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# Context-Scope Plugin Installation
# Context Recommended Plugin Installation

## Abstract

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tanzu configuration file. Each discovery source points to a plugin repository
which can contain one or more plugins.

## Standalone Plugins

The scope of a plugin depends on how the plugin is getting installed on the user's machine.
Users can run the `tanzu plugin search` command to see all available plugins from
the configured discovery sources.

If the user wants to install a plugin that is not dependent on any active context and
wants to use it with the Tanzu CLI, the user can run `tanzu plugin install <plugin-name>`
to install the required plugin. Installing the plugin this way will make the
plugin a standalone plugin and it will not be associated with any contexts.

## Context-scoped Plugins
## Context Recommended Plugins

As mentioned above in the abstract section, there might be a scenario when a user
is working with multiple contexts at a time and wants to automatically select the
right set of plugins and plugin versions based on the currently active context.
The context-scoped plugin implementation is useful in this scenario.
The context-recommended plugin implementation is useful in this scenario.

When the CLI user creates a new context for the Tanzu CLI using the
`tanzu context create` command, the CLI adds a context in the tanzu configuration file
Expand All @@ -75,12 +64,14 @@ is the workflow of context-scoped plugin installation:
- The Tanzu CLI finds the plugins and their metadata in the available list of plugins generated from the configured discovery sources
- The Tanzu CLI fetches the plugin binary for these plugins from the specified location and installs the plugin

Users should understand that these plugins (installed based on a context) are
only available when said context is active. If a user deletes the context the plugins
installed based on the deleted context are no longer available to use with the CLI.
If the user switches the context to a different context using the `tanzu context use` command,
the CLI will automatically install/update the recommended plugins based on the new context.

Note: Users should understand that these plugins (installed based on a recommendation from a context) are
installed as normal plugins and will not be automatically deleted when a user deletes the context or switches
the context to a different context. Commands associated with those plugins will remain available
to be used but will likely throw an error if those plugins do not work with the active context.

## Plugin Recommendations from a Context

This section provides more details on how a context can provide
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[i] Successfully installed all required plugins

> tanzu plugin list
Standalone Plugins
NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET VERSION STATUS
isolated-cluster Prepopulating images/bundle for internet-restricted environments global v0.28.0 installed
pinniped-auth Pinniped authentication operations (usually not directly invoked) global v0.28.0 installed
management-cluster Kubernetes management cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
package Tanzu package management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
secret Tanzu secret management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
telemetry configure cluster-wide settings for vmware tanzu telemetry kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET INSTALLED RECOMMENDED STATUS
cluster Kubernetes cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed
feature Operate on features and featuregates kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed
kubernetes-release Kubernetes release operations kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed
isolated-cluster Prepopulating images/bundle for internet-restricted environments global v0.28.0 installed
pinniped-auth Pinniped authentication operations (usually not directly invoked) global v0.28.0 installed
management-cluster Kubernetes management cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
package Tanzu package management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
secret Tanzu secret management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
telemetry configure cluster-wide settings for vmware tanzu telemetry kubernetes v0.28.0 installed

Plugins from Context: tkg-mgmt-vc
NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET VERSION STATUS
cluster Kubernetes cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
feature Operate on features and featuregates kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
kubernetes-release Kubernetes release operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed
```

The way this type of plugin installation works is that The context you
create or activate can recommend a list of plugins and their versions.
When you create or activate a context, the Tanzu CLI fetches the list of
recommended plugins and automatically tries to install these plugins to
your machine. A `RECOMMENDED` column is shown as part of the
`tanzu plugin list` output that specifies which plugins are recommended
by the active context.

For some reason, the auto-installation of the recommended plugins fails while
creating or activating a context or an existing active context start recommending
some newer versions of the plugins, you can check that with the `tanzu plugin list`
output with the `STATUS` field mentioning `update needed` and a newer version in
the `RECOMMENDED` column. You can run the `tanzu plugin sync` command
to automatically install the recommended version of the plugins.

To learn more about the plugins installed from context, please refer to
[context-scoped plugin installation](../full/context-scoped-plugins.md).
[context recommended plugin installation](../full/context-recommended-plugins.md).

## Notes to users of previous versions of the Tanzu CLI

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