fix(plugins): stop core updates from resurrecting uninstalled built-in plugins (#368)

* fix(plugins): stop core updates from resurrecting uninstalled built-in plugins

Built-in plugins (e.g. web-ui-info, starlark-apps) are committed into the
repo under plugin-repos/. When a user uninstalls one, a subsequent core
`git pull` update restores the committed files, so the plugin reappears on
every update. The update endpoint stashes the deletion and never pops it,
and `git pull` faithfully restores any committed file whose deletion was
never committed — so excluding plugin-repos/ from the stash can't fix this
(it would only make `git pull --rebase` fail on a dirty tree).

Add a persistent uninstall registry (config/uninstalled_plugins.json,
gitignored) that survives restarts, unlike the existing in-memory tombstone:

- Uninstall records the plugin id; install clears it.
- purge_uninstalled_plugins() re-removes any recorded plugin whose directory
  reappears on disk; called after a successful git-pull update and at web
  startup (covers manual `git pull` on the Pi too).
- The state reconciler also refuses to auto-repair a persistently
  uninstalled plugin.

Wires up mark_recently_uninstalled in the uninstall flow (previously only
referenced by tests) via the new persistent record.

Adds regression tests covering record/forget/purge lifecycle, persistence
across manager instances, and corrupt-registry tolerance.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(plugins): validate uninstall-registry ids and lock registry writes

Address review feedback on the persistent uninstall registry:

- Critical: validate plugin ids on read/record and add a containment guard
  in purge_uninstalled_plugins. A corrupt or hand-edited registry entry of
  "" resolves to the plugins root, so purge could have deleted every plugin;
  traversal ids ("..", "../x") could target paths outside the root. Invalid
  ids are now dropped on read, refused on record, and never removed unless
  the path is a direct child of the plugins directory.
- Major: guard record/forget read-modify-write with a lock so concurrent
  install/uninstall requests can't lose updates.
- Minor: narrow the startup and post-update purge exception handlers from
  bare Exception to (OSError, RuntimeError).

Adds regression tests for empty-id, traversal-id, and invalid-record cases.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitignore

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ config/config_secrets.json
 config/config.json
 config/config.json.backup
 config/wifi_config.json
+config/uninstalled_plugins.json
 credentials.json
 token.pickle
 

first_time_install.sh

@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ on_error() {
     echo "✗ An error occurred during: $CURRENT_STEP (line $line_no, exit $exit_code)" >&2
     if [ -n "${LOG_FILE:-}" ]; then
         echo "See the log for details: $LOG_FILE" >&2
-        echo "-- Last 50 lines from log --" >&2
-        tail -n 50 "$LOG_FILE" >&2 || true
+        echo "-- Last 100 lines from log --" >&2
+        tail -n 100 "$LOG_FILE" >&2 || true
     fi
     echo "\nCommon fixes:" >&2
     echo "- Ensure the Pi is online (try: ping -c1 8.8.8.8)." >&2
@@ -202,8 +202,33 @@ retry() {
     done
 }
 
-apt_update() { retry apt update; }
-apt_install() { retry apt install -y "$@"; }
+# Wait for another apt/dpkg process (commonly unattended-upgrades running
+# shortly after first boot) to release its lock before we try apt ourselves.
+# Without this, apt_update/apt_install can fail outright in the first couple
+# minutes after a fresh Pi OS boot with a generic "Command failed after 3
+# attempts" error.
+wait_for_apt_lock() {
+    command -v flock >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 0
+    local lock_file="/var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend"
+    local max_wait=180
+    local waited=0
+    local printed=0
+    while ! flock -n "$lock_file" -c true 2>/dev/null; do
+        if [ "$printed" -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "⚠ Waiting for another apt/dpkg process to finish (e.g. unattended-upgrades on first boot)..."
+            printed=1
+        fi
+        if [ "$waited" -ge "$max_wait" ]; then
+            echo "⚠ Still waiting after ${max_wait}s; proceeding anyway."
+            break
+        fi
+        sleep 5
+        waited=$((waited+5))
+    done
+}
+
+apt_update() { wait_for_apt_lock; retry apt update; }
+apt_install() { wait_for_apt_lock; retry apt install -y "$@"; }
 apt_remove() { apt-get remove -y "$@" || true; }
 
 check_network() {
@@ -222,6 +247,22 @@ check_network() {
     exit 1
 }
 
+check_disk_space() {
+    command -v df >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 0
+    local available_mb
+    available_mb=$(df -m "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" | awk 'NR==2{print $4}')
+    available_mb=${available_mb:-0}
+    if [ "$available_mb" -lt 500 ]; then
+        echo "✗ ERROR: Insufficient disk space: ${available_mb}MB available (need at least 500MB)"
+        echo "  Free up space first, e.g.: sudo apt clean && sudo apt autoremove"
+        exit 1
+    elif [ "$available_mb" -lt 1024 ]; then
+        echo "⚠ Limited disk space: ${available_mb}MB available (recommend at least 1GB for the rpi-rgb-led-matrix build in Step 6)"
+    else
+        echo "✓ Disk space sufficient: ${available_mb}MB available"
+    fi
+}
+
 echo ""
 echo "This script will perform the following steps:"
 echo "1. Install system dependencies"
@@ -271,8 +312,9 @@ CURRENT_STEP="Install system dependencies"
 echo "Step 1: Installing system dependencies..."
 echo "----------------------------------------"
 
