diff --git a/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/manager.py b/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/manager.py
index 2a27e669..d93cca21 100644
--- a/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/manager.py
+++ b/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/manager.py
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ async def initialize(self) -> None:
         loaded_count = 0
 
         for plugin_config in plugins:
-            if plugin_config.mode != PluginMode.DISABLED:
+            if plugin_config.enabled and plugin_config.mode != PluginMode.DISABLED:
                 try:
                     plugin = await self._loader.load_and_instantiate_plugin(plugin_config)
                     if plugin:
@@ -441,7 +441,10 @@ async def initialize(self) -> None:
                     logger.error(f"Failed to load plugin {plugin_config.name}: {str(e)}")
                     raise ValueError(f"Unable to register and initialize plugin: {plugin_config.name}") from e
             else:
-                logger.debug(f"Skipping disabled plugin: {plugin_config.name}")
+                if not plugin_config.enabled:
+                    logger.debug(f"Skipping disabled plugin: {plugin_config.name} (enabled=false)")
+                else:
+                    logger.debug(f"Skipping disabled plugin: {plugin_config.name} (mode=disabled)")
 
         self._initialized = True
         logger.info(f"Plugin manager initialized with {loaded_count} plugins")
diff --git a/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/models.py b/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/models.py
index cec4235e..4976e2c2 100644
--- a/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/models.py
+++ b/mcpgateway/plugins/framework/models.py
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ class PluginConfig(BaseModel):
         version (str): version of the plugin.
         hooks (list[str]): a list of the hook points where the plugin will be called.
         tags (list[str]): a list of tags for making the plugin searchable.
+        enabled (bool): whether the plugin is enabled and should be loaded.
         mode (bool): whether the plugin is active.
         priority (int): indicates the order in which the plugin is run. Lower = higher priority.
         conditions (Optional[list[PluginCondition]]): the conditions on which the plugin is run.
@@ -130,6 +131,7 @@ class PluginConfig(BaseModel):
     version: str
     hooks: list[HookType]
     tags: list[str]
+    enabled: bool = True  # Default to enabled for backward compatibility
     mode: PluginMode = PluginMode.ENFORCE
     priority: int = 100  # Lower = higher priority
     conditions: Optional[list[PluginCondition]] = None  # When to apply
diff --git a/plugins/config.yaml b/plugins/config.yaml
index 48a83dc0..40b72c40 100644
--- a/plugins/config.yaml
+++ b/plugins/config.yaml
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ plugins:
     author: "Mihai Criveti"
     hooks: ["prompt_pre_fetch", "prompt_post_fetch"]
     tags: ["security", "pii", "compliance", "filter", "gdpr", "hipaa"]
+    enabled: true  # true | false - whether plugin should be loaded
     mode: "permissive"  # enforce | permissive | disabled
     priority: 50  # Lower number = higher priority (runs first)
     conditions:
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ plugins:
     author: "MCP Context Forge Team"
     hooks: ["prompt_pre_fetch", "prompt_post_fetch"]
     tags: ["plugin", "transformer", "regex", "search-and-replace", "pre-post"]
+    enabled: true  # true | false - whether plugin should be loaded
     mode: "enforce"  # enforce | permissive | disabled
     priority: 150
     conditions:
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ plugins:
     author: "MCP Context Forge Team"
     hooks: ["prompt_pre_fetch"]
     tags: ["plugin", "filter", "denylist", "pre-post"]
+    enabled: false  # true | false - whether plugin should be loaded
     mode: "enforce"  # enforce | permissive | disabled
     priority: 100
     conditions:
diff --git a/plugins/regex_filter/README.md b/plugins/regex_filter/README.md
index b7b54c76..596db072 100644
--- a/plugins/regex_filter/README.md
+++ b/plugins/regex_filter/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Search Replace Plugin for MCP Gateway
 
-> Author: Teryl Taylor  
+> Author: Teryl Taylor
 > Version: 0.1.0
 
 A native plugin for MCP Gateway that performs regex-based search and replace operations on prompt arguments and responses.
@@ -88,11 +88,11 @@ config:
     # Replace email addresses with placeholder
     - search: "[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}"
       replace: "[email]"
-    
+
     # Replace phone numbers
     - search: "\\b\\d{3}-\\d{3}-\\d{4}\\b"
       replace: "[phone]"
-    
+
     # Case-insensitive replacement
     - search: "(?i)microsoft"
       replace: "MS"
@@ -173,13 +173,13 @@ async def test_search_replace():
             ]
         }
     )
-    
+
     plugin = SearchReplacePlugin(config)
     payload = PromptPrehookPayload(
         name="test",
         args={"message": "foo is foo"}
     )
-    
+
     result = await plugin.prompt_pre_fetch(payload, context)
     assert result.modified_payload.args["message"] == "bar is bar"
 ```
@@ -241,4 +241,4 @@ Apache-2.0
 
 ## Support
 
-For issues or questions, please open an issue in the MCP Gateway repository.
\ No newline at end of file
+For issues or questions, please open an issue in the MCP Gateway repository.