diff --git a/changelog_unreleased/api/14759.md b/changelog_unreleased/api/14759.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..95059b768
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog_unreleased/api/14759.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#### [Breaking] plugin search feature has been removed (#14759 by @fisker)
+
+The plugin auto search feature didn't work well when using pnpm, and cause slowness.
+
+`--plugin-search-dir`, `--no-plugin-search` flags for CLI and `pluginSearchDirs` in API options has been removed in Prettier main.
+
+`--plugin` flag and `plugins` option should be used instead, see [documentation](https://prettier.io/docs/en/plugins.html#using-plugins).
diff --git a/docs/cli.md b/docs/cli.md
index bfe8fd803..8bbca1792 100644
--- a/docs/cli.md
+++ b/docs/cli.md
@@ -204,10 +204,6 @@ prettier "**/*" --write --ignore-unknown
 
 Prevent errors when pattern is unmatched.
 
-## `--no-plugin-search`
-
-Disable plugin autoloading.
-
 ## `--cache`
 
 If this option is enabled, the following values are used as cache keys and the file is formatted only if one of them is changed.
diff --git a/docs/plugins.md b/docs/plugins.md
index fe247f7a2..84d792a20 100644
--- a/docs/plugins.md
+++ b/docs/plugins.md
@@ -7,26 +7,21 @@ Plugins are ways of adding new languages or formatting rules to Prettier. Pretti
 
 ## Using Plugins
 
-Plugins are automatically loaded if you have them installed in the same `node_modules` directory where `prettier` is located. Plugin package names must start with `@prettier/plugin-` or `prettier-plugin-` or `@<scope>/prettier-plugin-` to be registered.
+You can load plugins with:
 
-> `<scope>` should be replaced by a name, read more about [NPM scope](https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/scope.html).
-
-When plugins cannot be found automatically, you can load them with:
-
-- The [CLI](cli.md), via `--plugin-search-dir` and `--plugin`:
+- The [CLI](cli.md), via `--plugin`:
 
   ```bash
-  prettier --write main.foo --plugin-search-dir=./dir-with-plugins --plugin=prettier-plugin-foo
+  prettier --write main.foo --plugin=prettier-plugin-foo
   ```
 
-  > Tip: You can set `--plugin-search-dir` or `--plugin` options multiple times.
+  > Tip: You can set `--plugin` options multiple times.
 
-- The [API](api.md), via the `pluginSearchDirs` and `plugins` options:
+- The [API](api.md), via the `plugins` options:
 
   ```js
   await prettier.format("code", {
     parser: "foo",
-    pluginSearchDirs: ["./dir-with-plugins"],
     plugins: ["prettier-plugin-foo"],
   });
   ```
@@ -35,18 +30,11 @@ When plugins cannot be found automatically, you can load them with:
 
   ```json
   {
-    "pluginSearchDirs": ["./dir-with-plugins"],
     "plugins": ["prettier-plugin-foo"]
   }
   ```
 
-`pluginSearchDirs` and `plugins` are independent and one does not require the other.
-
-The paths that are provided to `pluginSearchDirs` will be searched for `@prettier/plugin-*`, `prettier-plugin-*`, and `@*/prettier-plugin-*`. For instance, these can be your project directory, a `node_modules` directory, the location of global npm modules, or any arbitrary directory that contains plugins.
-
-Strings provided to `plugins` are ultimately passed to `require()`, so you can provide a module/package name, a path, or anything else `require()` takes. (`pluginSearchDirs` works the same way. That is, valid plugin paths that it finds are passed to `require()`.)
-
-To turn off plugin autoloading, use `--no-plugin-search` when using Prettier CLI or add `{ pluginSearchDirs: false }` to options in `prettier.format()` or to the config file.
+Strings provided to `plugins` are ultimately passed to [`import()` expression](https://nodejs.org/api/esm.html#import-expressions), so you can provide a module/package name, a path, or anything else `import()` takes.
 
 ## Official Plugins
 
diff --git a/scripts/utils/generate-schema.js b/scripts/utils/generate-schema.js
index 46151c1a9..9859825df 100644
--- a/scripts/utils/generate-schema.js
+++ b/scripts/utils/generate-schema.js
@@ -80,19 +80,6 @@ function optionToSchema(option) {
   }
   if (option.array) {
     schema = wrapWithArraySchema(schema);
-
-    // #10274
-    if (option.name === "pluginSearchDirs") {
-      schema = {
-        oneOf: [
-          schema,
-          {
-            enum: [false],
-            description: "Disable plugin autoloading.",
-          },
-        ],
-      };
-    }
   }
   return {
     description: option.description,
diff --git a/src/cli/cli-options.evaluate.js b/src/cli/cli-options.evaluate.js
index a433582cf..36475f936 100644
--- a/src/cli/cli-options.evaluate.js
+++ b/src/cli/cli-options.evaluate.js
@@ -220,10 +220,6 @@ const options = {
     description: "What level of logs to report.",
     type: "choice",
   },
-  pluginSearch: {
-    oppositeDescription: "Disable plugin autoloading.",
-    type: "boolean",
-  },
   supportInfo: {
     description: "Print support information as JSON.",
     type: "boolean",
diff --git a/src/cli/context.js b/src/cli/context.js
index d184ab15d..cae02b8cb 100644
--- a/src/cli/context.js
+++ b/src/cli/context.js
@@ -29,13 +29,11 @@ class Context {
   async init() {
     const { rawArguments, logger } = this;
 