-# Ensure network is available before APT operations
+# Pre-flight checks before APT operations
 check_network
+check_disk_space
 
 # Update package list
 apt_update
@@ -822,14 +864,14 @@ else
         # Try to initialize submodule if .gitmodules exists
         if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" ] && grep -q "rpi-rgb-led-matrix" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules"; then
             echo "Initializing rpi-rgb-led-matrix submodule..."
-            if ! git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master 2>&1; then
+            if ! retry git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master; then
                 echo "⚠ Submodule init failed, cloning directly from GitHub..."
-                git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+                retry git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             fi
         else
             # Fallback: clone directly if submodule not configured
             echo "Submodule not configured, cloning directly from GitHub..."
-            git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+            retry git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
         fi
     fi
     
@@ -841,23 +883,34 @@ else
             cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
             rm -rf rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" ] && grep -q "rpi-rgb-led-matrix" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules"; then
-                git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+                retry git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             else
-                git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+                retry git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             fi
         fi
-        
+
         pushd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" >/dev/null
         echo "Installing rpi-rgb-led-matrix Python package (scikit-build-core + cmake)..."
         echo "  Build deps required: python-dev-is-python3 cmake"
         echo "  This compiles C++ — may take 2-5 minutes on Pi 4/5..."
-        if ! python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages .; then
+        BUILD_OUTPUT=$(mktemp)
+        BUILD_SUCCESS=false
+        if python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages . > "$BUILD_OUTPUT" 2>&1; then
+            BUILD_SUCCESS=true
+        fi
+        cat "$BUILD_OUTPUT" >> "$LOG_FILE"
+        if [ "$BUILD_SUCCESS" != true ]; then
             echo "✗ Failed to install rpi-rgb-led-matrix Python package"
             echo "  Ensure build tools are installed:"
             echo "  sudo apt install -y python-dev-is-python3 cmake build-essential"
+            echo ""
+            echo "-- Last 50 lines of build output --"
+            tail -n 50 "$BUILD_OUTPUT"
+            rm -f "$BUILD_OUTPUT"
             popd >/dev/null
             exit 1
         fi
+        rm -f "$BUILD_OUTPUT"
         popd >/dev/null
     else
         echo "✗ rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master directory not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
@@ -912,7 +965,9 @@ else
     # Try to install dependencies using the smart installer if available
     if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py" ]; then
         echo "Using smart dependency installer..."
-        python3 "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py"
+        # -u: unbuffered stdout/stderr so output is captured in $LOG_FILE in
+        # real time and in order relative to this script's own echo statements
+        python3 -u "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py"
     else
         echo "Using pip to install dependencies..."
         if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements_web_v2.txt" ]; then

scripts/install/one-shot-install.sh

@@ -340,9 +340,14 @@ main() {
     echo ""
     
     # Execute with proper error handling and non-interactive mode
-    # Temporarily disable errexit to capture exit code instead of exiting immediately
+    # Temporarily disable errexit AND the ERR trap to capture exit code instead of
+    # exiting immediately. `set +e` alone does not suppress the ERR trap, so without
+    # `trap '' ERR` a non-zero exit from first_time_install.sh would trigger on_error
+    # here with the generic "Main installation" message instead of the detailed
+    # if/else handling below.
     set +e
-    
+    trap '' ERR
+
     # Check /tmp permissions - only fix if actually wrong (common in automated scenarios)
     # When running manually, /tmp usually has correct permissions (1777)
     TMP_PERMS=$(stat -c '%a' /tmp 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
@@ -370,6 +375,7 @@ main() {
         sudo -E env TMPDIR=/tmp LEDMATRIX_ASSUME_YES=1 bash ./first_time_install.sh -y </dev/null
     fi
     INSTALL_EXIT_CODE=$?
+    trap 'on_error $LINENO' ERR  # Re-enable ERR trap
     set -e  # Re-enable errexit
     
     if [ $INSTALL_EXIT_CODE -eq 0 ]; then

scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py

@@ -6,46 +6,67 @@ then falls back to pip with --break-system-packages
 
 import subprocess
 import sys
+import tempfile
 import warnings
+from collections import deque
 from pathlib import Path
 
