diff --git a/ARCHITECTURE.md b/ARCHITECTURE.md
index 7534d69..1529309 100644
--- a/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -1121,17 +1121,27 @@ flowchart TD
 ### Plugin installs declare the same hooks instead
 
 When the dashboard is installed as the `ccam` Claude Code plugin, the eight hook
-entries come from the inline `hooks` block in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`
-(each running `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/hook-handler.js`), and
-`install-hooks.js` is not used at all. Both at once would POST every event twice
-— events carry no id, so ingest cannot deduplicate them, and every token and
-cost figure would double. Two guards keep that from happening silently:
+entries are declared inline in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` (each running
+`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/hook-handler.js`), and `install-hooks.js` is not
+used at all. `claude plugin install` itself materializes these into
+`~/.claude/settings.json` with `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` already resolved to the
+plugin's cache path — confirmed by installing the plugin for real and
+inspecting the file, not just reading the docs. Both a checkout install and a
+plugin install writing hooks at once would POST every event twice — events
+carry no id, so ingest cannot deduplicate them, and every token and cost figure
+would double. Two guards keep that from happening silently:
 
-- `scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js` strips `hook-handler.js` entries out of
-  `~/.claude/settings.json` on session start (backing the file up as
-  `settings.json.ccam-bak` first) and logs what it removed.
+- `scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js` strips checkout-style `hook-handler.js` entries
+  out of `~/.claude/settings.json` on session start (backing the file up as
+  `settings.json.ccam-bak` first) and logs what it removed. Because the
+  plugin's own entries ALSO contain `hook-handler.js` (just resolved to a cache
+  path instead of a raw filesystem one), a plain substring match cannot tell
+  them apart — `isCheckoutHookEntry()` only treats an entry as removable when
+  its command does NOT resolve under `~/.claude/plugins/cache/`, so the
+  plugin's own legitimate hooks are never touched.
 - `install-hooks.js` warns when the plugin runtime state exists, and
-  `/ccam-doctor` reports any surviving duplicates as a `FAIL`.
+  `/ccam-doctor` reports any surviving checkout-style duplicates as a `FAIL`
+  using the same `isCheckoutHookEntry()` predicate.
 
 `scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js` also owns the rest of the plugin's runtime: the
 Node >= 22.5 gate (`node:sqlite`), an atomic `mkdir` lock, the dependency
diff --git a/docs/PLUGINS.md b/docs/PLUGINS.md
index 8d7fb38..5b5e26c 100644
--- a/docs/PLUGINS.md
+++ b/docs/PLUGINS.md
@@ -91,10 +91,15 @@ checkout unnecessary.
 
 Because the plugin ships the hooks itself, `npm run install-hooks` is not needed
 for plugin users — and must not be run alongside it. Events carry no id, so two
-handlers mean every token and cost figure is counted twice. The bootstrap
-removes the older checkout-installed entries automatically (backing
-`~/.claude/settings.json` up as `settings.json.ccam-bak` first), and
-`/ccam-doctor` reports the state.
+handlers mean every token and cost figure is counted twice. `claude plugin
+install` writes the plugin's own hook entries into `~/.claude/settings.json`
+too (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` resolved to the actual cache path) — confirmed
+against a real install — so those entries also contain `hook-handler.js`, same
+as a leftover checkout install. The bootstrap tells them apart by whether the
+command resolves under `~/.claude/plugins/cache/`: only genuine checkout paths
+are removed (backing `~/.claude/settings.json` up as `settings.json.ccam-bak`
+first), never the plugin's own. `/ccam-doctor` reports the state using the same
+check.
 
 ### First session start
 
diff --git a/scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js b/scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js
index 76e88c9..cdf435c 100644
--- a/scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js
+++ b/scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js
@@ -187,11 +187,37 @@ function releaseLock(rt = runtimeDir()) {
 
