Logstash 5 upgrades require re-installing logstash-output-exec plugin after upgrade, why?

[nnet]

Hi folks, I upgraded ELK stack on Ubuntu Server 16.04 using this as repo:

APT-Sources: https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/5.x/apt stable/main amd64 Packages

from 2.x to 5.x and that was largely problem-free except that my logstash output exec stuff stopped working. Turns out this isn't available by default and I must install logstash-output-exec plugin.
Fine, I installed it with:

/usr/share/logstash/bin/logstash-plugin install logstash-output-exec

restarted logstash, things are good.

There have been two or three upgrades in the 5.x Ubuntu repo since, and each time I upgrade I have to reinstall the above plugin.

Is this normal?

[warkolm (Mark Walkom)]

FYI we’ve renamed ELK to the Elastic Stack, otherwise Beats and APM feel left out!

@nnet

There have been two or three upgrades in the 5.x Ubuntu repo since, and each time I upgrade I have to reinstall the above plugin.

This plugin is not part of the core set - Exec output plugin | Logstash Reference [8.11] | Elastic.

Given there are changes within the core Logstash framework between versions, it would be likely that these also impact non-core plugins, which means an update/reinstall to get the latest version so it's compatible and working.