+# How many trailing lines of a failed command's output to keep for the
+# end-of-run failure summary. Keeps the root cause near the end of the log,
+# which is where first_time_install.sh's error handler tails from.
+ERROR_TAIL_LINES = 15
+
+
+def _run(cmd):
+    """Run a command, streaming combined stdout/stderr to a temp file.
+
+    Returns (success, output) instead of raising, so callers can report
+    *why* a command failed rather than just that it failed. `output` is
+    bounded to the last ERROR_TAIL_LINES lines so failures from very
+    chatty commands (e.g. pip build logs) don't get buffered in memory.
+    """
+    with tempfile.TemporaryFile(mode='w+b') as f:
+        result = subprocess.run(cmd, stdout=f, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)  # nosec B603 B607 - hardcoded apt/pip args  # nosemgrep
+        f.seek(0)
+        # Stream line-by-line so only the last ERROR_TAIL_LINES are ever held
+        # in memory, regardless of how much output the command produced.
+        tail = deque(
+            (line.decode('utf-8', errors='replace').rstrip('\n') for line in f),
+            maxlen=ERROR_TAIL_LINES,
+        )
+    return result.returncode == 0, '\n'.join(tail)
+
+
 def install_via_apt(package_name):
-    """Try to install a package via apt."""
-    try:
-        # Map pip package names to apt package names
-        apt_package_map = {
-            'flask': 'python3-flask',
-            'PIL': 'python3-pil',
-            'freetype': 'python3-freetype',
-            'psutil': 'python3-psutil',
-            'werkzeug': 'python3-werkzeug',
-            'numpy': 'python3-numpy',
-            'requests': 'python3-requests',
-            'python-dateutil': 'python3-dateutil',
-            'pytz': 'python3-tz',
-            'geopy': 'python3-geopy',
-            'unidecode': 'python3-unidecode',
-            'websockets': 'python3-websockets',
-            'websocket-client': 'python3-websocket-client'
-        }
-        
-        apt_package = apt_package_map.get(package_name, f'python3-{package_name}')
-        
-        print(f"Trying to install {apt_package} via apt...")
-        subprocess.check_call([
-            'sudo', 'apt', 'update'
-        ], stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
-        
-        subprocess.check_call([
-            'sudo', 'apt', 'install', '-y', apt_package
-        ], stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
-        
+    """Try to install a package via apt. Returns (success, output)."""
+    # Map pip package names to apt package names
+    apt_package_map = {
+        'flask': 'python3-flask',
+        'PIL': 'python3-pil',
+        'freetype': 'python3-freetype',
+        'psutil': 'python3-psutil',
+        'werkzeug': 'python3-werkzeug',
+        'numpy': 'python3-numpy',
+        'requests': 'python3-requests',
+        'python-dateutil': 'python3-dateutil',
+        'pytz': 'python3-tz',
+        'geopy': 'python3-geopy',
+        'unidecode': 'python3-unidecode',
+        'websockets': 'python3-websockets',
+        'websocket-client': 'python3-websocket-client'
+    }
+
+    apt_package = apt_package_map.get(package_name, f'python3-{package_name}')
+
+    print(f"Trying to install {apt_package} via apt...")
+    success, output = _run(['sudo', 'apt', 'install', '-y', apt_package])
+    if success:
         print(f"Successfully installed {apt_package} via apt")
-        return True
-        
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
-        print(f"Failed to install {package_name} via apt, will try pip")
-        return False
+        return True, ""
+
+    print(f"Failed to install {apt_package} via apt, will try pip")
+    return False, output
+
 
 def install_via_pip(package_name):
     """Install a package via pip with --break-system-packages and --prefer-binary.
@@ -54,34 +75,65 @@ def install_via_pip(package_name):
     Debian/Ubuntu-based systems without a virtual environment.
     --prefer-binary prefers pre-built wheels over source distributions to avoid
     exhausting /tmp space during compilation.
+
+    Returns (success, output).
     """
-    try:
-        print(f"Installing {package_name} via pip...")
-        subprocess.check_call([
-            sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', '--break-system-packages', '--prefer-binary', package_name
-        ])
+    print(f"Installing {package_name} via pip...")
+    success, output = _run([
+        sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', '--break-system-packages', '--prefer-binary', package_name
+    ])
+    if success:
         print(f"Successfully installed {package_name} via pip")
-        return True
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-        print(f"Failed to install {package_name} via pip: {e}")
-        return False
+        return True, ""
+
+    print(f"Failed to install {package_name} via pip (see failure summary at end of log)")
+    return False, output
+
+
+# Distribution (pip/apt) names whose importable module name differs.
+IMPORT_NAME_MAP = {
+    'python-dateutil': 'dateutil',
+    'websocket-client': 'websocket',
+}
+
 
 def check_package_installed(package_name):
     """Check if a package is already installed."""
+    import_name = IMPORT_NAME_MAP.get(package_name, package_name)
     # Suppress deprecation warnings when checking if packages are installed
     # (we're just checking, not using them)
     with warnings.catch_warnings():
         warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', category=DeprecationWarning)
         try:
-            __import__(package_name)
+            __import__(import_name)
             return True
         except ImportError:
             return False
 
