originally posted by secustor April 28, 2026}

Tell us more.

In a recent version ClaudeCode ( v2.1.110 ) added the possibility define Claude plugins as dependencies of other plugins.

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-dependencies

For version parsing the semver npm package internally, so using the npm versioning seems like an obvious choice.

The problem mostly arises we have to resolve the external marketplaces which are defined on a repo, user space, machine or remote level configured. To capture most we most likely would have to run claude itself to get the full list of marketplaces ( plugin marketplace list ) and their location

With that information we can use the the existing datasources to fetch the available versions.

There are no lockfiles

[secustor]

New package manager questionnaire

Did you read our documentation on adding a package manager?

• I've read the adding a package manager documentation.

Basics

What's the name of the package manager?

Claude Code

What language(s) does this package manager support?

Claude Plugins

How popular is this package manager?

ClaudeCode is very popular

Does this language have other (competing?) package managers?

• Yes (give names).
• No.

What are the big selling points for this package manager?

N/A

Detecting package files

What kind of package files, and names, does this package manager use?

Which managerFilePatterns pattern(s) should Renovate use?

• /.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
• .claude-plugin/plugin.json

Do many users need to extend the managerFilePatterns pattern for custom file names?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Is the managerFilePatterns pattern going to get many "false hits" for files that have nothing to do with package management?

Parsing and Extraction

Can package files have "local" links to each other that need to be resolved?

Package file parsing method

The package files should be:

• Parsed together (in serial).
• Parsed independently.

Which format/syntax does the package file use?

• JSON
• TOML
• YAML
• Custom (explain below)

How should we parse the package files?

• Off the shelf parser.
• Using regex.
• Custom-parsed line by line.
• Other.

Does the package file have different "types" of dependencies?

• Yes, production and development dependencies.
• No, all dependencies are treated the same.

List all the sources/syntaxes of dependencies that can be extracted

plugin.json:

{
  "name": "plugin-name",
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "description": "Brief plugin description",
  "homepage": "https://docs.example.com/plugin",
  "repository": "https://github.com/author/plugin",
  "dependencies": [
    "helper-lib",
    { "name": "secrets-vault", "version": "~2.1.0" }
  ],
  "...": "..."
}

marketplace.json:

{
  "name": "foo",
  "plugins": [
    {
      "...": "..."
    }
  ] 
}

Describe which types of dependencies above are supported and which will be implemented in future

Plugin references can be:

• NPM packages
• GitHub.com repo refs
• Git URLs
• local directories

Source: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces#plugin-sources

Versioning

What versioning scheme does the package file(s) use?

ClaudeCode uses the semver npm package

Does this versioning scheme support range constraints, like ^1.0.0 or 1.x?

• Supports range constraints (for example: ^1.0.0 or 1.x), provide details.
• No.

Lookup

Is a new datasource required?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Will users want (or need to) set a custom host or custom registry for Renovate's lookup?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Depending if remote marketplaces should be supported or not.
If yes they could be retrieved by running the claude cli to or manual userconfiguration

Where can Renovate find the custom host/registry?

• No custom host or registry is needed.
• In the package file(s), provide details.
• In some other file inside the repository, provide details.
• User needs to configure Renovate where to find the information, provide details.

Are there any constraints in the package files that Renovate should use in the lookup procedure?

• Yes, there are constraints on the parent language (for example: supports only Python v3.x), provide details.
• Yes, there are constraints on the parent platform (for example: only supports Linux, Windows, etc.), provide details.
• Yes, some other kind of constraint, provide details.
• No constraints.

Will users need the ability to configure language or other constraints using Renovate config?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Artifacts

Does the package manager use a lock file or checksum file?

• Yes, uses lock file.
• Yes, uses checksum file.
• Yes, uses lock file and checksum file.
• No lock file or checksum.

Is the locksum or checksum mandatory?

• Yes, locksum is mandatory.
• Yes, checksum is mandatory.
• Yes, lock file and checksum are mandatory.
• No mandatory locksum or checksum.
• Package manager does not use locksums or checksums.

If lockfiles or checksums are used: what tool and exact commands should Renovate use to update one (or more) package versions in a dependency file?

Package manager cache

Does the package manager use a cache?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Yes, ClaudeCode extracts the content of the plugins to ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/<market place name>/plugins/<plugin name>

If the package manager uses a cache, how can Renovate control the cache?

• Package manager does not use a cache.

• Controlled via command line interface, provide details.

• Controlled via environment variables, provide details.

• CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars

Should Renovate keep a cache?

• Yes, ignore/disable the cache.
• No.

Generating a lockfile from scratch

Renovate can perform "lock file maintenance" by getting the package manager to generate a lockfile from scratch.
Can the package manager generate a lockfile from scratch?

• Yes, explain which command Renovate should use to generate the lockfile.
• No, the package manager does not generate a lockfile from scratch.
• No, the package manager does not use lockfiles.

Other

What else should we know about this package manager?