Summary
Currently, there is no way to start a Copilot CLI session with specific plugins disabled without fully uninstalling them. A --disable-plugin <name> startup flag would allow lightweight sessions without losing plugin configuration.
Current behaviour
The only way to start without a plugin is to uninstall it:
copilot plugin uninstall <name>
# ...later...
copilot plugin install <name>
Proposed change
Add a --disable-plugin <name> flag (can be used multiple times, similar to the existing --disable-mcp-server):
# Start a minimal session — no user plugins, only built-in tools
copilot --disable-plugin security-best-practices --disable-plugin context-engineering
# Or a blanket flag to skip all plugins for this session
copilot --no-plugins
This mirrors the existing pattern of --disable-mcp-server and --disable-builtin-mcps which already provide per-session MCP control.
Use case
Power users often configure multiple plugins for different workflows. A simple alias pattern like:
alias copilot_minimal='copilot --no-plugins --disable-mcp-server playwright --disable-mcp-server postgres'
...would let you switch between heavy and lightweight sessions without touching installed state.
Related
Notes
The feature gap is noticeable because MCP servers already have this per-session control (--disable-mcp-server) but plugins do not. Parity between the two would make the CLI much more composable for scripting and alias-based workflows.
Summary
Currently, there is no way to start a Copilot CLI session with specific plugins disabled without fully uninstalling them. A
--disable-plugin <name>startup flag would allow lightweight sessions without losing plugin configuration.Current behaviour
The only way to start without a plugin is to uninstall it:
Proposed change
Add a
--disable-plugin <name>flag (can be used multiple times, similar to the existing--disable-mcp-server):This mirrors the existing pattern of
--disable-mcp-serverand--disable-builtin-mcpswhich already provide per-session MCP control.Use case
Power users often configure multiple plugins for different workflows. A simple alias pattern like:
...would let you switch between heavy and lightweight sessions without touching installed state.
Related
plugin enable/disablecommands (different angle: that is config-level; this is per-session flag)Notes
The feature gap is noticeable because MCP servers already have this per-session control (
--disable-mcp-server) but plugins do not. Parity between the two would make the CLI much more composable for scripting and alias-based workflows.