diff --git a/src/commands/plugins/index.ts b/src/commands/plugins/index.ts
index b75f4e2e..4aee2918 100644
--- a/src/commands/plugins/index.ts
+++ b/src/commands/plugins/index.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 import * as chalk from 'chalk'
-import {Command, Flags, Plugin, ux} from '@oclif/core'
+import {Command, Flags, Interfaces, Plugin, ux} from '@oclif/core'
 
 import Plugins from '../../plugins'
 import {sortBy} from '../../util'
 
+type JitPlugin =  {name: string; version: string; type: 'jit'}
+type PluginsJson = Array<Interfaces.Plugin | JitPlugin>
+
 export default class PluginsIndex extends Command {
   static enableJsonFlag = true
   static flags = {
@@ -16,7 +19,7 @@ export default class PluginsIndex extends Command {
 
   plugins = new Plugins(this.config)
 
-  async run(): Promise<ReturnType<Plugins['list']>> {
+  async run(): Promise<PluginsJson> {
     const {flags} = await this.parse(PluginsIndex)
     let plugins = this.config.getPluginsList()
     sortBy(plugins, p => this.plugins.friendlyName(p.name))
@@ -29,11 +32,19 @@ export default class PluginsIndex extends Command {
       return []
     }
 
+    const jitPluginsConfig = this.config.pjson.oclif.jitPlugins ?? {}
+
+    const jitPlugins: JitPlugin[] = Object.entries(jitPluginsConfig).map(([name, version]) => ({name: this.plugins.friendlyName(name), version, type: 'jit'}))
+    sortBy(jitPlugins, p => p.name)
+
     if (!this.jsonEnabled()) {
       this.display(plugins as Plugin[])
+      this.displayJitPlugins(jitPlugins)
     }
 
-    return this.plugins.list()
+    const results = this.config.getPluginsList()
+
+    return [...results, ...jitPlugins]
   }
 
   private display(plugins: Plugin[]) {
@@ -46,6 +57,14 @@ export default class PluginsIndex extends Command {
     }
   }
 
+  private displayJitPlugins(jitPlugins: JitPlugin[]) {
+    if (jitPlugins.length === 0) return
+    this.log(chalk.dim('\nUninstalled JIT Plugins:'))
+    for (const {name, version} of jitPlugins) {
+      this.log(`${name} ${chalk.dim(version)}`)
+    }
+  }
+
   private createTree(plugin: Plugin) {
     const tree = ux.tree()
     for (const p of plugin.children) {
diff --git a/src/commands/plugins/inspect.ts b/src/commands/plugins/inspect.ts
index 6604ab03..eeba9d0b 100644
--- a/src/commands/plugins/inspect.ts
+++ b/src/commands/plugins/inspect.ts
@@ -90,6 +90,10 @@ export default class PluginsInspect extends Command {
     const pluginConfig = this.config.getPluginsList().find(plg => plg.name === pluginName)
 
     if (pluginConfig) return pluginConfig as Plugin
+    if (this.config.pjson.oclif.jitPlugins?.[pluginName]) {
+      this.warn(`Plugin ${pluginName} is a JIT plugin. It will be installed the first time you run one of it's commands.`)
+    }
+
     throw new Error(`${pluginName} not installed`)
   }
 
diff --git a/src/commands/plugins/install.ts b/src/commands/plugins/install.ts
index ffea434c..ea30d17b 100644
--- a/src/commands/plugins/install.ts
+++ b/src/commands/plugins/install.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {Command, Flags, ux, Args, Errors} from '@oclif/core'
+import {Command, Flags, ux, Args, Errors, Interfaces} from '@oclif/core'
 import * as validate from 'validate-npm-package-name'
 import * as chalk from 'chalk'
 
@@ -34,17 +34,22 @@ e.g. If you have a core plugin that has a 'hello' command, installing a user-ins
       char: 'f',
       description: 'Run yarn install with force flag.',
     }),
+    jit: Flags.boolean({
+      hidden: true,
+    }),
   };
 
   static aliases = ['plugins:add'];
 
   plugins = new Plugins(this.config);
+  flags!: Interfaces.InferredFlags<typeof PluginsInstall.flags>;
 
   // In this case we want these operations to happen
   // sequentially so the `no-await-in-loop` rule is ignored
   /* eslint-disable no-await-in-loop */
   async run(): Promise<void> {
     const {flags, argv} = await this.parse(PluginsInstall)
+    this.flags = flags
     if (flags.verbose) this.plugins.verbose = true
     const aliases = this.config.pjson.oclif.aliases || {}
     for (let name of argv as string[]) {
@@ -98,6 +103,16 @@ e.g. If you have a core plugin that has a 'hello' command, installing a user-ins
     const [splitName, tag = 'latest'] = input.split('@')
     const name = await this.plugins.maybeUnfriendlyName(splitName)
     validateNpmPkgName(name)
+
+    if (this.flags.jit) {
+      const jitVersion = this.config.pjson.oclif?.jitPlugins?.[name]
+      if (jitVersion && input.includes('@')) {
+        this.warn(`--jit flag is present. Ignoring tag ${tag} and using the version specified in package.json (${jitVersion}).`)
+      }
+
+      return {name, tag: jitVersion ?? tag, type: 'npm'}
+    }
+
     return {name, tag, type: 'npm'}
   }
 }
diff --git a/test/commands/plugins/index.test.ts b/test/commands/plugins/index.test.ts
index 28a3b201..62cb2d4f 100644
--- a/test/commands/plugins/index.test.ts
+++ b/test/commands/plugins/index.test.ts
@@ -20,15 +20,18 @@ describe('command', () => {
   .it('installs and uninstalls @oclif/example-plugin-ts')
 
   test
+  .stdout()
   .command(['plugins', '--json'], {reset: true})
   .do(output => expect((output.returned)).to.deep.equal([]))
   .command(['plugins:install', '@oclif/example-plugin-ts'], {reset: true})
+  .stdout()
   .command(['plugins', '--json'], {reset: true})
   .do(output => expect((output.returned as [{name: string}]).find(o => o.name === '@oclif/example-plugin-ts')).to.have.property('type', 'user'))
   .stdout()
   .command(['hello'], {reset: true})
   .do(output => expect(output.stdout).to.contain('hello world'))
   .command(['plugins:uninstall', '@heroku-cli/plugin-@oclif/example-plugin-ts'])
+  .stdout()
   .command(['plugins', '--json'], {reset: true})
   .do(output => expect((output.returned)).to.deep.equal([]))
   .it('installs and uninstalls @oclif/example-plugin-ts (--json)')