diff --git a/bin/doctor b/bin/doctor
index 784bdf5..e86be33 100755
--- a/bin/doctor
+++ b/bin/doctor
@@ -180,10 +180,63 @@ if [ -f "$INSTALLED" ]; then
     || add WARN plugin "skills@mathias is not installed for Claude Code — /plugin marketplace add https://git.d-ma.be/mathias/skills.git"
 fi
 
+# --- Claude Code: which GENERATION of the plugin is installed ---------------
+# Every check above is about symlink paths, which is the wrong shape for the
+# plugin: it is the only channel Claude Code has, and Claude Code gates updates
+# on plugin.json's version. A host that never picked up a release loads all the
+# skills successfully and is simply a generation behind — silently. Found on
+# koala 2026-08-29: installed 0.6.0, marketplace clone 0.7.0, repo 0.8.5,
+# doctor said "clean" (#30).
+#
+# Offline by construction, like the rest of doctor: "available" means the
+# newest manifest already on this host — the active checkout and any
+# marketplace clone — never a fetch.
+manifest_version() {
+  [ -f "$1" ] || return 1
+  grep -q '"name"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"skills"' "$1" || return 1
+  sed -n 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' "$1" | head -1
+}
+
+# newer_version a b — echoes whichever sorts higher on major.minor.patch.
+newer_version() {
+  printf '%s\n%s\n' "$1" "$2" | awk -F. '
+    { raw[NR] = $0; for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) n[NR, i] = ($i == "" ? 0 : $i + 0) }
+    END {
+      for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {
+        if (n[1, i] > n[2, i]) { print raw[1]; exit }
+        if (n[1, i] < n[2, i]) { print raw[2]; exit }
+      }
+      print raw[1]
+    }'
+}
+
+installed_v=''
+if [ -f "$INSTALLED" ]; then
+  installed_v=$(sed -n '/"skills@mathias"/,/\]/p' "$INSTALLED" \
+    | sed -n 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' | head -1)
+fi
+
+available_v=''
+for manifest in "$CHECKOUT/.claude-plugin/plugin.json" \
+                "$HOME"/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/*/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+do
+  v=$(manifest_version "$manifest") || continue
+  [ -n "$v" ] || continue
+  if [ -z "$available_v" ]; then
+    available_v=$v
+  else
+    available_v=$(newer_version "$available_v" "$v")
+  fi
+done
+
+if [ -n "$installed_v" ] && [ -n "$available_v" ] && [ "$installed_v" != "$available_v" ]; then
+  add FAIL plugin-version "Claude Code has skills@mathias $installed_v installed but $available_v is available on this host — /plugin update skills@mathias (a host stale enough to matter is running the old doctor, so the first detection may need this run by hand)"
+fi
+
 # --- output -----------------------------------------------------------------
 if [ "$JSON" -eq 1 ]; then
-  printf '{"checkout":"%s","expected":%s,"findings":[%s]}\n' \
-    "$CHECKOUT" "$EXPECTED" "${report%,}"
+  printf '{"checkout":"%s","expected":%s,"plugin":{"installed":"%s","available":"%s"},"findings":[%s]}\n' \
+    "$CHECKOUT" "$EXPECTED" "$installed_v" "$available_v" "${report%,}"
 elif [ "$findings" -gt 0 ]; then
   printf 'skills doctor — %s finding(s), checkout %s\n\n%s\n' \
     "$findings" "$CHECKOUT" "$report"
diff --git a/tests/doctor_test.sh b/tests/doctor_test.sh
index 3265961..5a26ddd 100644
--- a/tests/doctor_test.sh
+++ b/tests/doctor_test.sh
@@ -133,5 +133,63 @@ mkdir -p "$f/home/.claude/skills"
 ln -sfn "$f/ck/skills/vanished" "$f/home/.claude/skills/vanished"
 assert_fails "$f" 'dangling' 'dangling link inside a harness dir is reported'
 
+# --- 8. Claude Code plugin pinned to an older version than is available -----
+# The plugin is the ONLY delivery channel for Claude Code, and Claude Code
+# gates updates on plugin.json's version field. A host that never picked the
+# new one up loads every skill successfully — just the wrong generation. Found
+# live on koala 2026-08-29: installed 0.6.0, marketplace 0.7.0, repo 0.8.5,
+# and doctor said "clean" (#30).
+
+# installed_state <fixture> <version> — the Claude Code install record.
+installed_state() {
+  mkdir -p "$1/home/.claude/plugins"
+  cat > "$1/home/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json" <<JSON
+{
+  "version": 2,
+  "plugins": {
+    "skills@mathias": [
+      {
+        "scope": "user",
+        "installPath": "/somewhere/$2",
+        "version": "$2"
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+JSON
+}
+
+# manifest <dir> <version> — a .claude-plugin/plugin.json under <dir>.
+manifest() {
+  mkdir -p "$1/.claude-plugin"
+  printf '{\n  "name": "skills",\n  "version": "%s"\n}\n' "$2" > "$1/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
+}
+
+f=$(new_fixture pluginmatch); wire_clean "$f"
+installed_state "$f" 0.8.0
+manifest "$f/ck" 0.8.0
+assert_clean "$f" 'plugin on the current version stays silent'
+
+f=$(new_fixture pluginstale); wire_clean "$f"
+installed_state "$f" 0.7.0
+manifest "$f/ck" 0.8.0
+assert_fails "$f" '0.7.0' 'stale plugin version is reported'
+assert_fails "$f" '0.8.0' 'stale plugin report names the available version'
+
+# A host that only uses the symlink path has no install record at all. That is
+# a valid configuration and must not fail.
+f=$(new_fixture pluginabsent); wire_clean "$f"
+manifest "$f/ck" 0.8.0
+assert_clean "$f" 'no Claude Code install record is not a fault'
+
+# The marketplace clone is what Claude Code compares against, so a newer
+# version there means an update is waiting even when the local checkout agrees
+# with what is installed.
+f=$(new_fixture pluginmarket); wire_clean "$f"
+installed_state "$f" 0.7.0
+manifest "$f/ck" 0.7.0
+manifest "$f/home/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/mathias" 0.9.0
+assert_fails "$f" '0.9.0' 'a newer marketplace clone is reported'
+
 printf '\ndoctor: %d passed, %d failed\n' "$pass" "$fail"
 [ "$fail" -eq 0 ]