+
+def print_failure_summary(failed_packages, failure_details):
+    print("\n" + "=" * 60)
+    print("DEPENDENCY INSTALLATION FAILURES - DETAILS")
+    print("=" * 60)
+    for package in failed_packages:
+        print(f"\nPackage: {package}")
+        print("-" * 40)
+        output = failure_details.get(package, "").strip()
+        if not output:
+            print("  (no output captured)")
+            continue
+        for line in output.splitlines()[-ERROR_TAIL_LINES:]:
+            print(f"  {line}")
+    print("=" * 60)
+
+
 def main():
     """Main installation function."""
     print("Installing dependencies for LED Matrix Web Interface V2...")
-    
+
+    print("Refreshing apt package index...")
+    _run(['sudo', 'apt', 'update'])  # best-effort; individual installs surface their own errors
+
     # List of required packages
     required_packages = [
         'flask',
@@ -98,19 +150,23 @@ def main():
         'websockets',
         'websocket-client'
     ]
-    
+
     failed_packages = []
-    
+    failure_details = {}
+
     for package in required_packages:
         if check_package_installed(package):
             print(f"{package} is already installed")
             continue
-            
+
         # Try apt first, then pip
-        if not install_via_apt(package):
-            if not install_via_pip(package):
+        ok, apt_output = install_via_apt(package)
+        if not ok:
+            ok, pip_output = install_via_pip(package)
+            if not ok:
                 failed_packages.append(package)
-    
+                failure_details[package] = pip_output or apt_output
+
     # Install packages that don't have apt equivalents
     special_packages = [
         'timezonefinder>=6.5.0,<7.0.0',
@@ -122,47 +178,49 @@ def main():
         'python-socketio>=5.11.0,<6.0.0',
         'python-engineio>=4.9.0,<5.0.0'
     ]
-    
+
     for package in special_packages:
-        if not install_via_pip(package):
+        ok, pip_output = install_via_pip(package)
+        if not ok:
             failed_packages.append(package)
-    
+            failure_details[package] = pip_output
+
     # Install rgbmatrix module from local source (optional - may already be installed in Step 6)
     # Check if already installed first
     if check_package_installed('rgbmatrix'):
         print("rgbmatrix module already installed, skipping...")
     else:
         print("Installing rgbmatrix module from local source...")
-        try:
-            # Get project root (parent of scripts directory)
-            PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
-            rgbmatrix_path = PROJECT_ROOT / 'rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master' / 'bindings' / 'python'
-            if rgbmatrix_path.exists():
-                # Check if the module has been built (look for setup.py)
-                setup_py = rgbmatrix_path / 'setup.py'
-                if setup_py.exists():
-                    # Try installing - use regular install, not editable mode
-                    # This is optional for web interface and should already be installed in Step 6
-                    subprocess.check_call([
-                        sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', '--break-system-packages', str(rgbmatrix_path)
-                    ], stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+        # Get project root (parent of scripts directory)
+        PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+        rgbmatrix_path = PROJECT_ROOT / 'rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master' / 'bindings' / 'python'
+        if rgbmatrix_path.exists():
+            # Check if the module has been built (look for setup.py)
+            setup_py = rgbmatrix_path / 'setup.py'
+            if setup_py.exists():
+                # Try installing - use regular install, not editable mode
+                # This is optional for web interface and should already be installed in Step 6
+                ok, output = _run([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', '--break-system-packages', str(rgbmatrix_path)])
+                if ok:
                     print("rgbmatrix module installed successfully")
                 else:
-                    print("Warning: rgbmatrix setup.py not found, module may need to be built first")
-                    print("  This is normal if Step 6 hasn't completed yet.")
+                    # Don't fail the whole installation - rgbmatrix is optional for web interface
+                    # and should be installed in Step 6 of first_time_install.sh
+                    print("Warning: Failed to install rgbmatrix module:")
+                    for line in output.strip().splitlines()[-ERROR_TAIL_LINES:]:
+                        print(f"  {line}")
+                    print("  This is normal if rgbmatrix hasn't been built yet (Step 6).")
+                    print("  The web interface will work without it.")
             else:
-                print("Warning: rgbmatrix source not found (this is normal if Step 6 hasn't run yet)")
-        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-            # Don't fail the whole installation - rgbmatrix is optional for web interface
-            # and should be installed in Step 6 of first_time_install.sh
-            print(f"Warning: Failed to install rgbmatrix module: {e}")
-            print("  This is normal if rgbmatrix hasn't been built yet (Step 6).")
-            print("  The web interface will work without it.")
-            # Don't add to failed_packages since it's optional
-    
+                print("Warning: rgbmatrix setup.py not found, module may need to be built first")
+                print("  This is normal if Step 6 hasn't completed yet.")
+        else:
+            print("Warning: rgbmatrix source not found (this is normal if Step 6 hasn't run yet)")
+
     if failed_packages:
         print(f"\nFailed to install the following packages: {failed_packages}")
         print("You may need to install them manually or check your system configuration.")
+        print_failure_summary(failed_packages, failure_details)
         return False
     else:
         print("\nAll dependencies installed successfully!")