-    const { plugins, pluginSearchDirs } = parseArgvWithoutPlugins(
-      rawArguments,
-      logger,
-      ["plugin", "plugin-search-dir"]
-    );
+    const { plugins } = parseArgvWithoutPlugins(rawArguments, logger, [
+      "plugin",
+    ]);
 
-    await this.pushContextPlugins(plugins, pluginSearchDirs);
+    await this.pushContextPlugins(plugins);
 
     const argv = parseArgv(rawArguments, this.detailedOptions, logger);
     this.argv = argv;
@@ -44,10 +42,9 @@ class Context {
 
   /**
    * @param {string[]} plugins
-   * @param {string[]=} pluginSearchDirs
    */
-  async pushContextPlugins(plugins, pluginSearchDirs) {
-    const options = await getContextOptions(plugins, pluginSearchDirs);
+  async pushContextPlugins(plugins) {
+    const options = await getContextOptions(plugins);
     this.#stack.push(options);
     Object.assign(this, options);
   }
diff --git a/src/cli/file-info.js b/src/cli/file-info.js
index 8a13bbba8..91d8381f1 100644
--- a/src/cli/file-info.js
+++ b/src/cli/file-info.js
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ async function logFileInfoOrDie(context) {
     ignorePath,
     withNodeModules,
     plugins,
-    pluginSearchDirs,
     config,
   } = context.argv;
 
@@ -16,7 +15,6 @@ async function logFileInfoOrDie(context) {
     ignorePath,
     withNodeModules,
     plugins,
-    pluginSearchDirs,
     resolveConfig: config !== false,
   });
 
diff --git a/src/cli/index.js b/src/cli/index.js
index c2e492735..1ea953392 100644
--- a/src/cli/index.js
+++ b/src/cli/index.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { createDetailedUsage, createUsage } from "./usage.js";
 import { formatStdin, formatFiles } from "./format.js";
 import logFileInfoOrDie from "./file-info.js";
 import logResolvedConfigPathOrDie from "./find-config-path.js";
-import { printToScreen, isNonEmptyArray } from "./utils.js";
+import { printToScreen } from "./utils.js";
 import printSupportInfo from "./print-support-info.js";
 
 async function run(rawArguments) {
@@ -38,18 +38,6 @@ async function run(rawArguments) {
 async function main(context) {
   context.logger.debug(`normalized argv: ${JSON.stringify(context.argv)}`);
 
-  if (context.argv.pluginSearch === false) {
-    const rawPluginSearchDirs = context.argv.__raw["plugin-search-dir"];
-    if (
-      typeof rawPluginSearchDirs === "string" ||
-      isNonEmptyArray(rawPluginSearchDirs)
-    ) {
-      throw new Error(
-        "Cannot use --no-plugin-search and --plugin-search-dir together."
-      );
-    }
-  }
-
   if (context.argv.check && context.argv.listDifferent) {
     throw new Error("Cannot use --check and --list-different together.");
   }
diff --git a/src/cli/options/create-minimist-options.js b/src/cli/options/create-minimist-options.js
index 04a6363f2..153f68494 100644
--- a/src/cli/options/create-minimist-options.js
+++ b/src/cli/options/create-minimist-options.js
@@ -13,9 +13,7 @@ export default function createMinimistOptions(detailedOptions) {
 
     if (
       !option.deprecated &&
-      (!option.forwardToApi ||
-        name === "plugin" ||
-        name === "plugin-search-dir") &&
+      (!option.forwardToApi || name === "plugin") &&
       option.default !== undefined
     ) {
       defaultValues[option.name] = option.default;
diff --git a/src/cli/options/get-context-options.js b/src/cli/options/get-context-options.js
index 694c4022a..3042a880d 100644
--- a/src/cli/options/get-context-options.js
+++ b/src/cli/options/get-context-options.js
@@ -64,11 +64,10 @@ function supportInfoToContextOptions({ options: supportOptions, languages }) {
   };
 }
 
