Deprecations

June 17, 2026 · View on GitHub

Claude Code Plugin — deprecation REVERSED (June 2026)

The v0.14 deprecation of the Claude Code plugin has been reversed. The plugin is now the recommended Claude Code install path, and the npx @verygoodplugins/mcp-automem claude-code CLI installer is the settings-level alternative.

What changed

In April 2026 (v0.14) we deprecated the marketplace plugin in favor of the CLI installer, because the duplicate plugin payload kept drifting from the canonical templates/. Two things changed since:

  1. The drift problem was solved by generation: the hook scripts in both templates/claude-code/ and plugins/automem/ are rendered from one policy source (src/memory-policy/shared.ts) and cannot diverge.
  2. The Claude Code plugin system matured into the ecosystem-standard distribution channel: enable-time configuration prompts (userConfig, with keychain storage for secrets), automatic updates through the marketplace, and atomic uninstall. The CLI installer, by contrast, mutates user-owned ~/.claude/settings.json and has needed several rounds of migration machinery to clean up after its own history.

Current status

  • Recommended: /plugin marketplace add verygoodplugins/mcp-automem, then /plugin install automem@verygoodplugins-mcp-automem
  • Supported alternative: npx @verygoodplugins/mcp-automem claude-code (settings-level hooks + permissions; also the migration/cleanup path for older installs)
  • Nothing is scheduled for removal.

Migrating from the CLI install to the plugin

  1. Remove the settings-level install so hooks don't fire twice and the memory tools don't appear under two servers:
npx @verygoodplugins/mcp-automem uninstall claude-code --clean-all
  1. Install the plugin (commands above) and answer the API URL/key prompts.
  2. Restart Claude Code.

Note: plugin MCP tools are namespaced (mcp__plugin_automem_memory__*), so any custom permission rules or notes that reference mcp__memory__* should be updated after migrating.

Historical: AUTOMEM_ENDPOINT

AUTOMEM_ENDPOINT was renamed to AUTOMEM_API_URL. The old name is still read as a fallback but warns at startup. Rename it in your environment.