davila7/claude-code-templates · error

Failed to load plugins

Error message

Failed to load plugins

What it means

HTTP 500 from GET /api/plugins in the plugin dashboard when the plugin data loader throws. this.plugins is populated by loadPluginData(); any failure while scanning/parsing installed plugin definitions surfaces here.

Source

Thrown at cli-tool/src/plugin-dashboard.js:582

          timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
        });
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error loading marketplaces:', error);
        res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to load marketplaces' });
      }
    });

    this.app.get('/api/plugins', async (req, res) => {
      try {
        await this.loadPluginData();
        res.json({
          plugins: this.plugins || [],
          count: (this.plugins || []).length,
          timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
        });
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error loading plugins:', error);
        res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to load plugins' });
      }
    });

    this.app.get('/api/permissions', async (req, res) => {
      try {
        await this.loadPluginData();
        res.json({
          permissions: this.permissions || {},
          counts: {
            agents: (this.permissions?.agents || []).length,
            commands: (this.permissions?.commands || []).length,
            hooks: (this.permissions?.hooks || []).length,
            mcps: (this.permissions?.mcps || []).length
          },
          timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
        });
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error loading permissions:', error);

View on GitHub (pinned to a0851ed10c)

Solutions

1. Read the server console 'Error loading plugins:' line for the root cause
2. Remove or fix the offending plugin definition (JSON parse-check each file under the plugins directory)
3. Restore/repair the plugins directory the loader scans, then restart the dashboard
4. Update the package if a newer plugin format isn't understood by this loader

null

try { plugins = await getPlugins(); } catch { plugins = []; /* keep UI usable, surface banner */ }

When it happens

Trigger: GET /api/plugins when scanning installed plugin files fails — malformed plugin JSON/frontmatter, missing directory that's still referenced in config, or filesystem errors during the scan.

Common situations: A partially-installed plugin directory; plugin metadata edited by hand with syntax errors; plugins directory moved or deleted while the dashboard runs; OS-level permission changes.

Related errors

• Failed to load marketplaces
• Failed to load permissions
• Failed to update states
• Failed to get system health
• Failed to get Claude session info

AI-assisted analysis of davila7/claude-code-templates@a0851ed10c (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0d7ee088e2c7ccfb. Report an issue: GitHub.