-async function getContextOptions(plugins, pluginSearchDirs) {
+async function getContextOptions(plugins) {
   const supportInfo = await getSupportInfo({
     showDeprecated: true,
     plugins,
-    pluginSearchDirs,
   });
 
   return supportInfoToContextOptions(supportInfo);
diff --git a/src/cli/options/parse-cli-arguments.js b/src/cli/options/parse-cli-arguments.js
index 966d1dacd..9a7cb1c86 100644
--- a/src/cli/options/parse-cli-arguments.js
+++ b/src/cli/options/parse-cli-arguments.js
@@ -10,10 +10,6 @@ function parseArgv(rawArguments, detailedOptions, logger, keys) {
   let argv = minimist(rawArguments, minimistOptions);
 
   if (keys) {
-    if (keys.includes("plugin-search-dir") && !keys.includes("plugin-search")) {
-      keys.push("plugin-search");
-    }
-
     detailedOptions = detailedOptions.filter((option) =>
       keys.includes(option.name)
     );
@@ -26,8 +22,7 @@ function parseArgv(rawArguments, detailedOptions, logger, keys) {
     ...Object.fromEntries(
       Object.entries(normalized).map(([key, value]) => {
         const option = detailedOptions.find(({ name }) => name === key) || {};
-        // If the flag is a prettier option, use the option name
-        // `--plugin-search-dir` -> `pluginSearchDirs`
+        // If the flag is a prettier api option, use the option name
         // Otherwise use camel case for readability
         // `--ignore-unknown` -> `ignoreUnknown`
         return [option.forwardToApi || camelCase(key), value];
diff --git a/src/config/resolve-config.js b/src/config/resolve-config.js
index b0b844781..432cda959 100644
--- a/src/config/resolve-config.js
+++ b/src/config/resolve-config.js
@@ -49,14 +49,12 @@ async function resolveConfig(filePath, options) {
     ...mergeOverrides(result, filePath),
   };
 
-  for (const optionName of ["plugins", "pluginSearchDirs"]) {
-    if (Array.isArray(merged[optionName])) {
-      merged[optionName] = merged[optionName].map((value) =>
-        typeof value === "string" && value.startsWith(".") // relative path
-          ? path.resolve(path.dirname(result.filepath), value)
-          : value
-      );
-    }
+  if (Array.isArray(merged.plugins)) {
+    merged.plugins = merged.plugins.map((value) =>
+      typeof value === "string" && value.startsWith(".") // relative path
+        ? path.resolve(path.dirname(result.filepath), value)
+        : value
+    );
   }
 
   return merged;
diff --git a/src/index.d.ts b/src/index.d.ts
index c459048e4..88605cad3 100644
--- a/src/index.d.ts
+++ b/src/index.d.ts
@@ -405,10 +405,6 @@ export interface RequiredOptions extends doc.printer.Options {
    * Provide ability to support new languages to prettier.
    */
   plugins: Array<string | Plugin>;
-  /**
-   * Specify plugin directory paths to search for plugins if not installed in the same `node_modules` where prettier is located.
-   */
-  pluginSearchDirs: string[] | false;
   /**
    * How to handle whitespaces in HTML.
    * @default "css"
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 7cd0b4eea..42e7809b3 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import vnopts from "vnopts";
+// "fast-glob" is bundled here since the API uses `micromatch` too
 import fastGlob from "fast-glob";
 import * as core from "./main/core.js";
 import {
@@ -9,7 +10,6 @@ import getFileInfoWithoutPlugins from "./common/get-file-info.js";
 import {
   loadBuiltinPlugins,
   loadPlugins,
-  searchPlugins,
   clearCache as clearPluginCache,
 } from "./main/plugins/index.js";
 import {
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ function withPlugins(
 ) {
   return async (...args) => {
     const options = args[optionsArgumentIndex] ?? {};
-    const { plugins = [], pluginSearchDirs } = options;
+    const { plugins = [] } = options;
 
     args[optionsArgumentIndex] = {
       ...options,
@@ -46,9 +46,6 @@ function withPlugins(
           loadBuiltinPlugins(),
           // TODO: standalone version allow `plugins` to be `prettierPlugins` which is an object, should allow that too
           loadPlugins(plugins),
-          options.pluginSearchDirs === false
-            ? []
-            : searchPlugins(pluginSearchDirs),
         ])
       ).flat(),
     };
diff --git a/src/main/core-options.evaluate.js b/src/main/core-options.evaluate.js
index b80e809a7..36e2a6af7 100644
--- a/src/main/core-options.evaluate.js
+++ b/src/main/core-options.evaluate.js
@@ -145,21 +145,6 @@ const options = {
     cliName: "plugin",
     cliCategory: CATEGORY_CONFIG,
   },
-  pluginSearchDirs: {
-    type: "path",
-    array: true,
-    default: [{ value: [] }],
-    category: CATEGORY_GLOBAL,
-    description: outdent`
-      Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.
-      Overrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.
-      Multiple values are accepted.
-    `,
-    exception: (value) =>
-      typeof value === "string" || typeof value === "object",
-    cliName: "plugin-search-dir",
-    cliCategory: CATEGORY_CONFIG,
-  },
   printWidth: {
     category: CATEGORY_GLOBAL,
     type: "int",
diff --git a/src/main/normalize-options.js b/src/main/normalize-options.js
index 820e412b2..a006c39b2 100644
--- a/src/main/normalize-options.js
+++ b/src/main/normalize-options.js
@@ -72,10 +72,6 @@ function normalizeOptions(
     hasDeprecationWarned = normalizer._hasDeprecationWarned;
   }
 
