DSH plugin market uninstall residue: config and cache

The list entry disappears and most people call the cleanup done — but a market uninstall only does half the job: it removes the dependency and load layer while configuration, cache, profile overrides and logs stay behind. The four residues rarely break anything immediately, yet they surface on the next reinstall and make you wonder why an old version came back (2.2.5 index). This article follows the cleanup lifecycle: understand the uninstall boundary, locate the four residues, clean them in order, then run a pre-reinstall check. Uninstall lives in the installed list of DSH Plugin Hub.

What a DSH Plugin Hub market uninstall deletes and keeps

Market uninstall deletes the dependency plus the load entry; it does not delete data the plugin wrote or overrides you created. Those two have different lifecycles, and mixing them leads to wrong assumptions.

1. Find the target plugin in the installed list and click Uninstall at the end of its row.
2. Read the confirmation dialog and verify the plugin name and source repository before confirming.
3. Refresh the list after removal and confirm the entry really disappeared.
4. Do not start deleting directories here; move to the four-location check below.

The dialog only guarantees that you remove the plugin you meant to remove. It is not responsible for data cleanup. Treat this step as removing the manifest entry; the rest of the cleanup follows.

Locating the four residues: DSH plugin config, cache, profile, logs

Each residue lives somewhere different: config in the profile and config layer, cache in the pnpm store, profile residue in override files, logs at the location shown on the system logs page. Locate first, then decide whether to delete.

1. Config: start from the configuration keys named in the plugin docs and search the profile directory and your own config layer for the same keys; back up before deleting anything.
2. Cache: pnpm's content-addressed store is global, and node_modules inside the profile is a link into it. The cache can be reclaimed, but do not manually delete packages still in use.
3. Profile: inspect hand-written overlays such as cordis.patch.yml, which may contain references to the uninstalled plugin.
4. Logs: find the log location under Settings → Plugin Market → System Logs, export anything worth keeping, then decide whether to clear.

The easiest residue to miss is the profile overlay: remove will not clean hand-written content, and cache cleanup certainly will not. It is also the most common reason configuration looks old after a reinstall.

Cleanup order in dsh plugin market: manifest first, files second

The order is fixed: confirm the manifest is clean, then clear cache, then handle configuration and logs. Reverse it and you lose the reference for whether the package should exist at all.

# 1. Installed list: confirm the entry is gone
dsh plugin --profile web list
# 2. Profile manifest: neither dependencies nor dsh.profile.bundles should contain the old name
cat ~/.dsh/profiles/web/package.json
# 3. Composed config: confirm the load layer has no old plugin
dsh --profile web --dump-config | grep -in <plugin-keyword>

1. Run the three read-only checks above and confirm the manifest layer is clean.
2. If the manifest still has residue, return to market uninstall or the official remove command instead of deleting files first.
3. Once the manifest is clean, reclaim pnpm cache if needed; it only removes unreferenced content, so it is relatively safe.
4. Handle configuration and overlays last: back up, then delete only keys or sections belonging to the target plugin.
5. Process logs according to retention needs, exporting evidence before clearing.

"Manifest first, files second" is not a formality. It avoids the hardest state to debug: files deleted while the manifest still points at them, so startup reports a missing package and you think the uninstall was incomplete.

Before reinstalling: three DeepSeek Harness checks

Check three places before reinstalling — list, manifest, overlay — because only a clean three means the new version will not inherit old state. Verifying only one easily carries old configuration into the new build.

1. The old entry cannot be found in the installed list, even with the source filter set to All.
2. Neither dependencies nor dsh.profile.bundles in the profile's package.json contains the old package name.
3. The profile's hand-written overlays contain no reference or old path pointing at the previous plugin.
4. If the old version left a data directory, confirm whether the new version reuses it; if so, back it up before reinstalling.
5. Install only after all three pass, then verify the entry and logs as usual.

Reinstalling is not just "overwrite and go"; an old overlay and a new version can conflict. The goal is not an empty environment but one the new version can start from with a clear explanation. For a fuller residue list, see how to fully clean uninstall residue.

When not to clean: DSH plugin shared dependencies and overrides

The boundary is residue that belongs only to this plugin; shared dependencies, unrelated configuration and evidence logs must stay. Clean too aggressively and the problem changes from residue to a broken environment.

1. Never manually delete dependencies still referenced by other plugins; let the package manager decide what can be reclaimed.
2. Do not wipe unrelated profile configuration in bulk; handle keys precisely by name.
3. Export logs you still need as evidence before clearing, so the failure scene survives.
4. Comment out or back up overlay content whose ownership is unclear instead of deleting it.
5. Restart once after cleanup and confirm other plugins still load.

The value of cleanup is explainability: you know what was deleted, why, and whether the environment still runs. If any of those three is missing, stop at the backup step.

Keep a cleanup record too

1. Note the uninstalled plugin name and version.
2. Note which files and configuration were removed.
3. Note whether other plugins still worked afterward.

For the full reinstall sequence, continue with plugin uninstall and reinstall.