diff --git a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index 5b29fb6047..723015c1f9 100644
--- a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@ endif()
 if(POLICY CMP0075)
   cmake_policy(SET CMP0075 NEW)
 endif()
+# set policy to silence warnings about requiring execute permission for find_program
+# we use OLD because the python-config script for the Fedora MinGW cross-compiler requires it currently
+if(POLICY CMP0109)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0109 OLD)
+endif()
 # set policy to silence warnings about timestamps of downloaded files. review occasionally if it may be set to NEW
 if(POLICY CMP0135)
   cmake_policy(SET CMP0135 OLD)
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/Packages/ML-PACE.cmake b/cmake/Modules/Packages/ML-PACE.cmake
index 248b8eea76..8660898138 100644
--- a/cmake/Modules/Packages/ML-PACE.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Modules/Packages/ML-PACE.cmake
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
-set(PACELIB_URL "https://github.com/ICAMS/lammps-user-pace/archive/refs/tags/v.2023.11.25.fix.tar.gz" CACHE STRING "URL for PACE evaluator library sources")
+# PACE library support for ML-PACE package
 
+# set policy to silence warnings about timestamps of downloaded files. review occasionally if it may be set to NEW
+if(POLICY CMP0135)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0135 OLD)
+endif()
+
+set(PACELIB_URL "https://github.com/ICAMS/lammps-user-pace/archive/refs/tags/v.2023.11.25.fix.tar.gz" CACHE STRING "URL for PACE evaluator library sources")
 set(PACELIB_MD5 "b45de9a633f42ed65422567e3ce56f9f" CACHE STRING "MD5 checksum of PACE evaluator library tarball")
 mark_as_advanced(PACELIB_URL)
 mark_as_advanced(PACELIB_MD5)
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/Packages/PLUMED.cmake b/cmake/Modules/Packages/PLUMED.cmake
index 8312589478..595b6824c1 100644
--- a/cmake/Modules/Packages/PLUMED.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Modules/Packages/PLUMED.cmake
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # Plumed2 support for PLUMED package
 
+# set policy to silence warnings about timestamps of downloaded files. review occasionally if it may be set to NEW
+if(POLICY CMP0135)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0135 OLD)
+endif()
+
 # for supporting multiple concurrent plumed2 installations for debugging and testing
 set(PLUMED_SUFFIX "" CACHE STRING "Suffix for Plumed2 library")
 mark_as_advanced(PLUMED_SUFFIX)
@@ -81,6 +86,9 @@ if((CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Windows") AND (CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING))
     DEPENDS plumed_build
     COMMENT "Copying Plumed files"
   )
+  if(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME STREQUAL "lammps")
+    target_link_libraries(lammps INTERFACE LAMMPS::PLUMED)
+  endif()
 
 else()
 
@@ -155,6 +163,9 @@ else()
     endif()
     set_target_properties(LAMMPS::PLUMED PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${INSTALL_DIR}/include)
     file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${INSTALL_DIR}/include)
+    if(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME STREQUAL "lammps")
+      target_link_libraries(lammps PRIVATE LAMMPS::PLUMED)
+    endif()
   else()
     find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
     pkg_check_modules(PLUMED REQUIRED plumed${PLUMED_SUFFIX})
@@ -169,7 +180,9 @@ else()
     endif()
     set_target_properties(LAMMPS::PLUMED PROPERTIES INTERFACE_LINK_LIBRARIES "${PLUMED_LOAD}")
     set_target_properties(LAMMPS::PLUMED PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${PLUMED_INCLUDE_DIRS}")
+    if(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME STREQUAL "lammps")
+      target_link_libraries(lammps PUBLIC LAMMPS::PLUMED)
+    endif()
   endif()
 endif()
 
-target_link_libraries(lammps PRIVATE LAMMPS::PLUMED)
diff --git a/doc/src/Build_extras.rst b/doc/src/Build_extras.rst
index aea039f0bc..1dd64b3160 100644
--- a/doc/src/Build_extras.rst
+++ b/doc/src/Build_extras.rst
@@ -1517,6 +1517,11 @@ in lib/pace or somewhere else, which must be done before building
 LAMMPS with this package. The code for the library can be found
 at: `https://github.com/ICAMS/lammps-user-pace/ <https://github.com/ICAMS/lammps-user-pace/>`_
 
+Instead of including the ML-PACE package directly into LAMMPS, it
+is also possible to skip this step and build the ML-PACE package as
+a plugin using the CMake script files in the ``examples/PACKAGE/pace/plugin``
+folder and then load this plugin at runtime with the :doc:`plugin command <plugin>`.
+
 .. tabs::
 
    .. tab:: CMake build
@@ -1701,6 +1706,11 @@ try a different one, switch to a different build system, consider a
 global PLUMED installation or consider downloading PLUMED during the
 LAMMPS build.
 