-  if (isCLI && normalized["plugin-search"] === false) {
-    normalized["plugin-search-dir"] = false;
-  }
-
   return normalized;
 }
 
@@ -117,32 +113,6 @@ function optionInfosToSchemas(optionInfos, { isCLI, FlagSchema }) {
 function optionInfoToSchema(optionInfo, { isCLI, optionInfos, FlagSchema }) {
   const { name } = optionInfo;
 
-  if (name === "plugin-search-dir" || name === "pluginSearchDirs") {
-    return vnopts.AnySchema.create({
-      // @ts-expect-error
-      name,
-      preprocess(value) {
-        if (value === false) {
-          return value;
-        }
-        value = Array.isArray(value) ? value : [value];
-        return value;
-      },
-      /**
-       * @param {Array<unknown> | false} value
-       */
-      validate(value) {
-        if (value === false) {
-          return true;
-        }
-        return value.every((dir) => typeof dir === "string");
-      },
-      expected() {
-        return "false or paths to plugin search dir";
-      },
-    });
-  }
-
   const parameters = { name };
   let SchemaConstructor;
   const handlers = {};
diff --git a/src/main/plugins/index.js b/src/main/plugins/index.js
index 72e55ed0f..4e8e16523 100644
--- a/src/main/plugins/index.js
+++ b/src/main/plugins/index.js
@@ -1,10 +1,3 @@
-import { clearCache as clearPluginLoadCache } from "./load-plugin.js";
-import { clearCache as clearPluginSearchCache } from "./search-plugins.js";
-
-export function clearCache() {
-  clearPluginLoadCache();
-  clearPluginSearchCache();
-}
+export { clearCache } from "./load-plugin.js";
 export { default as loadBuiltinPlugins } from "./load-builtin-plugins.js";
 export { default as loadPlugins } from "./load-plugins.js";
-export { searchPlugins } from "./search-plugins.js";
diff --git a/src/main/plugins/search-plugins.js b/src/main/plugins/search-plugins.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 17ccbb697..000000000
--- a/src/main/plugins/search-plugins.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-import path from "node:path";
-import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
-import mem, { memClear } from "mem";
-import fastGlob from "fast-glob";
-import isDirectory from "../../utils/is-directory.js";
-import mockable from "../../common/mockable.js";
-import { loadPluginFromDirectory } from "./load-plugin.js";
-
-const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
-
-const findNodeModules = mem((directory) =>
-  mockable.findParentDir(directory, "node_modules")
-);
-
-const findPluginsInNodeModules = mem(async (nodeModulesDir) => {
-  const pluginPackageJsonPaths = await fastGlob(
-    [
-      "prettier-plugin-*/package.json",
-      "@*/prettier-plugin-*/package.json",
-      "@prettier/plugin-*/package.json",
-    ],
-    {
-      cwd: nodeModulesDir,
-    }
-  );
-  return pluginPackageJsonPaths.map(path.dirname);
-});
-
-const searchPluginsInDirectory = mem(async (directory) => {
-  const absolutePath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), directory);
-  const nodeModulesDir = path.join(absolutePath, "node_modules");
-
-  // In some fringe cases (ex: files "mounted" as virtual directories), the
-  // isDirectory(absolutePath) check might be false even though
-  // the node_modules actually exists.
-  if (
-    !(await isDirectory(nodeModulesDir)) &&
-    !(await isDirectory(absolutePath))
-  ) {
-    throw new Error(`${directory} does not exist or is not a directory`);
-  }
-
-  const pluginNames = await findPluginsInNodeModules(nodeModulesDir);
-
-  return Promise.all(
-    pluginNames.map((name) => loadPluginFromDirectory(name, nodeModulesDir))
-  );
-});
-
-const searchPlugins = mem(
-  async (directories = []) => {
-    // unless pluginSearchDirs are provided, auto-load plugins from node_modules that are parent to Prettier
-    if (directories.length === 0) {
-      const nodeModulesDirectory = findNodeModules(__dirname);
-      if (nodeModulesDirectory) {
-        directories = [nodeModulesDirectory];
-      }
-    }
-
-    return (
-      await Promise.all(
-        directories.map((directory) => searchPluginsInDirectory(directory))
-      )
-    ).flat();
-  },
-  { cacheKey: JSON.stringify }
-);
-
-function clearCache() {
-  memClear(searchPlugins);
-  memClear(searchPluginsInDirectory);
-  memClear(findPluginsInNodeModules);
-  memClear(findNodeModules);
-}
-
-export { searchPlugins, clearCache };
diff --git a/src/main/support.js b/src/main/support.js
index 923e04c54..a35ec7582 100644
--- a/src/main/support.js
+++ b/src/main/support.js
@@ -6,11 +6,10 @@ import coreOptions from "./core-options.evaluate.js";
  */
 