src/plugin_system/state_reconciliation.py

@@ -322,10 +322,19 @@ class StateReconciliation:
                 and hasattr(self.store_manager, 'was_recently_uninstalled')
                 and self.store_manager.was_recently_uninstalled(plugin_id)
             )
+            # Also refuse to resurrect a plugin the user has persistently
+            # uninstalled. Unlike the in-memory race guard above, this record
+            # survives restarts, so the user's removal sticks across updates.
+            persistently_uninstalled = (
+                self.store_manager is not None
+                and hasattr(self.store_manager, 'is_plugin_uninstalled')
+                and self.store_manager.is_plugin_uninstalled(plugin_id)
+            )
             can_repair = (
                 self.store_manager is not None
                 and not previously_unrecoverable
                 and not recently_uninstalled
+                and not persistently_uninstalled
             )
             inconsistencies.append(Inconsistency(
                 plugin_id=plugin_id,

src/plugin_system/store_manager.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from both the official registry and custom GitHub repositories.
 
 import hashlib
 import os
+import re
 import json
 import stat
 import subprocess
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ import time
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import List, Dict, Optional, Any, Tuple
+from typing import List, Dict, Optional, Any, Tuple, Set
 import logging
 
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
@@ -43,13 +44,24 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
     """
     
     REGISTRY_URL = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-plugins/main/plugins.json"
+
+    # A valid plugin id is a single path component: starts alphanumeric, then
+    # alphanumerics / dot / dash / underscore. Used to keep the uninstall
+    # registry from ever turning a corrupt or hand-edited entry (e.g. "",
+    # "..", "../x") into a filesystem path that purge_uninstalled_plugins
+    # would delete — an empty id resolves to the plugins root itself.
+    _PLUGIN_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$")
     
-    def __init__(self, plugins_dir: str = "plugins"):
+    def __init__(self, plugins_dir: str = "plugins",
+                 uninstalled_registry_path: Optional[str] = None):
         """
         Initialize the plugin store manager.
 
         Args:
             plugins_dir: Directory where plugins are installed
+            uninstalled_registry_path: Path to the JSON file recording plugins
+                the user has uninstalled. Defaults to
+                ``config/uninstalled_plugins.json`` under the project root.
         """
         self.plugins_dir = Path(plugins_dir)
         self.logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -84,6 +96,25 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
         self._uninstall_tombstones: Dict[str, float] = {}
         self._uninstall_tombstone_ttl = 300  # 5 minutes
 
+        # Persistent record of plugins the user has uninstalled. Unlike the
+        # in-memory tombstones above (a short-lived race guard), this survives
+        # restarts so that a core ``git pull`` update cannot resurrect a
+        # built-in plugin the user removed. Built-in plugins (e.g.
+        # ``web-ui-info``, ``starlark-apps``) are committed into the repo under
+        # ``plugin-repos/``, so a plain ``git pull`` restores their files even
+        # after the user deleted them. ``purge_uninstalled_plugins`` re-removes
+        # any such resurrected directory; ``install_plugin`` clears the record
+        # when the user deliberately reinstalls. The file is gitignored.
+        if uninstalled_registry_path is not None:
+            self._uninstalled_registry_path = Path(uninstalled_registry_path)
+        else:
+            self._uninstalled_registry_path = (
+                Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "config" / "uninstalled_plugins.json"
+            )
+        # Serializes read-modify-write of the registry file so concurrent
+        # install/uninstall requests can't lose updates.
+        self._uninstalled_registry_lock = threading.Lock()
+
         # Cache for _get_local_git_info: {plugin_path_str: (signature, data)}
         # where ``signature`` is a tuple of (head_mtime, resolved_ref_mtime,
         # head_contents) so a fast-forward update to the current branch
@@ -143,6 +174,135 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
             return False
         return True
 