+Instead of including the PLUMED package directly into LAMMPS, it
+is also possible to skip this step and build the PLUMED package as
+a plugin using the CMake script files in the ``examples/PACKAGE/plumed/plugin``
+folder and then load this plugin at runtime with the :doc:`plugin command <plugin>`.
+
 .. tabs::
 
    .. tab:: CMake build
diff --git a/doc/src/Developer_plugins.rst b/doc/src/Developer_plugins.rst
index 4cfdc92504..354350dde7 100644
--- a/doc/src/Developer_plugins.rst
+++ b/doc/src/Developer_plugins.rst
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ in the ``examples/kim/plugin`` folder.  No changes to the sources of the
 KIM package themselves are needed; only the plugin interface and loader
 code needs to be added.  This example only supports building with CMake,
 but is probably a more typical example. To compile you need to run CMake
-with -DLAMMPS_SOURCE_DIR=<path/to/lammps/src/folder>.  Other
+with ``-DLAMMPS_SOURCE_DIR=<path/to/lammps/src/folder>``.  Other
 configuration setting are identical to those for compiling LAMMPS.
 
 A second example for a plugin from a package is in the
diff --git a/doc/src/Packages_details.rst b/doc/src/Packages_details.rst
index 4483601a88..4907ac6a20 100644
--- a/doc/src/Packages_details.rst
+++ b/doc/src/Packages_details.rst
@@ -1823,7 +1823,8 @@ Aidan Thompson^3, Gabor Csanyi^2, Christoph Ortner^4, Ralf Drautz^1.
 **Install:**
 
 This package has :ref:`specific installation instructions <ml-pace>` on the
-:doc:`Build extras <Build_extras>` page.
+:doc:`Build extras <Build_extras>` page.  This package may also be compiled
+as a plugin to avoid licensing conflicts when distributing binaries.
 
 **Supporting info:**
 
@@ -2344,7 +2345,9 @@ and Gareth Tribello.
 
 **Install:**
 
-This package has :ref:`specific installation instructions <plumed>` on the :doc:`Build extras <Build_extras>` page.
+This package has :ref:`specific installation instructions <plumed>` on the
+:doc:`Build extras <Build_extras>` page.  This package may also be compiled
+as a plugin to avoid licensing conflicts when distributing binaries.
 
 **Supporting info:**
 
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/pace/plugin/paceplugin.nsis b/examples/PACKAGES/pace/plugin/paceplugin.nsis
index de8d1d8478..0ca96b95a6 100644
--- a/examples/PACKAGES/pace/plugin/paceplugin.nsis
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/pace/plugin/paceplugin.nsis
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ InstallDir "$LOCALAPPDATA\${PACEPLUGIN}"
 
 ShowInstDetails show
 ShowUninstDetails show
-SetCompressor lzma
+SetCompressor zlib
 