 /* --------------------------------------------------------- legacy cleanup */
 
+/**
+ * `claude plugin install` materializes the plugin's inline hooks into
+ * `~/.claude/settings.json` itself, with `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` already
+ * resolved to the cache path — confirmed by installing this plugin for real
+ * and inspecting the file. Those entries also contain `hook-handler.js`, so
+ * `isOurEntry()` alone (checkout vs. plugin, both match the same substring)
+ * cannot tell a legitimate plugin-installed hook from a leftover
+ * `npm run install-hooks` entry. Only entries whose command does NOT resolve
+ * under the plugin cache are the legacy, checkout-installed kind.
+ *
+ * @returns {(entry: object) => boolean}
+ */
+function isCheckoutHookEntry(claudeHome = getClaudeHome()) {
+  const cacheRoot = path.join(claudeHome, "plugins", "cache");
+  return (entry) => {
+    if (!isOurEntry(entry)) return false;
+    const commands = [
+      entry.command,
+      ...(Array.isArray(entry.hooks) ? entry.hooks.map((h) => h.command) : []),
+    ];
+    return !commands.some((c) => typeof c === "string" && c.includes(cacheRoot));
+  };
+}
+
 /**
  * Remove hook entries a previous `npm run install-hooks` wrote into
  * ~/.claude/settings.json. The plugin installs its own hooks, and events carry
  * no id — two handlers mean every token and cost figure is counted twice.
- * The original file is copied aside before any write.
+ * Never touches the plugin's own cache-resolved entries (see
+ * `isCheckoutHookEntry`) — only genuine leftover checkout paths. The original
+ * file is copied aside before any write.
  *
  * @returns {number} how many entries were removed
  */
@@ -204,10 +230,11 @@ function stripLegacyHooks(settingsPath = getSettingsPath()) {
   }
   if (!settings.hooks || typeof settings.hooks !== "object") return 0;
 
+  const isLegacy = isCheckoutHookEntry();
   let removed = 0;
   for (const [type, entries] of Object.entries(settings.hooks)) {
     if (!Array.isArray(entries)) continue;
-    const kept = entries.filter((e) => !isOurEntry(e));
+    const kept = entries.filter((e) => !isLegacy(e));
     removed += entries.length - kept.length;
     if (kept.length) settings.hooks[type] = kept;
     else delete settings.hooks[type];
@@ -506,6 +533,7 @@ module.exports = {
   lockIsStale,
   acquireLock,
   releaseLock,
+  isCheckoutHookEntry,
   stripLegacyHooks,
   linkCli,
   installDeps,
diff --git a/scripts/plugin-doctor.js b/scripts/plugin-doctor.js
index 9daf2a5..91e06a9 100644
--- a/scripts/plugin-doctor.js
+++ b/scripts/plugin-doctor.js
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ const os = require("os");
 const path = require("path");
 
 const boot = require("./plugin-bootstrap");
-const { isOurEntry } = require("./install-hooks");
 const { getSettingsPath, getDataDir } = require("../server/lib/claude-home");
 const { mcpBuildStatus } = require("./check-mcp-build");
 
@@ -104,9 +103,10 @@ function countLegacyHookEntries() {
   try {
     const settings = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(getSettingsPath(), "utf8"));
     if (!settings.hooks) return 0;
+    const isLegacy = boot.isCheckoutHookEntry();
     return Object.values(settings.hooks)
       .filter(Array.isArray)
-      .reduce((n, entries) => n + entries.filter(isOurEntry).length, 0);
+      .reduce((n, entries) => n + entries.filter(isLegacy).length, 0);
   } catch {
     return 0;
   }
diff --git a/server/__tests__/plugin-bootstrap.test.js b/server/__tests__/plugin-bootstrap.test.js
index 8af7c8f..5c485aa 100644
--- a/server/__tests__/plugin-bootstrap.test.js
+++ b/server/__tests__/plugin-bootstrap.test.js
@@ -192,6 +192,49 @@ describe("legacy hook cleanup", () => {
     assert.ok(fs.existsSync(`${settings}.ccam-bak`), "must back up before writing");
   });
 
+  it("never removes the plugin's own cache-resolved hook entries", () => {
+    // Regression: `claude plugin install` materializes the plugin's inline
+    // hooks into settings.json itself, with ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} resolved to
+    // the cache path — confirmed against a real install. Those entries also
+    // contain "hook-handler.js", so a naive substring check would strip them
+    // right along with genuine checkout leftovers, killing the plugin's own
+    // hooks on every session start.
+    const cachePath = path.join(
+      TMP_HOME,
+      "plugins",
+      "cache",
+      "claude-code-agent-monitor-plugins",
+      "ccam",
+      "abc123",
+      "scripts",
+      "hook-handler.js"
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      settings,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        hooks: {
+          PreToolUse: [
+            {
+              matcher: "*",
+              hooks: [{ type: "command", command: `node "${cachePath}" PreToolUse` }],
+            },
+            {
+              matcher: "*",
+              hooks: [
+                { type: "command", command: "node /repo/scripts/hook-handler.js PreToolUse" },
+              ],
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      })
+    );
+    const removed = boot.stripLegacyHooks(settings);
+    assert.equal(removed, 1);
+    const after = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(settings, "utf8"));
+    assert.equal(after.hooks.PreToolUse.length, 1);
+    assert.match(JSON.stringify(after.hooks.PreToolUse), /plugins.*cache/);
+  });
+
   it("leaves a file with no CCAM hooks untouched and writes no backup", () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(settings, JSON.stringify({ hooks: { Stop: [{ hooks: [] }] } }));
     assert.equal(boot.stripLegacyHooks(settings), 0);