diff --git a/src/commands/external.rs b/src/commands/external.rs
index e6226f4d12..5070c1688c 100644
--- a/src/commands/external.rs
+++ b/src/commands/external.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 use crate::build_info::*;
-use crate::commands::plugins::Install;
+use crate::commands::plugins::{update, Install};
 use crate::opts::PLUGIN_OVERRIDE_COMPATIBILITY_CHECK_FLAG;
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
-use spin_plugins::{error::Error, manifest::warn_unsupported_version, PluginStore};
+use spin_plugins::{error::Error as PluginError, manifest::warn_unsupported_version, PluginStore};
 use std::{collections::HashMap, env, process};
 use tokio::process::Command;
 use tracing::log;
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ pub async fn execute_external_subcommand(
                 process::exit(1);
             }
         }
-        Err(Error::NotFound(e)) => {
+        Err(PluginError::NotFound(e)) => {
             if plugin_name == "cloud" {
                 println!("The `cloud` plugin is required. Installing now.");
                 let plugin_installer = Install {
@@ -60,7 +60,14 @@ pub async fn execute_external_subcommand(
                     override_compatibility_check: false,
                     version: None,
                 };
-                plugin_installer.run().await?;
+                // Automatically update plugins if the cloud plugin manifest does not exist
+                // TODO: remove this eventually once very unlikely to not have updated
+                if let Err(e) = plugin_installer.run().await {
+                    if let Some(PluginError::NotFound(_)) = e.downcast_ref::<PluginError>() {
+                        update().await?;
+                    }
+                    plugin_installer.run().await?;
+                }
             } else {
                 tracing::debug!("Tried to resolve {plugin_name} to plugin, got {e}");
                 terminal::error!("'{plugin_name}' is not a known Spin command. See spin --help.\n");
diff --git a/src/commands/plugins.rs b/src/commands/plugins.rs
index 37bd112350..a0132a5ec1 100644
--- a/src/commands/plugins.rs
+++ b/src/commands/plugins.rs
@@ -104,11 +104,11 @@ pub struct Install {
 }
 
 impl Install {
-    pub async fn run(self) -> Result<()> {
-        let manifest_location = match (self.local_manifest_src, self.remote_manifest_src, self.name) {
-            (Some(path), None, None) => ManifestLocation::Local(path),
-            (None, Some(url), None) => ManifestLocation::Remote(url),
-            (None, None, Some(name)) => ManifestLocation::PluginsRepository(PluginLookup::new(&name, self.version)),
+    pub async fn run(&self) -> Result<()> {
+        let manifest_location = match (&self.local_manifest_src, &self.remote_manifest_src, &self.name) {
+            (Some(path), None, None) => ManifestLocation::Local(path.to_path_buf()),
+            (None, Some(url), None) => ManifestLocation::Remote(url.clone()),
+            (None, None, Some(name)) => ManifestLocation::PluginsRepository(PluginLookup::new(name, self.version.clone())),
             _ => return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("For plugin lookup, must provide exactly one of: plugin name, url to manifest, local path to manifest")),
         };
         let manager = PluginManager::try_default()?;
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ impl PluginDescriptor {
 }
 
 /// Updates the locally cached spin-plugins repository, fetching the latest plugins.
-async fn update() -> Result<()> {
+pub(crate) async fn update() -> Result<()> {
     let manager = PluginManager::try_default()?;
     let plugins_dir = manager.store().get_plugins_directory();
     let url = plugins_repo_url()?;