+    def _is_valid_plugin_id(self, plugin_id: Any) -> bool:
+        """Return True if ``plugin_id`` is a safe single-component plugin id.
+
+        Rejects empty strings, anything with a path separator, and traversal
+        sequences like ``..`` so a registry entry can never escape (or target
+        the root of) ``self.plugins_dir`` during a purge.
+        """
+        return isinstance(plugin_id, str) and bool(self._PLUGIN_ID_RE.match(plugin_id))
+
+    def _read_uninstalled_registry(self) -> Set[str]:
+        """Read the persistent set of uninstalled plugin IDs.
+
+        Returns an empty set if the file is missing, unreadable, or corrupt —
+        a broken registry must never block normal plugin operations. Invalid
+        ids are dropped here so callers never turn them into paths.
+        """
+        try:
+            if not self._uninstalled_registry_path.exists():
+                return set()
+            with open(self._uninstalled_registry_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                data = json.load(f)
+            if not isinstance(data, list):
+                self.logger.warning(
+                    "Uninstalled-plugin registry at %s is not a list; ignoring it",
+                    self._uninstalled_registry_path,
+                )
+                return set()
+            valid: Set[str] = set()
+            for pid in data:
+                if self._is_valid_plugin_id(pid):
+                    valid.add(pid)
+                else:
+                    self.logger.warning(
+                        "Ignoring invalid plugin id in uninstall registry: %r", pid
+                    )
+            return valid
+        except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+            self.logger.warning(
+                "Could not read uninstalled-plugin registry at %s: %s",
+                self._uninstalled_registry_path, e,
+            )
+            return set()
+
+    def _write_uninstalled_registry(self, plugin_ids: Set[str]) -> None:
+        """Persist the set of uninstalled plugin IDs (sorted, atomically)."""
+        path = self._uninstalled_registry_path
+        try:
+            path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            tmp_path = path.with_suffix(path.suffix + ".tmp")
+            with open(tmp_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                json.dump(sorted(plugin_ids), f, indent=2)
+            os.replace(tmp_path, path)
+        except OSError as e:
+            self.logger.error(
+                "Failed to write uninstalled-plugin registry at %s: %s", path, e
+            )
+
+    def record_uninstalled_plugin(self, plugin_id: str) -> None:
+        """Persistently record that the user uninstalled ``plugin_id``.
+
+        Survives restarts so a core update cannot resurrect the plugin.
+        """
+        if not self._is_valid_plugin_id(plugin_id):
+            self.logger.error("Refusing to record invalid plugin id: %r", plugin_id)
+            return
+        with self._uninstalled_registry_lock:
+            recorded = self._read_uninstalled_registry()
+            if plugin_id not in recorded:
+                recorded.add(plugin_id)
+                self._write_uninstalled_registry(recorded)
+                self.logger.info("Recorded %s as uninstalled (persistent)", plugin_id)
+
+    def forget_uninstalled_plugin(self, *plugin_ids: str) -> None:
+        """Drop ``plugin_ids`` from the persistent uninstall registry.
+
+        Called when a plugin is deliberately (re)installed so future updates
+        keep it.
+        """
+        with self._uninstalled_registry_lock:
+            recorded = self._read_uninstalled_registry()
+            to_remove = {pid for pid in plugin_ids if pid in recorded}
+            if to_remove:
+                self._write_uninstalled_registry(recorded - to_remove)
+                self.logger.info(
+                    "Cleared uninstall record for %s", ", ".join(sorted(to_remove))
+                )
+
+    def get_uninstalled_plugins(self) -> Set[str]:
+        """Return the persistent set of user-uninstalled plugin IDs."""
+        return self._read_uninstalled_registry()
+
+    def is_plugin_uninstalled(self, plugin_id: str) -> bool:
+        """Return True if ``plugin_id`` is in the persistent uninstall registry."""
+        return plugin_id in self._read_uninstalled_registry()
+
+    def purge_uninstalled_plugins(self) -> List[str]:
+        """Remove on-disk directories for plugins the user has uninstalled.
+
+        Built-in plugins committed into the repo are restored on disk by a
+        core ``git pull``; this re-removes any that the user previously
+        uninstalled. The registry entries are kept so the purge is idempotent
+        across every future update (until the user reinstalls). Returns the
+        list of plugin IDs whose directories were actually removed.
+        """
+        removed: List[str] = []
+        plugins_root = self.plugins_dir.resolve()
+        for plugin_id in sorted(self._read_uninstalled_registry()):
+            plugin_path = self.plugins_dir / plugin_id
+            # Defense in depth: ids are already validated on read, but never
+            # remove anything that isn't a direct child of the plugins root.
+            resolved = plugin_path.resolve()
+            if resolved == plugins_root or resolved.parent != plugins_root:
+                self.logger.error(
+                    "Refusing to purge unsafe plugin path for id %r", plugin_id
+                )
+                continue
+            if not plugin_path.exists():
+                continue
+            self.logger.info(
+                "Purging resurrected uninstalled plugin: %s", plugin_id
+            )
+            if self._safe_remove_directory(plugin_path):
+                removed.append(plugin_id)
+            else:
+                self.logger.error(
+                    "Failed to purge resurrected plugin directory: %s", plugin_path
+                )
+        return removed
+
     def _load_github_token(self) -> Optional[str]:
         """
         Load GitHub API token from config_secrets.json if available.
@@ -1024,6 +1184,10 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
         branch_info = f" (branch: {branch})" if branch else " (latest branch head)"
         self.logger.info(f"Installing plugin: {plugin_id}{branch_info}")
 
