diff --git a/astrbot/cli/commands/cmd_plug.py b/astrbot/cli/commands/cmd_plug.py
index bb9b83d40..17bb864af 100644
--- a/astrbot/cli/commands/cmd_plug.py
+++ b/astrbot/cli/commands/cmd_plug.py
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def list(all: bool) -> None:
     "-e",
     "local_path",
     type=click.Path(exists=True, file_okay=False, path_type=Path),
-    help="Install a plugin from a local directory",
+    help="Install a plugin from a local directory as a symlink",
 )
 @click.option("--proxy", help="Proxy server address")
 def install(name: str | None, local_path: Path | None, proxy: str | None) -> None:
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def install(name: str | None, local_path: Path | None, proxy: str | None) -> Non
     plug_path = base_path / "plugins"
 
     if local_path is not None:
-        install_local_plugin(local_path, plug_path)
+        install_local_plugin(local_path, plug_path, editable=True)
         return
 
     if name is None:
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ def install(name: str | None, local_path: Path | None, proxy: str | None) -> Non
 
     local_name_path = Path(name).expanduser()
     if local_name_path.exists() and local_name_path.is_dir():
-        install_local_plugin(local_name_path, plug_path)
+        install_local_plugin(local_name_path, plug_path, editable=False)
         return
 
     plugins = build_plug_list(base_path / "plugins")
diff --git a/astrbot/cli/utils/plugin.py b/astrbot/cli/utils/plugin.py
index b42d41f32..929a26336 100644
--- a/astrbot/cli/utils/plugin.py
+++ b/astrbot/cli/utils/plugin.py
@@ -19,6 +19,18 @@ class PluginStatus(str, Enum):
     NOT_PUBLISHED = "unpublished"
 
 
+LOCAL_PLUGIN_COPY_IGNORE = shutil.ignore_patterns(
+    ".git",
+    "__pycache__",
+    "*.pyc",
+    ".venv",
+    "venv",
+    ".idea",
+    ".vscode",
+    ".zed",
+)
+
+
 def get_git_repo(url: str, target_path: Path, proxy: str | None = None) -> None:
     """Download code from a Git repository and extract to the specified path"""
     temp_dir = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp())
@@ -190,7 +202,18 @@ def build_plug_list(plugins_dir: Path) -> list:
     return result
 
 
-def install_local_plugin(source_path: Path, plugins_dir: Path) -> None:
+def _cleanup_local_plugin_target(target_path: Path) -> None:
+    if target_path.is_symlink() or target_path.is_file():
+        target_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    elif target_path.exists():
+        shutil.rmtree(target_path, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+def install_local_plugin(
+    source_path: Path,
+    plugins_dir: Path,
+    editable: bool = False,
+) -> None:
     """Install a plugin from a local directory."""
     source_path = source_path.expanduser().resolve()
     plugins_dir = plugins_dir.resolve()
@@ -211,11 +234,22 @@ def install_local_plugin(source_path: Path, plugins_dir: Path) -> None:
 
     try:
         plugins_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        shutil.copytree(source_path, target_path)
+        if editable:
+            try:
+                target_path.symlink_to(source_path, target_is_directory=True)
+            except OSError as e:
+                raise click.ClickException(
+                    f"Failed to create symlink for editable install: {e}. "
+                    "On Windows, you may need to run as Administrator or enable Developer Mode."
+                ) from e
+        else:
+            shutil.copytree(source_path, target_path, ignore=LOCAL_PLUGIN_COPY_IGNORE)
         click.echo(f"Plugin {plugin_name} installed successfully from {source_path}")
+    except click.ClickException:
+        _cleanup_local_plugin_target(target_path)
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
-        if target_path.exists():
-            shutil.rmtree(target_path, ignore_errors=True)
+        _cleanup_local_plugin_target(target_path)
         raise click.ClickException(
             f"Error installing local plugin {plugin_name}: {e}"
         ) from e
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_plugin.py b/tests/test_cli_plugin.py
index 11190e369..19f16fd0a 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_plugin.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli_plugin.py
@@ -23,12 +23,20 @@ def _write_plugin(path: Path, name: str = "astrbot_plugin_local_demo") -> None:
     (path / "main.py").write_text("PLUGIN_LOADED = True\n", encoding="utf-8")
 
 
+def _write_ignored_plugin_files(path: Path) -> None:
+    for ignored_dir in [".git", ".venv", "__pycache__", ".idea", ".vscode", ".zed"]:
+        ignored_path = path / ignored_dir
+        ignored_path.mkdir()
+        (ignored_path / "ignored.txt").write_text("ignored\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (path / "__pycache__" / "main.pyc").write_bytes(b"ignored")
+
+
 def _write_astrbot_root(path: Path) -> None:
     (path / ".astrbot").touch()
     (path / "data" / "plugins").mkdir(parents=True)
 
 
-def test_plugin_install_editable_copies_local_plugin(
+def test_plugin_install_editable_symlinks_local_plugin(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
     tmp_path: Path,
 ) -> None:
@@ -47,6 +55,7 @@ def test_plugin_install_editable_copies_local_plugin(
 
     target = root / "data" / "plugins" / "astrbot_plugin_local_demo"
     assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert target.is_symlink()
     assert (target / "metadata.yaml").exists()
     assert (target / "main.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "PLUGIN_LOADED = True\n"
 
@@ -60,14 +69,21 @@ def test_plugin_install_accepts_local_path_without_editable_flag(
     root.mkdir()
     _write_astrbot_root(root)
     _write_plugin(source)
+    _write_ignored_plugin_files(source)
     monkeypatch.chdir(root)
 
     result = CliRunner().invoke(plug, ["install", str(source)])
 
+    target = root / "data" / "plugins" / "astrbot_plugin_local_demo"
     assert result.exit_code == 0
-    assert (
-        root / "data" / "plugins" / "astrbot_plugin_local_demo" / "metadata.yaml"
-    ).exists()
+    assert not target.is_symlink()
+    assert (target / "metadata.yaml").exists()
+    assert not (target / ".git").exists()
+    assert not (target / ".venv").exists()
+    assert not (target / "__pycache__").exists()
+    assert not (target / ".idea").exists()
+    assert not (target / ".vscode").exists()
+    assert not (target / ".zed").exists()
 
 
 def test_plugin_install_editable_rejects_existing_plugin(