 /**
- * Strings in `plugins` and `pluginSearchDirs` are handled by a wrapped version
+ * Strings in `plugins` are handled by a wrapped version
  * of this function created by `withPlugins`. Don't pass them here directly.
  * @param {object} param0
  * @param {(string | object)[]=} param0.plugins Strings are resolved by `withPlugins`.
- * @param {string[]=} param0.pluginSearchDirs Added by `withPlugins`.
  * @param {boolean=} param0.showDeprecated
  * @return {{ languages: Array<any>, options: Array<NamedOptionInfo> }}
  */
diff --git a/src/utils/is-directory.js b/src/utils/is-directory.js
deleted file mode 100644
index e87b6c6cd..000000000
--- a/src/utils/is-directory.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-import fs from "node:fs/promises";
-
-async function isDirectory(directory) {
-  let stat;
-
-  try {
-    stat = await fs.stat(directory);
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-
-  return stat.isDirectory();
-}
-
-export default isDirectory;
diff --git a/tests/config/format-test.js b/tests/config/format-test.js
index d929cd05f..584a17671 100644
--- a/tests/config/format-test.js
+++ b/tests/config/format-test.js
@@ -265,8 +265,6 @@ function runSpec(fixtures, parsers, options) {
     describe(title, () => {
       const formatOptions = {
         printWidth: 80,
-        // Should not search plugins by default
-        pluginSearchDirs: false,
         ...options,
         filepath: filename,
         parser,
diff --git a/tests/config/utils/create-snapshot.js b/tests/config/utils/create-snapshot.js
index 0cf105a25..c0d9003c4 100644
--- a/tests/config/utils/create-snapshot.js
+++ b/tests/config/utils/create-snapshot.js
@@ -23,15 +23,10 @@ function printOptions(options) {
     filepath,
     errors,
     parser,
-    pluginSearchDirs,
 
     ...snapshotOptions
   } = options;
 
-  if (pluginSearchDirs !== false) {
-    snapshotOptions.pluginSearchDirs = pluginSearchDirs;
-  }
-
   const keys = Object.keys(snapshotOptions).sort();
   return keys
     .map((key) => `${key}: ${stringify(snapshotOptions[key])}`)
diff --git a/tests/dts/unit/cases/index.ts b/tests/dts/unit/cases/index.ts
index eab307cbc..821d34535 100644
--- a/tests/dts/unit/cases/index.ts
+++ b/tests/dts/unit/cases/index.ts
@@ -34,27 +34,6 @@ prettier.doc.builders.cursor;
 prettier.doc.builders.cursor.type;
 prettier.doc.builders.cursor.placeholder;
 
-prettier.format("pluginSearchDir is empty", {
-  pluginSearchDirs: [],
-});
-
-prettier.format("pluginSearchDir is not empty", {
-  pluginSearchDirs: ["/a", "/b"],
-});
-
-prettier.format("pluginSearchDir is not empty and mixed with weird stuff", {
-  pluginSearchDirs: ["c", "d", ""],
-});
-
-prettier.format("pluginSearchDir is false", {
-  pluginSearchDirs: false,
-});
-
-prettier.format("pluginSearchDir can not be true", {
-  // @ts-expect-error
-  pluginSearchDirs: true,
-});
-
 prettier.format("singleAttributePerLine is available", {
   singleAttributePerLine: true,
 });
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/early-exit.js.snap b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/early-exit.js.snap
index 895a760d3..f7f85b5d2 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/early-exit.js.snap
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/early-exit.js.snap
@@ -10,21 +10,6 @@ exports[`show detailed usage with --help l (alias) (stdout) 1`] = `
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help l (alias) (write) 1`] = `[]`;
 
-exports[`show detailed usage with plugin options (automatic resolution) (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with plugin options (automatic resolution) (stdout) 1`] = `
-"--tab-width <int>
-
-  Number of spaces per indentation level.
-
-Default: 2
-Plugin defaults:
-* prettier-plugin-bar: 4
-* prettier-plugin-baz.js: 4"
-`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with plugin options (automatic resolution) (write) 1`] = `[]`;
-
 exports[`show detailed usage with plugin options (manual resolution) (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with plugin options (manual resolution) (stdout) 1`] = `
@@ -115,11 +100,6 @@ Config options:
                            Defaults to [.gitignore, .prettierignore].
   --plugin <path>          Add a plugin. Multiple plugins can be passed as separate \`--plugin\`s.
                            Defaults to [].
-  --plugin-search-dir <path>
-                           Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.
-                           Overrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.
-                           Multiple values are accepted.
-                           Defaults to [].
   --with-node-modules      Process files inside 'node_modules' directory.
 