+        # Remember the originally-requested id so we can clear its uninstall
+        # record on success even if the manifest renames the directory below.
+        requested_id = plugin_id
+
         plugin_info = self.get_plugin_info(plugin_id, fetch_latest_from_github=True, force_refresh=True)
         if not plugin_info:
             self.logger.error(f"Plugin not found in registry: {plugin_id}")
@@ -1162,6 +1326,9 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
 
             branch_display = branch_used or plugin_info.get('branch') or plugin_info.get('default_branch', 'unknown')
             self.logger.info(f"Successfully installed plugin: {plugin_id} (branch {branch_display})")
+            # User deliberately (re)installed this plugin — clear any persistent
+            # uninstall record so future core updates keep it.
+            self.forget_uninstalled_plugin(requested_id, plugin_id)
             return True
 
         except Exception as e:

test/test_store_manager_caches.py

@@ -43,6 +43,115 @@ class TestUninstallTombstone(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertNotIn("foo", self.sm._uninstall_tombstones)
 
 
+class TestPersistentUninstallRegistry(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Regression tests for the persistent uninstall registry that stops a
+    core `git pull` update from resurrecting built-in plugins the user
+    removed (plugins committed under plugin-repos/)."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self._tmp = TemporaryDirectory()
+        self.addCleanup(self._tmp.cleanup)
+        self.plugins_dir = Path(self._tmp.name) / "plugin-repos"
+        self.plugins_dir.mkdir()
+        self.registry_path = Path(self._tmp.name) / "config" / "uninstalled_plugins.json"
+        self.sm = PluginStoreManager(
+            plugins_dir=str(self.plugins_dir),
+            uninstalled_registry_path=str(self.registry_path),
+        )
+
+    def _make_plugin_dir(self, plugin_id):
+        """Simulate a built-in plugin restored on disk (e.g. by git pull)."""
+        d = self.plugins_dir / plugin_id
+        d.mkdir(parents=True)
+        (d / "manifest.json").write_text('{"id": "%s"}' % plugin_id)
+        return d
+
+    def test_unrecorded_plugin_is_not_uninstalled(self):
+        self.assertFalse(self.sm.is_plugin_uninstalled("web-ui-info"))
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.get_uninstalled_plugins(), set())
+
+    def test_record_persists_across_instances(self):
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+        self.assertTrue(self.registry_path.exists())
+        # A fresh manager (simulating a service restart after update) still sees it.
+        fresh = PluginStoreManager(
+            plugins_dir=str(self.plugins_dir),
+            uninstalled_registry_path=str(self.registry_path),
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(fresh.is_plugin_uninstalled("web-ui-info"))
+
+    def test_forget_clears_record(self):
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+        self.sm.forget_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+        self.assertFalse(self.sm.is_plugin_uninstalled("web-ui-info"))
+
+    def test_purge_removes_resurrected_plugin(self):
+        # The bug: user removed web-ui-info, then a git pull restored its
+        # committed files. Recorded uninstall + purge must re-remove it.
+        self._make_plugin_dir("web-ui-info")
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+        self.assertTrue((self.plugins_dir / "web-ui-info").exists())
+
+        removed = self.sm.purge_uninstalled_plugins()
+
+        self.assertEqual(removed, ["web-ui-info"])
+        self.assertFalse((self.plugins_dir / "web-ui-info").exists())
+        # Record is kept so the purge stays idempotent across future updates.
+        self.assertTrue(self.sm.is_plugin_uninstalled("web-ui-info"))
+
+    def test_purge_leaves_non_uninstalled_plugins_alone(self):
+        self._make_plugin_dir("baseball-scoreboard")  # present, not recorded
+        self._make_plugin_dir("web-ui-info")
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+
+        self.sm.purge_uninstalled_plugins()
+
+        self.assertTrue((self.plugins_dir / "baseball-scoreboard").exists())
+        self.assertFalse((self.plugins_dir / "web-ui-info").exists())
+
+    def test_purge_noop_when_plugin_absent(self):
+        # Recorded but never restored on disk — nothing to remove.
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("web-ui-info")
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.purge_uninstalled_plugins(), [])
+
+    def test_corrupt_registry_is_ignored(self):
+        self.registry_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        self.registry_path.write_text("{ not valid json")
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.get_uninstalled_plugins(), set())
+        self.assertFalse(self.sm.is_plugin_uninstalled("web-ui-info"))
+
+    def _write_raw_registry(self, value):
+        self.registry_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        import json as _json
+        self.registry_path.write_text(_json.dumps(value))
+
+    def test_empty_id_does_not_wipe_plugins_root(self):
+        # An empty id resolves to plugins_dir itself; purge must never delete it.
+        self._make_plugin_dir("baseball-scoreboard")
+        self._write_raw_registry([""])
+
+        removed = self.sm.purge_uninstalled_plugins()
+
+        self.assertEqual(removed, [])
+        self.assertTrue(self.plugins_dir.exists())
+        self.assertTrue((self.plugins_dir / "baseball-scoreboard").exists())
+        # Invalid id is filtered out entirely.
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.get_uninstalled_plugins(), set())
+
+    def test_traversal_ids_are_ignored(self):
+        for bad in ["..", "../evil", "a/b", "."]:
+            with self.subTest(bad=bad):
+                self.assertFalse(self.sm._is_valid_plugin_id(bad))
+        self._write_raw_registry(["../evil", "..", "web-ui-info"])
+        # Only the safe id survives the read.
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.get_uninstalled_plugins(), {"web-ui-info"})
+
+    def test_record_rejects_invalid_id(self):
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("")
+        self.sm.record_uninstalled_plugin("../escape")
+        self.assertEqual(self.sm.get_uninstalled_plugins(), set())
+
+
 class TestGitInfoCache(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self._tmp = TemporaryDirectory()