 !define MUI_ABORTWARNING
 
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..33ed34123d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# -*- CMake -*- build system for plugin examples.
+# The is meant to be used as a template for plugins that are
+# distributed independent from the LAMMPS package.
+##########################################
+
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
+
+project(plumedplugin VERSION 1.0 LANGUAGES CXX)
+
+set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
+include(CheckIncludeFileCXX)
+include(LAMMPSInterfacePlugin)
+include(PLUMED)
+
+##########################
+# building the plugins
+
+add_library(plumedplugin MODULE plumedplugin.cpp ${LAMMPS_SOURCE_DIR}/PLUMED/fix_plumed.cpp)
+target_link_libraries(plumedplugin PRIVATE LAMMPS::PLUMED)
+target_link_libraries(plumedplugin PRIVATE lammps)
+target_include_directories(plumedplugin PRIVATE ${LAMMPS_SOURCE_DIR}/PLUMED)
+set_target_properties(plumedplugin PROPERTIES PREFIX "" SUFFIX ".so")
+
+# MacOS seems to need this
+if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL Darwin)
+  set_target_properties(plumedplugin PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-Wl,-undefined,dynamic_lookup")
+elseif(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Windows")
+# tell CMake to export all symbols to a .dll on Windows with special case for MinGW cross-compilers
+  set_target_properties(plumedplugin PROPERTIES WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS TRUE)
+  if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING)
+    set_target_properties(plumedplugin  PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-Wl,--export-all-symbols")
+  endif()
+
+  get_lammps_version(${LAMMPS_SOURCE_DIR}/version.h LAMMPS_VERSION)
+  find_program(MAKENSIS_PATH makensis)
+  if(MAKENSIS_PATH)
+    execute_process(COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy_if_different ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/lammps.ico
+      ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/plumedplugin.nsis
+      ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR})
+    if(BUILD_MPI)
+      if(USE_MSMPI)
+        add_custom_target(package ${MAKENSIS_PATH} -V1 -DVERSION=${LAMMPS_VERSION}-MSMPI plumedplugin.nsis
+          DEPENDS plumedplugin plumed_copy lammps.ico lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp plumedplugin.nsis
+          BYPRODUCTS LAMMPS-PLUMED-plugin-${LAMMPS_VERSION}-MSMPI.exe)
+      else()
+        add_custom_target(package ${MAKENSIS_PATH} -V1 -DVERSION=${LAMMPS_VERSION}-MPI plumedplugin.nsis
+          DEPENDS plumedplugin plumed_copy lammps.ico lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp plumedplugin.nsis
+          BYPRODUCTS LAMMPS-PLUMED-plugin-${LAMMPS_VERSION}-MPI.exe)
+      endif()
+    else()
+      add_custom_target(package ${MAKENSIS_PATH} -V1 -DVERSION=${LAMMPS_VERSION} plumedplugin.nsis
+        COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo ${PWD}
+        DEPENDS plumedplugin plumed_copy lammps.ico lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp plumedplugin.nsis
+        BYPRODUCTS LAMMPS-PLUMED-plugin-${LAMMPS_VERSION}.exe)
+    endif()
+  endif()
+else()
+  set_target_properties(plumedplugin PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-rdynamic")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/LAMMPSInterfacePlugin.cmake b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/LAMMPSInterfacePlugin.cmake
new file mode 120000
index 0000000000..2ac6d20a54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/LAMMPSInterfacePlugin.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+../../../../cmake/Modules/LAMMPSInterfacePlugin.cmake
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/PLUMED.cmake b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/PLUMED.cmake
new file mode 120000
index 0000000000..b69e8b04f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/PLUMED.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+../../../../cmake/Modules/Packages/PLUMED.cmake
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/README.txt b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/README.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2b1971ddbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/README.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+This folder contains a loader and support files to build the PLUMED package as plugin.
+For more information please see: https://docs.lammps.org/Developer_plugins.html
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b9ec4c35f2
Binary files /dev/null and b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp differ
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps.ico b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps.ico
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cce156bf79
Binary files /dev/null and b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/lammps.ico differ
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.cpp b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..48edc48e6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+
+#include "lammpsplugin.h"
+#include "version.h"
+
+#include "fix_plumed.h"
+
+using namespace LAMMPS_NS;
+
+static Fix *fix_plumed_creator(LAMMPS *lmp, int argc, char **argv)
+{
+  return new FixPlumed(lmp, argc, argv);
+}
+
+extern "C" void lammpsplugin_init(void *lmp, void *handle, void *regfunc)
+{
+  lammpsplugin_t plugin;
+  lammpsplugin_regfunc register_plugin = (lammpsplugin_regfunc) regfunc;
+
+  // register plumed fix style
+  plugin.version = LAMMPS_VERSION;
+  plugin.style = "fix";
+  plugin.name = "plumed";
+  plugin.info = "Plumed2 plugin fix style v1.0";
+  plugin.author = "Axel Kohlmeyer (akohlmey@gmail.com)";
