diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/skills/forge/SKILL.md b/plugins/kyberforge/skills/forge/SKILL.md
index 8d32819..ea2ea5b 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/skills/forge/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/skills/forge/SKILL.md
@@ -60,3 +60,21 @@ State the classification and which skill(s) will run before invoking anything.
 If the clean audit surfaces any unresolved finding — not only a disagreement with the inline pass, any actionable finding on its own — loop: re-invoke the author skill (same fork-vs-inline judgment as the initial invocation) to resolve it, then re-run the clean audit again. Repeat until the clean audit comes back with nothing unresolved. Only then is the route done — the same resolve-before-close discipline `skill-author`/`agent-author` already apply to their own inline audit.
 
 When the intent spans multiple artifact types (e.g. a new skill inside a new plugin, then registering that plugin via `kyberforge:marketplace-author`), chain the routes in dependency order — an artifact that must exist on disk before another skill can target it goes first (e.g. `plugin-author` creates the plugin directory before `skill-author` scaffolds a skill inside it).
+
+## Step 4 — Bump plugin version (if applicable)
+
+After the routed skill finishes, check if the artifact was created or updated inside a plugin directory (any directory containing a `plugin.json`).
+
+**Skip this step if:**
+- The artifact is standalone (not in any plugin) or scoped to user agent directories
+- The author skill already bumped the plugin version (check the skill's audit output or completion message for version bump evidence)
+
+**If the artifact is in a plugin and no version bump was done:**
+
+Invoke `kyberforge:plugin-author` as a **clean-context subagent** (fresh, not forked) with this brief:
+
+> "The plugin at `<plugin-path>` gained a new `<artifact-type>` (`<artifact-name>`). Run the UPDATE flow to bump `version` in both manifests (Copilot and CC). Determine whether to bump minor (0.1.0) or patch (0.0.1) based on whether this is a new capability (minor) or a fix/refactor (patch). Do not release or tag — just update the manifests and commit."
+
+Use a clean-context subagent (not forked) so the version bump decision is made independently without anchoring to the earlier authoring context. This gives plugin-author a clear, isolated directive.
+
+Report completion to the user: "Updated `<plugin-name>` version from X.Y.Z to X.Y.Z to reflect the new `<artifact-name>`."