web_interface/app.py

@@ -79,6 +79,21 @@ plugin_manager = PluginManager(
     cache_manager=None     # Not needed for web interface
 )
 plugin_store_manager = PluginStoreManager(plugins_dir=str(plugins_dir))
+# A core `git pull` update (or any checkout) restores built-in plugins
+# committed under plugin-repos/, even ones the user uninstalled. Re-remove any
+# the user previously uninstalled at startup so a manual update on the Pi
+# doesn't resurrect them.
+try:
+    _purged = plugin_store_manager.purge_uninstalled_plugins()
+    if _purged:
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).info(
+            "Re-removed %d uninstalled plugin(s) restored since last run: %s",
+            len(_purged), ", ".join(_purged),
+        )
+except (OSError, RuntimeError) as _purge_err:
+    logging.getLogger(__name__).warning(
+        "Startup plugin purge failed: %s", _purge_err
+    )
 saved_repositories_manager = SavedRepositoriesManager()
 
 # Initialize schema manager

web_interface/blueprints/api_v3.py

@@ -1559,6 +1559,20 @@ def execute_system_action():
                     pull_message = f"Code updated successfully. Local changes were automatically stashed.{stash_info}"
                 if result.stdout and "Already up to date" not in result.stdout:
                     pull_message = f"Code updated successfully.{stash_info}"
+                # A `git pull` restores built-in plugins (committed under
+                # plugin-repos/) even if the user uninstalled them. Re-remove
+                # any the user previously uninstalled so the update doesn't
+                # resurrect them.
+                if api_v3.plugin_store_manager:
+                    try:
+                        purged = api_v3.plugin_store_manager.purge_uninstalled_plugins()
+                        if purged:
+                            logger.info(
+                                "Re-removed %d uninstalled plugin(s) restored by update: %s",
+                                len(purged), ", ".join(purged),
+                            )
+                    except (OSError, RuntimeError) as purge_err:
+                        logger.warning("Post-update plugin purge failed: %s", purge_err)
             else:
                 logger.warning("git pull failed (returncode=%d): %s", result.returncode, result.stderr)
                 pull_message = "Update failed; check logs for details"
@@ -2933,6 +2947,13 @@ def _do_transactional_uninstall(plugin_id, preserve_config):
         api_v3.schema_manager.invalidate_cache(plugin_id)
     if api_v3.plugin_state_manager:
         api_v3.plugin_state_manager.remove_plugin_state(plugin_id)
+    # Persistently record the uninstall so a later core `git pull` update
+    # cannot resurrect a built-in plugin (committed under plugin-repos/) that
+    # the user removed. Best-effort: never fail the uninstall over this.
+    try:
+        api_v3.plugin_store_manager.record_uninstalled_plugin(plugin_id)
+    except Exception as record_err:
+        logger.warning("Could not record uninstall for %s: %s", plugin_id, record_err)
     return True, None