 Editor options:
@@ -157,7 +137,6 @@ Other options:
   --log-level <silent|error|warn|log|debug>
                            What level of logs to report.
                            Defaults to log.
-  --no-plugin-search       Disable plugin autoloading.
   --require-pragma         Require either '@prettier' or '@format' to be present in the file's first docblock comment
                            in order for it to be formatted.
                            Defaults to false.
@@ -286,11 +265,6 @@ Config options:
                            Defaults to [.gitignore, .prettierignore].
   --plugin <path>          Add a plugin. Multiple plugins can be passed as separate \`--plugin\`s.
                            Defaults to [].
-  --plugin-search-dir <path>
-                           Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.
-                           Overrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.
-                           Multiple values are accepted.
-                           Defaults to [].
   --with-node-modules      Process files inside 'node_modules' directory.
 
 Editor options:
@@ -328,7 +302,6 @@ Other options:
   --log-level <silent|error|warn|log|debug>
                            What level of logs to report.
                            Defaults to log.
-  --no-plugin-search       Disable plugin autoloading.
   --require-pragma         Require either '@prettier' or '@format' to be present in the file's first docblock comment
                            in order for it to be formatted.
                            Defaults to false.
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/file-info.js.snap b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/file-info.js.snap
index c391e688c..12a9e3537 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/file-info.js.snap
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/file-info.js.snap
@@ -72,24 +72,6 @@ exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when a plugin is hand-picked
 
 exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when a plugin is hand-picked (write) 1`] = `[]`;
 
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are autoloaded (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
-
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are autoloaded (stdout) 1`] = `
-"{ "ignored": false, "inferredParser": "foo" }
-"
-`;
-
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are autoloaded (write) 1`] = `[]`;
-
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are loaded with --plugin-search-dir (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
-
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are loaded with --plugin-search-dir (stdout) 1`] = `
-"{ "ignored": false, "inferredParser": "foo" }
-"
-`;
-
-exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are loaded with --plugin-search-dir (write) 1`] = `[]`;
-
 exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=null for file.foo (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
 
 exports[`extracts file-info with inferredParser=null for file.foo (stdout) 1`] = `
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/help-options.js.snap b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/help-options.js.snap
index f2c01a39c..9396d2ff6 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/help-options.js.snap
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/help-options.js.snap
@@ -370,16 +370,6 @@ exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-error-on-unmatched-pattern (stdout)
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-error-on-unmatched-pattern (write) 1`] = `[]`;
 
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-plugin-search (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-plugin-search (stdout) 1`] = `
-"--no-plugin-search
-
-  Disable plugin autoloading."
-`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-plugin-search (write) 1`] = `[]`;
-
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-semi (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help no-semi (stdout) 1`] = `
@@ -438,20 +428,6 @@ Default: []"
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help plugin (write) 1`] = `[]`;
 
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help plugin-search-dir (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help plugin-search-dir (stdout) 1`] = `
-"--plugin-search-dir <path>
-
-  Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.
-  Overrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.
-  Multiple values are accepted.
-
-Default: []"
-`;
-
-exports[`show detailed usage with --help plugin-search-dir (write) 1`] = `[]`;
-
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help print-width (stderr) 1`] = `""`;
 
 exports[`show detailed usage with --help print-width (stdout) 1`] = `
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/schema.js.snap b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/schema.js.snap
index 11d70cb1a..60091c856 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/schema.js.snap
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/schema.js.snap
@@ -276,26 +276,6 @@ This option cannot be used with --range-start and --range-end.",
           "default": undefined,
           "description": "Which parser to use.",
         },
-        "pluginSearchDirs": {
-          "default": [],
-          "description": "Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.
-Overrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.
-Multiple values are accepted.",
-          "oneOf": [
-            {
-              "items": {
-                "type": "string",
-              },
-              "type": "array",
-            },
-            {
-              "description": "Disable plugin autoloading.",
-              "enum": [
-                false,
-              ],
-            },
-          ],
-        },
         "plugins": {
           "default": [],
           "description": "Add a plugin. Multiple plugins can be passed as separate \`--plugin\`s.",
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/support-info.js.snap b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/support-info.js.snap
index 10f01528d..a9f243c13 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/support-info.js.snap
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/__snapshots__/support-info.js.snap
@@ -180,10 +180,6 @@ exports[`API getSupportInfo() 1`] = `
       "default": undefined,
       "type": "choice",
     },
-    "pluginSearchDirs": {
-      "default": [],
-      "type": "path",
-    },
     "plugins": {
       "default": [],
       "type": "path",
@@ -939,15 +935,6 @@ exports[`CLI --support-info (stdout) 1`] = `
       "pluginDefaults": {},
       "type": "path"
     },
-    {
-      "array": true,
-      "category": "Global",
-      "default": [],
-      "description": "Custom directory that contains prettier plugins in node_modules subdirectory.\\nOverrides default behavior when plugins are searched relatively to the location of Prettier.\\nMultiple values are accepted.",
-      "name": "pluginSearchDirs",
-      "pluginDefaults": {},
-      "type": "path"
-    },
     {
       "category": "Global",
       "default": 80,
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/arg-parsing.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/arg-parsing.js
index 209e5dff1..845c0b430 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/arg-parsing.js
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/arg-parsing.js
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ describe("deprecated option values are warned", () => {
 
