diff --git a/nixos/tests/caddy.nix b/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
index c719a1b233b1..d7f2b72ef6de 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-{ pkgs, ... }:
+{ lib, ... }:
+
 {
   name = "caddy";
-  meta = with pkgs.lib.maintainers; {
-    maintainers = [
-      stepbrobd
-    ];
-  };
+
+  meta.maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [
+    stepbrobd
+  ];
 
   nodes = {
     webserver =
@@ -69,24 +69,6 @@
             respond "hello world"
           '';
         };
-        specialisation.with-plugins.configuration = {
-          services.caddy = {
-            package = pkgs.caddy.withPlugins {
-              plugins = [ "github.com/caddyserver/replace-response@v0.0.0-20250618171559-80962887e4c6" ];
-              hash = "sha256-0N/bQAM5yT6g9UAteWsfxofGcelmU/NDTroS2oL43Gs=";
-            };
-            configFile = pkgs.writeText "Caddyfile" ''
-              {
-                order replace after encode
-              }
-
-              localhost:80 {
-                respond "hello world"
-                replace world caddy
-              }
-            '';
-          };
-        };
       };
   };
 
@@ -98,7 +80,6 @@
       multipleConfigs = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/multiple-configs";
       multipleHostnames = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/multiple-hostnames";
       rfc42Config = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/rfc42";
-      withPluginsConfig = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/with-plugins";
     in
     ''
       url = "http://localhost/example.html"
@@ -141,12 +122,5 @@
           )
           webserver.wait_for_open_port(80)
           webserver.succeed("curl http://localhost | grep hello")
-
-      with subtest("plugins are correctled installed and configurable"):
-          webserver.succeed(
-              "${withPluginsConfig}/bin/switch-to-configuration test >&2"
-          )
-          webserver.wait_for_open_port(80)
-          webserver.succeed("curl http://localhost | grep caddy")
     '';
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/package.nix
index 029ace9f9d28..0f544a4b22e9 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/package.nix
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
   buildGoModule,
   callPackage,
   fetchFromGitHub,
+  testers,
   nixosTests,
   caddy,
   installShellFiles,
@@ -10,23 +11,18 @@
   writableTmpDirAsHomeHook,
   versionCheckHook,
 }:
-let
-  version = "2.11.4";
-  dist = fetchFromGitHub {
-    owner = "caddyserver";
-    repo = "dist";
-    tag = "v${version}";
-    hash = "sha256-oRQfQH1GKjAjVMj+dZo1f1+HOaOdJIyEfod0iGLYcc8=";
-  };
-in
+
 buildGoModule (finalAttrs: {
   pname = "caddy";
-  inherit version;
+  version = "2.11.4";
+
+  __structuredAttrs = true;
 
   src = fetchFromGitHub {
     owner = "caddyserver";
     repo = "caddy";
     tag = "v${finalAttrs.version}";
+    # remember to update hashes for `dist` and `plugins` test!
     hash = "sha256-wzk8KRZfDCbbjRlBwkoKAoMjOhV4xF3yuXUueqtl1xM=";
   };
 
@@ -52,7 +48,7 @@ buildGoModule (finalAttrs: {
   __darwinAllowLocalNetworking = true;
 
   postInstall = ''
-    install -Dm644 ${dist}/init/caddy.service ${dist}/init/caddy-api.service -t $out/lib/systemd/system
+    install -Dm644 ${finalAttrs.passthru.dist}/init/caddy.service ${finalAttrs.passthru.dist}/init/caddy-api.service -t $out/lib/systemd/system
 
     substituteInPlace $out/lib/systemd/system/caddy.service \
       --replace-fail "/usr/bin/caddy" "$out/bin/caddy"
@@ -72,20 +68,29 @@ buildGoModule (finalAttrs: {
       --zsh <($out/bin/caddy completion zsh)
   '';
 
-  passthru = {
-    tests = {
-      inherit (nixosTests) caddy;
-      acme-integration = nixosTests.acme.caddy;
-    };
-    withPlugins = callPackage ./plugins.nix { inherit caddy; };
-  };
-
+  doInstallCheck = true;
   nativeInstallCheckInputs = [
     writableTmpDirAsHomeHook
     versionCheckHook
   ];
   versionCheckKeepEnvironment = [ "HOME" ];
-  doInstallCheck = true;
+
+  passthru = {
+    withPlugins = callPackage ./plugins.nix { inherit caddy; };
+
+    dist = fetchFromGitHub {
+      owner = "caddyserver";
+      repo = "dist";
+      tag = "v${finalAttrs.version}";
+      hash = "sha256-oRQfQH1GKjAjVMj+dZo1f1+HOaOdJIyEfod0iGLYcc8=";
+    };
+
+    tests = {
+      inherit (nixosTests) caddy;
+      plugins = testers.runNixOSTest ./plugins.test.nix;
+      acme-integration = nixosTests.acme.caddy;
+    };
+  };
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "https://caddyserver.com";
diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/plugins.test.nix b/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/plugins.test.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7c223c860436
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ca/caddy/plugins.test.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+{ lib, ... }:
+
+{
+  name = "caddy-plugins";
+  meta.maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [
+    stepbrobd
+  ];
+
+  nodes.machine =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      services.caddy = {
+        enable = true;
+
+        package = pkgs.caddy.withPlugins {
+          plugins = [ "github.com/caddyserver/replace-response@v0.0.0-20250618171559-80962887e4c6" ];
+          hash = "sha256-oj0IpspxslpNZbJFsexh0W2Sja19XRUsbShoCuY6qkQ=";
+        };
+
+        globalConfig = ''
+          order replace after encode
+        '';
+
+        virtualHosts."localhost:80".extraConfig = ''
+          respond "hello world"
+          replace world nixos
+        '';
+      };
+    };
+
+  testScript = ''
+    machine.wait_for_unit("caddy")
+    machine.wait_for_open_port(80)
+    machine.succeed("curl http://localhost | grep nixos")
+  '';
+}