diff --git a/docs/cli-reference.md b/docs/cli-reference.md
index a13999123f..23ad0ff87c 100644
--- a/docs/cli-reference.md
+++ b/docs/cli-reference.md
@@ -1025,6 +1025,7 @@ fn plugin dev <path> [--once] [--ai-scan]
 Subcommands: `list|ls`, `install`, `rescan`, `trust`, `untrust`, `verify`, `uninstall`, `enable`, `disable`, `create`, `new`, `dev`.
 
 Scope semantics:
+- `fn plugin install <path>` accepts a built plugin directory or installed package name, not a packed `.tgz` tarball; extract tarballs before installing.
 - `fn plugin install` / `fn plugin uninstall` are **global** operations
 - `fn plugin enable` / `fn plugin disable` are **project-scoped** operations (`--project` selects the project context)
 - `fn plugin list` shows globally installed plugins plus enabled/disabled state for the current project context
diff --git a/docs/plugins/external-authoring.md b/docs/plugins/external-authoring.md
index f25dcbb3e4..fe0ccea5ef 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/external-authoring.md
+++ b/docs/plugins/external-authoring.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ You can also run the build yourself:
 pnpm build
 ```
 
-Troubleshooting: plugin entrypoints must be compiled JavaScript. `fn plugin install` and `fn plugin dev` reject `.ts` source entrypoints, so run the build before installing if you are not using the dev loop.
+Troubleshooting: plugin entrypoints must be compiled JavaScript. `fn plugin install` and `fn plugin dev` reject `.ts` source entrypoints, so run the build before installing if you are not using the dev loop. A raw `*.tgz` is not a valid `fn plugin install` argument; extract it first with `tar -xzf` and install from the unpacked `./package` directory.
 
 ## 3. Test
 
diff --git a/docs/plugins/external-proof-point-runbook.md b/docs/plugins/external-proof-point-runbook.md
index 5cdd7af4e9..ae8ca5a17e 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/external-proof-point-runbook.md
+++ b/docs/plugins/external-proof-point-runbook.md
@@ -99,15 +99,23 @@ fn plugin list
 
 If the proof point uses the packaged-install path instead of `plugin dev`, run the equivalent install/enable/list loop:
 
+<!--
+FNXC:Plugins 2026-06-15-02:57:
+FN-6474 reconciles the packaged-install proof path with CLI behavior discovered in FN-6471: `fn plugin install` rejects raw tarballs as non-JS file entrypoints, so proof runs must extract the package and install the built plugin directory.
+-->
+
 ```bash
 pnpm build
 pnpm test
 pnpm pack
-fn plugin install ./fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin-0.1.0.tgz
+tar -xzf fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin-0.1.0.tgz
+fn plugin install ./package
 fn plugin enable fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin
 fn plugin list
 ```
 
+Troubleshooting: FN-6471 found that `npx @runfusion/fusion@0.43.1 plugin install ./fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin-0.1.0.tgz` fails with `Plugin entry file must end with .js, .mjs, or .cjs: <abs>/fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin-0.1.0.tgz`. The failure is expected for a raw tarball because `fn plugin install` accepts a built plugin directory (or installed package name), not a packed `.tgz`; extract first and install from `./package`. This corrects the packaged-install snippet originally added by FN-6438.
+
 Record the exact commands actually run. Do not summarize a command as successful unless its transcript shows exit code 0 or equivalent success output.
 
 ## Evidence to capture
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/external-proof-point-runbook-install.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/external-proof-point-runbook-install.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b455e846e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/external-proof-point-runbook-install.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { resolve } from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const workspaceRoot = resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../../../..");
+const runbookPath = resolve(workspaceRoot, "docs", "plugins", "external-proof-point-runbook.md");
+const authoringPath = resolve(workspaceRoot, "docs", "plugins", "external-authoring.md");
+
+const rawTarballInstallPattern = /fn plugin install\s+\S*\.tgz\b/;
+
+/*
+FNXC:Plugins 2026-06-15-02:57:
+FN-6474 guards the packaged-install proof path after FN-6471 showed raw tarballs are rejected as non-JS file entrypoints. Keep this test static and docs-only so the runbook cannot regress without invoking the real CLI or network.
+*/
+describe("external plugin proof-point packaged install docs", () => {
+  it("does not tell readers to install a raw tarball in the runbook", () => {
+    const runbook = readFileSync(runbookPath, "utf8");
+
+    expect(runbook).not.toMatch(rawTarballInstallPattern);
+  });
+
+  it("extracts the packed tarball before installing the unpacked package directory", () => {
+    const runbook = readFileSync(runbookPath, "utf8");
+    const packIndex = runbook.indexOf("pnpm pack");
+    const extractIndex = runbook.indexOf("tar -xzf fusion-plugin-proof-point-plugin-0.1.0.tgz");
+    const installIndex = runbook.indexOf("fn plugin install ./package");
+
+    expect(packIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(extractIndex).toBeGreaterThan(packIndex);
+    expect(installIndex).toBeGreaterThan(extractIndex);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the authoring guide from installing raw tarballs", () => {
+    const authoringGuide = readFileSync(authoringPath, "utf8");
+
+    expect(authoringGuide).not.toMatch(rawTarballInstallPattern);
+    expect(authoringGuide).toContain("tar -xzf fusion-plugin-my-plugin-0.1.0.tgz");
+    expect(authoringGuide).toContain("fn plugin install ./package");
+  });
+});