diff --git a/crates-cli/yaak-cli/src/context.rs b/crates-cli/yaak-cli/src/context.rs
index 61b06f1b..a895dc6c 100644
--- a/crates-cli/yaak-cli/src/context.rs
+++ b/crates-cli/yaak-cli/src/context.rs
@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ impl CliContext {
                 plugin_runtime_main,
                 &query_manager,
                 &PluginContext::new_empty(),
-                false,
             )
             .await
             {
diff --git a/crates-tauri/yaak-app/src/plugins_ext.rs b/crates-tauri/yaak-app/src/plugins_ext.rs
index ced6bca8..29b95b67 100644
--- a/crates-tauri/yaak-app/src/plugins_ext.rs
+++ b/crates-tauri/yaak-app/src/plugins_ext.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use crate::error::Result;
 use crate::models_ext::QueryManagerExt;
 use log::{error, info, warn};
 use serde::Serialize;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
@@ -239,10 +240,15 @@ pub fn init<R: Runtime>() -> TauriPlugin<R> {
     Builder::new("yaak-plugins")
         .setup(|app_handle, _| {
             // Resolve paths for plugin manager
-            let vendored_plugin_dir = app_handle
+            let bundled_plugin_dir = app_handle
                 .path()
                 .resolve("vendored/plugins", BaseDirectory::Resource)
                 .expect("failed to resolve plugin directory resource");
+            let vendored_plugin_dir = if is_dev() {
+                resolve_workspace_plugins_dir().unwrap_or(bundled_plugin_dir)
+            } else {
+                bundled_plugin_dir
+            };
 
             let installed_plugin_dir = app_handle
                 .path()
@@ -266,7 +272,6 @@ pub fn init<R: Runtime>() -> TauriPlugin<R> {
                 .expect("failed to resolve plugin runtime")
                 .join("index.cjs");
 
-            let dev_mode = is_dev();
             let query_manager =
                 app_handle.state::<yaak_models::query_manager::QueryManager>().inner().clone();
 
@@ -280,7 +285,6 @@ pub fn init<R: Runtime>() -> TauriPlugin<R> {
                     plugin_runtime_main,
                     &query_manager,
                     &PluginContext::new_empty(),
-                    dev_mode,
                 )
                 .await
                 .expect("Failed to initialize plugins");
@@ -322,3 +326,11 @@ pub fn init<R: Runtime>() -> TauriPlugin<R> {
         })
         .build()
 }
+
+fn resolve_workspace_plugins_dir() -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+        .join("../..")
+        .join("plugins")
+        .canonicalize()
+        .ok()
+}
diff --git a/crates/yaak-plugins/src/manager.rs b/crates/yaak-plugins/src/manager.rs
index d7b30a08..7dc939ea 100644
--- a/crates/yaak-plugins/src/manager.rs
+++ b/crates/yaak-plugins/src/manager.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ use crate::plugin_handle::PluginHandle;
 use crate::server_ws::PluginRuntimeServerWebsocket;
 use log::{error, info, warn};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::env;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::time::Duration;
@@ -48,7 +47,6 @@ pub struct PluginManager {
     ws_service: Arc<PluginRuntimeServerWebsocket>,
     vendored_plugin_dir: PathBuf,
     pub(crate) installed_plugin_dir: PathBuf,
-    dev_mode: bool,
 }
 
 /// Callback for plugin initialization events (e.g., toast notifications)
@@ -64,7 +62,6 @@ impl PluginManager {
     /// * `plugin_runtime_main` - Path to the plugin runtime index.cjs
     /// * `query_manager` - Query manager for bundled plugin registration and loading
     /// * `plugin_context` - Context to use while initializing plugins
-    /// * `dev_mode` - Whether the app is in dev mode (affects plugin loading)
     pub async fn new(
         vendored_plugin_dir: PathBuf,
         installed_plugin_dir: PathBuf,
@@ -72,7 +69,6 @@ impl PluginManager {
         plugin_runtime_main: PathBuf,
         query_manager: &QueryManager,
         plugin_context: &PluginContext,
-        dev_mode: bool,
     ) -> Result<PluginManager> {
         let (events_tx, mut events_rx) = mpsc::channel(2048);
         let (kill_server_tx, kill_server_rx) = tokio::sync::watch::channel(false);
@@ -91,7 +87,6 @@ impl PluginManager {
             killed_rx: Arc::new(Mutex::new(Some(killed_rx))),
             vendored_plugin_dir,
             installed_plugin_dir,
-            dev_mode,
         };
 
         // Forward events to subscribers
@@ -192,25 +187,11 @@ impl PluginManager {
         Ok(plugin_manager)
     }
 
-    /// Get the vendored plugin directory path (resolves dev mode path if applicable)
-    pub fn get_plugins_dir(&self) -> PathBuf {
-        if self.dev_mode {
-            // Use plugins directly for easy development
-            // Tauri runs from crates-tauri/yaak-app/, so go up two levels to reach project root
-            env::current_dir()
-                .map(|cwd| cwd.join("../../plugins").canonicalize().unwrap())
-                .unwrap_or_else(|_| self.vendored_plugin_dir.clone())
-        } else {
-            self.vendored_plugin_dir.clone()
-        }
-    }
-
     /// Read plugin directories from disk and return their paths.
     /// This is useful for discovering bundled plugins.
     pub async fn list_bundled_plugin_dirs(&self) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
-        let plugins_dir = self.get_plugins_dir();
-        info!("Loading bundled plugins from {plugins_dir:?}");
-        read_plugins_dir(&plugins_dir).await
+        info!("Loading bundled plugins from {:?}", self.vendored_plugin_dir);
+        read_plugins_dir(&self.vendored_plugin_dir).await
     }
 
     pub async fn uninstall(&self, plugin_context: &PluginContext, dir: &str) -> Result<()> {