Plugin install & marketplace management need interactive selection / autocomplete (currently full names must be memorized and typed manually)
- Dominant language
- Shell
- Stars
- 11.2k
- Forks
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- Avg merge
- 14h 16m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 6
Description
## Summary
Plugin and marketplace management is currently fully manual: the user must memorize and type the full `owner/repo` (and for marketplaces, the marketplace name + plugin name) with no autocomplete, no interactive picker, and no list-based selection — even when the CLI clearly already has the relevant list available.
## Affected surfaces
- `copilot plugin install ` — no tab-complete, no fuzzy picker
- `copilot plugin marketplace install ` — same
- `copilot plugin marketplace browse ` — lists plugins but doesn't let you select one to install from the list
- `copilot plugin enable/disable` (see #2714, #3452) would have the same UX problem
## Expected
When invoked without arguments, these commands should drop into an interactive picker (similar to existing model/session pickers) backed by:
- For `install`: the marketplace catalog the CLI already has cached
- For `enable/disable`: the list of currently installed plugins
- For `browse ` → `install`: the plugin list already on screen — let the user arrow + Enter
## Related
- #1545 — "Have simpler plugin marketplace browse feature and install" (similar spirit)
- #2714, #3452 — plugin enable/disable (same UX class)
- #3360, #2077, #3376 — specific marketplace bugs (not UX)
## Why this matters
The current flow assumes the user has the full plugin coordinate memorized, which is fine for power users but defeats the discoverability point of having a marketplace at all.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with the plugin install, marketplace install, marketplace browse, and plugin enable/disable command entry points, then compare them with the existing model/session pickers. Trace how the CLI obtains marketplace and installed-plugin lists. Done means the specified commands support interactive selection from their available lists without requiring users to memorize full names.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- shell
- Domain
- cli, developer-experience
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100