 describe("options with `cliName` should not allow to pass directly", () => {
   // `filepath` can only pass through `--stdin-filepath`
-  // `plugins` and `pluginSearchDirs` works the same
+  // `plugins` works the same
   runCli("cli/arg-parsing", ["--stdin-filepath", "file.js"], {
     isTTY: false,
     input: "prettier()",
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/config-resolution.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/config-resolution.js
index 3ff37dc7c..3bfde7f76 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/config-resolution.js
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/config-resolution.js
@@ -233,15 +233,6 @@ test("API resolveConfig resolves relative path values based on config filepath",
     prettier.resolveConfig(`${currentDir}/index.js`)
   ).resolves.toMatchObject({
     plugins: [path.join(parentDir, "path-to-plugin")],
-    pluginSearchDirs: [path.join(parentDir, "path-to-plugin-search-dir")],
-  });
-
-  await expect(
-    prettier.resolveConfig(
-      path.join(__dirname, "../cli/config/plugin-search-dirs/index.js")
-    )
-  ).resolves.toMatchObject({
-    pluginSearchDirs: false,
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/early-exit.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/early-exit.js
index 919423e3d..f24ce3597 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/early-exit.js
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/early-exit.js
@@ -19,17 +19,6 @@ describe("show detailed usage with --help l (alias)", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("show detailed usage with plugin options (automatic resolution)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "--help",
-    "tab-width",
-    "--parser=bar",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-  ]).test({
-    status: 0,
-  });
-});
-
 describe("show detailed usage with plugin options (manual resolution)", () => {
   runCli("cli", [
     "--help",
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/file-info.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/file-info.js
index 848bf3a93..1031fa42d 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/file-info.js
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/file-info.js
@@ -105,23 +105,6 @@ describe("extracts file-info with inferredParser=null for file.foo", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are autoloaded", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic/", ["--file-info", "file.foo"]).test({
-    status: 0,
-  });
-});
-
-describe("extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when plugins are loaded with --plugin-search-dir", () => {
-  runCli("cli/", [
-    "--file-info",
-    "file.foo",
-    "--plugin-search-dir",
-    "../plugins/automatic",
-  ]).test({
-    status: 0,
-  });
-});
-
 describe("extracts file-info with inferredParser=foo when a plugin is hand-picked", () => {
   runCli("cli/", [
     "--file-info",
@@ -361,25 +344,6 @@ test("returns null parser for unknown shebang", async () => {
   });
 });
 