+  plugin.creator.v1 = (lammpsplugin_factory1 *) &fix_plumed_creator;
+  plugin.handle = handle;
+  (*register_plugin)(&plugin, lmp);
+}
diff --git a/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.nsis b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.nsis
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1de9800d26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/PACKAGES/plumed/plugin/plumedplugin.nsis
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+#!Nsis Installer Command Script
+#
+# The following external defines are recognized:
+# ${VERSION} = YYYYMMDD
+
+!include "MUI2.nsh"
+!include "FileFunc.nsh"
+
+!define MUI_ICON "lammps.ico"
+!define MUI_UNICON "lammps.ico"
+!define MUI_HEADERIMAGE
+!define MUI_HEADERIMAGE_BITMAP "lammps-text-logo-wide.bmp"
+!define MUI_HEADERIMAGE_RIGHT
+
+Unicode true
+XPStyle on
+
+!include "LogicLib.nsh"
+!addplugindir "envvar/Plugins/x86-unicode"
+!include "x64.nsh"
+
+RequestExecutionLevel user
+
+!macro VerifyUserIsAdmin
+UserInfo::GetAccountType
+pop $0
+${If} $0 != "admin"
+  messageBox mb_iconstop "Administrator rights required!"
+  setErrorLevel 740 ;ERROR_ELEVATION_REQUIRED
+  quit
+${EndIf}
+!macroend
+
+!define PLUMEDPLUGIN "LAMMPS PLUMED Plugin ${VERSION}"
+OutFile "LAMMPS-PLUMED-plugin-${VERSION}.exe"
+
+Name "${PLUMEDPLUGIN}"
+InstallDir "$LOCALAPPDATA\${PLUMEDPLUGIN}"
+
+ShowInstDetails show
+ShowUninstDetails show
+SetCompressor zlib
+
+!define MUI_ABORTWARNING
+
+!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
+!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
+
+!insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_CONFIRM
+!insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_INSTFILES
+
+!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
+
+function .onInit
+  # Determine if LAMMPS was already installed and check whether it was in 32-bit
+  # or 64-bit. Then look up path to uninstaller and offer to uninstall or quit
+  SetRegView 32
+  ReadRegDWORD $0 HKCU "Software\LAMMPS-PLUMED" "Bits"
+  SetRegView LastUsed
+  ${If} $0 == "32"
+    SetRegView 32
+  ${ElseIf} $0 == "64"
+    SetRegView 64
+  ${Else}
+    SetRegView 64
+  ${EndIf}
+  ClearErrors
+  ReadRegStr $R0 HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" "UninstallString"
+  SetRegView LastUsed
+  ${If} ${Errors}
+    DetailPrint "LAMMPS PLUMED plugin not (yet) installed"
+  ${Else}
+    MessageBox MB_YESNO "LAMMPS PLUMED plugin ($0 bit) is already installed. Uninstall existing version?" /SD IDYES IDNO Quit
+      Pop $R1
+      StrCmp $R1 2 Quit +1
+      Exec $R0
+    Quit:
+      Quit
+  ${EndIf}
+  setShellVarContext all
+functionEnd
+
+Section "${PLUMEDPLUGIN}" SecPlumedplugin
+  SectionIn RO
+  # Write LAMMPS installation bitness marker. Always use 32-bit registry view
+  SetRegView 32
+  IntFmt $0 "0x%08X" 64
+  WriteRegDWORD HKCU "Software\LAMMPS-PLUMED" "Bits" $0
+
+  # Switch to "native" registry view
+  SetRegView 64
+  SetShellVarContext current
+
+  SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
+  CreateDirectory "$INSTDIR\patches"
+  CreateDirectory "$INSTDIR\bin"
+  File lammps.ico
+  File plumedplugin.so
+
+  SetOutPath "$INSTDIR\bin"
+  File plumed.exe
+
+  # Register Application and its uninstaller
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "DisplayName" "${PLUMEDPLUGIN}"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "Publisher" "The LAMMPS and PLUMED Developers"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "URLInfoAbout" "lammps.org"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "DisplayIcon" "$INSTDIR\lammps.ico"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "DisplayVersion" "${VERSION}"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "InstallLocation" "$INSTDIR"
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "UninstallString" "$\"$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe$\""
+  WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "QuietUninstallString" "$\"$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe$\" /S"
+
+  ${GetSize} "$INSTDIR" "/S=0K" $0 $1 $2
+  IntFmt $0 "0x%08X" $0
+  WriteRegDWORD HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED" \
+                 "EstimatedSize" "$0"
+
+  # update path variables
+  EnVar::SetHKCU
+  # add plumed executable path
+  EnVar::AddValue "PATH" "$INSTDIR\bin"
+  # add to LAMMPS plugin search path
+  EnVar::AddValue "LAMMPS_PLUGIN_PATH" "$INSTDIR"
+  # add plumed2 patch files
+  EnVar::AddValue "PLUMED_ROOT" "$INSTDIR"
+
+  WriteUninstaller "$INSTDIR\Uninstall.exe"
+SectionEnd
+
+function un.onInit
+  SetShellVarContext current
+functionEnd
+
+Section "Uninstall"
+  # remove LAMMPS bitness/installation indicator always in 32-bit registry view
+  SetRegView 32
+  DeleteRegKey HKCU "Software\LAMMPS-PLUMED"
+
+  # unregister extension, and uninstall info
+  SetRegView 64
+  SetShellVarContext current
+  # unregister installation
+  DeleteRegKey HKCU "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\LAMMPS-PLUMED"
+
+  # update path variables
+  EnVar::SetHKCU
+  # remove plumed executable path
+  EnVar::DeleteValue "PATH" "$INSTDIR\bin"
+  # remove entry from LAMMPS plugin search path
+  EnVar::DeleteValue "LAMMPS_PLUGIN_PATH" "$INSTDIR"
+  # remove plumed patch environment
+  EnVar::Delete "PLUMED_ROOT"
+
+  RMDir /r /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR\patches"
+  RMDir /r /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR\bin"
+  Delete /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR\plumedplugin.so"
+  Delete /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR\Uninstall.exe"
+  Delete /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR\lammps.ico"
+  RMDir /REBOOTOK "$INSTDIR"
+SectionEnd
+
+# Local Variables:
+# mode: sh
+# End: