How does plugin and skill syncing work?
Claude Code keeps plugins and skills in ~/.claude/plugins/ and ~/.claude/skills/. If every instance had its own copies, you’d need to update each one separately. Auto-sync avoids that with symlinks.
What auto-sync does
When it’s enabled on an instance, claude-multi creates symlinks pointing back to your primary install:
~/.claude-multi/deepseek/plugins/ → ~/.claude/plugins/~/.claude-multi/deepseek/skills/ → ~/.claude/skills/Install or update a plugin once in ~/.claude, and every synced instance picks it up immediately.
Turning it on and off
From the TUI: select Toggle auto-sync and pick an instance.
From the CLI:
claude-multi auto-sync deepseek onclaude-multi auto-sync deepseek offWhen symlinks break
If you move or delete ~/.claude, the symlinks point to nothing. Fix them with:
claude-multi fix-symlinksYou can also target specific instances: claude-multi fix-symlinks deepseek glm.
From the TUI, the Re-sync symlinks option does the same thing.
Collision detection
If you’ve installed the same plugin in multiple places (one symlinked, one copied, different versions), you might get MCP server name collisions. Check for them with:
claude-multi plugins check-collisions <instance> <plugin-id>...This scans for conflicts and reports any plugins that share an MCP server name but have different content.
Related questions
- How do I manage MCP servers?: MCP configs work independently per instance
- How do I troubleshoot broken instances?: fixing broken symlinks and more
More info
- /docs/plugins-mcp/: plugin and MCP management guide
- /blog/inside-claude-multi-every-menu/: Manage Plugins and Toggle Auto-sync screens
- Run
claude-multiand try Manage plugins, Toggle auto-sync, or Re-sync symlinks - src/config.ts:
syncPluginsAndSkills()and symlink repair logic - src/ink/screens/ManagePlugins.tsx: the TUI plugin screen