diff --git a/crates/nu-plugin-core/src/interface/stream/mod.rs b/crates/nu-plugin-core/src/interface/stream/mod.rs
index e8f48939dd..541e1176a0 100644
--- a/crates/nu-plugin-core/src/interface/stream/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-plugin-core/src/interface/stream/mod.rs
@@ -202,10 +202,13 @@ where
         if !self.ended {
             self.writer
                 .write_stream_message(StreamMessage::Data(self.id, data.into()))?;
+            // Flush after each data message to ensure they do predictably appear on the other side
+            // when they're generated
+            //
+            // TODO: make the buffering configurable, as this is a factor for performance
+            self.writer.flush()?;
             // This implements flow control, so we don't write too many messages:
             if !self.signal.notify_sent()? {
-                // Flush the output, and then wait for acknowledgements
-                self.writer.flush()?;
                 self.signal.wait_for_drain()
             } else {
                 Ok(())
diff --git a/crates/nu-plugin-engine/src/init.rs b/crates/nu-plugin-engine/src/init.rs
index 2092935fad..0ba70b49c0 100644
--- a/crates/nu-plugin-engine/src/init.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-plugin-engine/src/init.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ use crate::{
     PluginSource,
 };
 
-pub(crate) const OUTPUT_BUFFER_SIZE: usize = 8192;
+/// This should be larger than the largest commonly sent message to avoid excessive fragmentation.
+///
+/// The buffers coming from external streams are typically each 8192 bytes, so double that.
+pub(crate) const OUTPUT_BUFFER_SIZE: usize = 16384;
 
 /// Spawn the command for a plugin, in the given `mode`. After spawning, it can be passed to
 /// [`make_plugin_interface()`] to get a [`PluginInterface`].
diff --git a/crates/nu-plugin/src/plugin/mod.rs b/crates/nu-plugin/src/plugin/mod.rs
index c7283d10f3..0ec170f4cd 100644
--- a/crates/nu-plugin/src/plugin/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-plugin/src/plugin/mod.rs
@@ -28,8 +28,11 @@ mod interface;
 pub use command::{create_plugin_signature, PluginCommand, SimplePluginCommand};
 pub use interface::{EngineInterface, EngineInterfaceManager};
 
+/// This should be larger than the largest commonly sent message to avoid excessive fragmentation.
+///
+/// The buffers coming from external streams are typically each 8192 bytes, so double that.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-pub(crate) const OUTPUT_BUFFER_SIZE: usize = 8192;
+pub(crate) const OUTPUT_BUFFER_SIZE: usize = 16384;
 
 /// The API for a Nushell plugin
 ///