Ce:update

Check Plugin Version

Verify the installed compound-engineering plugin version matches the public repository plugin.json on main, and recommend the update command if it doesn't. Claude Code only.

The public repository version comes from plugins/compound-engineering/.claude-plugin/plugin.json on main rather than the latest GitHub release tag, because the marketplace installs plugin contents from main HEAD. Comparing against release tags false-positives whenever main is ahead of the last tag (the normal state between releases).

Step 1: Probe versions

Run these three scripts in parallel via the Bash tool. Each prints a single line of output; capture the values for the decision logic below. Use ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} so the path resolves correctly in both claude --plugin-dir local-development sessions and standard marketplace-cached installs.

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/upstream-version.sh"
bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/currently-loaded-version.sh"
bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/marketplace-name.sh"

scripts/upstream-version.sh reads plugin.json on main via gh api, then falls back to the GitHub Contents API when gh is unavailable in the shell PATH. It avoids raw.githubusercontent.com because the raw CDN can briefly serve stale content immediately after release automation updates main. It prints the version string, or the sentinel __CE_UPDATE_VERSION_FAILED__ if the public repository version cannot be fetched or parsed.

scripts/currently-loaded-version.sh and scripts/marketplace-name.sh parse ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} against the marketplace-cache layout ~/.claude/plugins/cache//compound-engineering//skills/ce-update. They print the version segment / marketplace segment, or the sentinel __CE_UPDATE_NOT_MARKETPLACE__ if the path doesn't match (typical for claude --plugin-dir local development).

Step 2: Apply decision logic

Handle failure cases

If scripts/upstream-version.sh printed __CE_UPDATE_VERSION_FAILED__: tell the user the public repository version could not be fetched or parsed (network access, gh, curl, Python, or Node may be unavailable) and stop.

If scripts/currently-loaded-version.sh printed __CE_UPDATE_NOT_MARKETPLACE__: the skill is loaded from outside the standard marketplace cache. Two cases collapse to the same handling: a claude --plugin-dir local-development session, or a non-Claude-Code platform (this skill is Claude Code-only because it relies on the plugin harness cache layout). Tell the user:

> "Skill is loaded from outside the marketplace cache at > ~/.claude/plugins/cache/. This is normal when using > claude --plugin-dir for local development. No action for this session. > Your marketplace install (if any) is unaffected — run /ce:update in a > regular Claude Code session (no --plugin-dir) to check that cache."

Then stop.

Compare versions

Up to date — currently_loaded == upstream:

> "compound-engineering v{version} is installed and up to date."

Out of date — currently_loaded != upstream:

> "compound-engineering is on v{currently_loaded} but v{upstream} is available. > > Update with: > `` > claude plugin update compound-engineering@{marketplace_name} > `` > Then restart Claude Code to apply."

The claude plugin update command ships with Claude Code itself and updates installed plugins to their latest version; it replaces earlier manual cache sweep / marketplace-refresh workarounds. The marketplace name is derived from the skill path rather than hardcoded because this plugin is distributed under multiple marketplace names (for example, compound-engineering-plugin for public installs per the README, or other names for internal/team marketplaces).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Jerrylalala
• Source: Jerrylalala/compound-engineering
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.