-test("API getFileInfo with plugins loaded using pluginSearchDir", async () => {
-  const file = "file.foo";
-  const pluginsPath = path.resolve(
-    path.join(__dirname, "../plugins/automatic")
-  );
-  await expect(prettier.getFileInfo(file)).resolves.toMatchObject({
-    ignored: false,
-    inferredParser: null,
-  });
-  await expect(
-    prettier.getFileInfo(file, {
-      pluginSearchDirs: [pluginsPath],
-    })
-  ).resolves.toMatchObject({
-    ignored: false,
-    inferredParser: "foo",
-  });
-});
-
 test("API getFileInfo with hand-picked plugins", async () => {
   const file = "file.foo";
   const pluginPath = path.resolve(
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-resolution.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-resolution.js
index c8e56dd7d..d33dad4cc 100644
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-resolution.js
+++ b/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-resolution.js
@@ -1,128 +1,3 @@
-describe("automatically loads 'prettier-plugin-*'", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", ["file.txt", "--parser=bar"]).test({
-    stdout: "content from `prettier-plugin-bar` package + contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads '@prettier/plugin-*'", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", ["file.txt", "--parser=foo"]).test({
-    stdout: "foo+contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads '@<name>/prettier-plugin-*'", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", ["file.txt", "--parser=foobar"]).test({
-    stdout: "foobar+contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads 'prettier-plugin-*' from --plugin-search-dir (same as autoload dir)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "file.txt",
-    "--parser=foo",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "foo+contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads '@prettier/plugin-*' from --plugin-search-dir (same as autoload dir)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "file.txt",
-    "--parser=bar",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "content from `prettier-plugin-bar` package + contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads '@<name>/prettier-plugin-*' from --plugin-search-dir (same as autoload dir)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "file.txt",
-    "--parser=foobar",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "foobar+contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads 'prettier-plugin-*' from --plugin-search-dir (different to autoload dir)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins", [
-    "automatic/file.txt",
-    "--parser=foo",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=automatic",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "foo+contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("automatically loads '@prettier/plugin-*' from --plugin-search-dir (different to autoload dir)", () => {
-  runCli("plugins", [
-    "automatic/file.txt",
-    "--parser=bar",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=automatic",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "content from `prettier-plugin-bar` package + contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("does not crash when --plugin-search-dir does not contain node_modules", () => {
-  runCli(
-    "plugins/extensions",
-    [
-      "file.foo",
-      "--end-of-line",
-      "lf",
-      "--plugin=./plugin.cjs",
-      "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-    ],
-    { ignoreLineEndings: true }
-  ).test({
-    stdout: "!contents",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
-describe("crashes when one of --plugin-search-dir does not exist", () => {
-  runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "file.txt",
-    "--parser=foo",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=non-existing-dir",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=.",
-  ]).test({
-    stdout: "",
-    stderr: "[error] non-existing-dir does not exist or is not a directory",
-    status: 1,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
-
 describe("loads --plugin by its relative path", () => {
   runCli("plugins", [
     "automatic/file.txt",
@@ -167,7 +42,6 @@ describe("loads --plugin by filename without leading ./, should resolve to file,
     "file.txt",
     "--parser=baz",
     "--plugin=prettier-plugin-baz.js",
-    "--no-plugin-search",
   ]).test({
     stdout: "content from `prettier-plugin-baz.js` file + contents",
     stderr: "",
@@ -188,76 +62,3 @@ describe("loads --plugin by bespoke plugin name (assuming it is installed in cwd
     write: [],
   });
 });
-
-test("--no-plugin-search", async () => {
-  async function getParser(args = []) {
-    const { stdout } = await runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-      "--file-info=file.foo",
-      ...args,
-    ]);
-    return JSON.parse(stdout).inferredParser;
-  }
-
-  expect(await getParser()).toBe("foo");
-  expect(await getParser(["--plugin-search-dir=."])).toBe("foo");
-  expect(await getParser(["--no-plugin-search"])).toBeNull();
-});
-
-test("--no-plugin-search still allow use --plugin", async () => {
-  const args = ["file.txt", "--parser=baz"];
-  const { stdout: stdoutWithoutPlugin } = await runCli(
-    "plugins/automatic",
-    args
-  );
-  const argsWithPlugin = [...args, "--plugin=./prettier-plugin-baz.js"];
-  const { stdout: stdoutWithPlugin } = await runCli(
-    "plugins/automatic",
-    argsWithPlugin
-  );
-  const { stdout: stdoutWithoutPluginAndNoPluginSearch } = await runCli(
-    "plugins/automatic",
-    [...args, "--no-plugin-search"]
-  );
-  const { stdout: stdoutWithPluginButNoPluginSearch } = await runCli(
-    "plugins/automatic",
-    [...argsWithPlugin, "--no-plugin-search"]
-  );
-
-  expect(stdoutWithoutPlugin).toBe(
-    "content from `prettier-plugin-baz.js` package + contents"
-  );
-  expect(stdoutWithPlugin).toBe(
-    "content from `prettier-plugin-baz.js` package + contents"
-  );
-  expect(stdoutWithoutPluginAndNoPluginSearch).toBe("");
-  expect(stdoutWithPluginButNoPluginSearch).toBe(
-    "content from `prettier-plugin-baz.js` file + contents"
-  );
-});
-
-test("--no-plugin-search together with --plugin-search-dir", async () => {
-  const result1 = await runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "--no-plugin-search",
-    "--plugin-search-dir",
-  ]);
-  const result2 = await runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "--no-plugin-search",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=foo",
-  ]);
-  const result3 = await runCli("plugins/automatic", [
-    "--no-plugin-search",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=foo",
-    "--plugin-search-dir=bar",
-  ]);
-
-  expect(result1).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
-    {
-      "status": 1,
-      "stderr": "[error] Cannot use --no-plugin-search and --plugin-search-dir together.",
-      "stdout": "",
-      "write": [],
-    }
-  `);
-  expect(result2).toEqual(result1);
-  expect(result3).toEqual(result1);
-});
diff --git a/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-virtual-directory.js b/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-virtual-directory.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 159a7d011..000000000
--- a/tests/integration/__tests__/plugin-virtual-directory.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-describe("plugin search should not crash when prettier isn't inside a directory", () => {
-  runCli(
-    "plugins/virtualDirectory",
-    ["--stdin-filepath", "example.js", "--plugin-search-dir=."],
-    { input: "" }
-  ).test({
-    stdout: "",
-    stderr: "",
-    status: 0,
-    write: [],
-  });
-});
diff --git a/tests/integration/cli/config/plugin-search-dirs/.prettierrc b/tests/integration/cli/config/plugin-search-dirs/.prettierrc
index d5f6d95b0..2c63c0851 100644
--- a/tests/integration/cli/config/plugin-search-dirs/.prettierrc
+++ b/tests/integration/cli/config/plugin-search-dirs/.prettierrc
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 {
-    "pluginSearchDirs": false
 }
diff --git a/tests/integration/cli/config/resolve-relative/.prettierrc b/tests/integration/cli/config/resolve-relative/.prettierrc
index 8d5619642..5bc6e54f7 100644
--- a/tests/integration/cli/config/resolve-relative/.prettierrc
+++ b/tests/integration/cli/config/resolve-relative/.prettierrc
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
 {
-    "plugins": ["../path-to-plugin"],
-    "pluginSearchDirs": ["../path-to-plugin-search-dir"]
+    "plugins": ["../path-to-plugin"]
 }