diff --git a/components/plugin.js b/components/plugin.js
index 3319c0d36..38cf0c48f 100644
--- a/components/plugin.js
+++ b/components/plugin.js
@@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ class Plugin {
    * Takes a plugin eg this or the result of Plugin.info and determines whether its a lando plugin or not
    */
   static isValid(plugin) {
+    // if we are forcing installation then return true
+    if( plugin.config && plugin.config.force ) return true;
+
     // if we are looking at a plugin instance then
     if (isClass(plugin.constructor) && plugin.constructor.name === 'Plugin') {
       return Object.keys(plugin.manifest).length > 0 ||
diff --git a/tasks/plugin-add.js b/tasks/plugin-add.js
index 81ed14cb0..4c1875942 100644
--- a/tasks/plugin-add.js
+++ b/tasks/plugin-add.js
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ module.exports = lando => {
         array: true,
         default: [],
       },
+      force: {
+        describe: 'Force install the plugin',
+        alias: ['f'],
+        type: 'boolean'
+      }
     },
     run: async options => {
       const getPluginConfig = require('../utils/get-plugin-config');
@@ -42,6 +47,7 @@ module.exports = lando => {
       options.config = merge({}, [
         getPluginConfig(lando.config.pluginConfigFile, lando.config.pluginConfig),
         lopts2Popts(options),
+        { force: !!options.force }
       ]);
 
       // reset Plugin static defaults for v3 purposes