Claude Code Plugins

This folder contains complete plugin examples that bundle multiple Claude Code features into cohesive, installable packages.

Overview

Claude Code Plugins are bundled collections of customizations (slash commands, subagents, MCP servers, and hooks) that install with a single command. They represent the highest-level extension mechanism—combining multiple features into cohesive, shareable packages.

Plugin Architecture

Plugin Loading Process

No marketplace required (v2.1.157+): Plugins placed in .claude/skills directories now auto-load without a marketplace. Scaffold a new one with claude plugin init <name>, which creates it at ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ (user-global) and auto-loads it in the next session as <name>@skills-dir.

Plugin Types & Distribution

Type	Scope	Shared	Authority	Examples
Official	Global	All users	Anthropic	PR Review, Security Guidance
Community	Public	All users	Community	DevOps, Data Science
Organization	Internal	Team members	Company	Internal standards, tools
Personal	Individual	Single user	Developer	Custom workflows

Plugin Definition Structure

Plugin manifest uses JSON format in .claude-plugin/plugin.json:

json

{
  "name": "my-first-plugin",
  "description": "A greeting plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name"
  },
  "homepage": "https://example.com",
  "repository": "https://github.com/user/repo",
  "license": "MIT"
}

Beyond those identity fields, the manifest can point Claude Code at components that live somewhere other than the default folders, and carry discovery and dependency metadata:

Field	Type	Description
`workflows`	string \| array	Custom workflow script files or directories (replaces the default `workflows/`)
`outputStyles`	string \| array	Custom output style files or directories (replaces the default `output-styles/`)
`lspServers`	string \| array \| object	LSP servers for code intelligence — go to definition, find references, diagnostics. Commonly `"./.lsp.json"`. See LSP server configuration
`channels`	array	Channel declarations for message injection (Telegram, Slack, Discord style)
`dependencies`	array	Other plugins this plugin requires, optionally with semver version constraints
`keywords`	array	Discovery tags used when browsing and searching marketplaces
`metadata`	object	Free-form object for your own data, such as entitlement or catalog fields
`experimental.themes`	string \| array	Color theme files or directories (replaces the default `themes/`)
`experimental.monitors`	string \| array	Background Monitor configurations that start automatically when the plugin is active

Plugin Structure Example

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json       # Manifest (name, description, version, author)
├── commands/             # Skills as Markdown files
│   ├── task-1.md
│   ├── task-2.md
│   └── workflows/
├── agents/               # Custom agent definitions
│   ├── specialist-1.md
│   ├── specialist-2.md
│   └── configs/
├── skills/               # Agent Skills with SKILL.md files
│   ├── skill-1.md
│   └── skill-2.md
├── hooks/                # Event handlers in hooks.json
│   └── hooks.json
├── .mcp.json             # MCP server configurations
├── .lsp.json             # LSP server configurations for code intelligence
├── bin/                  # Executables added to Bash tool's PATH while plugin is enabled
├── settings.json         # Default settings applied when plugin is enabled (currently only `agent` key supported)
├── themes/               # Optional: ship custom Claude Code themes (v2.1.118+)
├── templates/
│   └── issue-template.md
├── scripts/
│   ├── helper-1.sh
│   └── helper-2.py
├── docs/
│   ├── README.md
│   └── USAGE.md
└── tests/
    └── plugin.test.js

Note: commands/ is legacy. Official guidance is "Use skills/ for new plugins." Existing commands/ directories keep working — the three example plugins in this module ship one — but a new plugin should put its capabilities in skills/ as SKILL.md directories instead of flat Markdown command files.

LSP server configuration

Plugins can include Language Server Protocol (LSP) support for real-time code intelligence. LSP servers provide diagnostics, code navigation, and symbol information as you work.

Configuration locations:

.lsp.json file in the plugin root directory
The lspServers key in plugin.json — the official manifest field name. It accepts a string, an array, or an object: a string or array points at LSP config file(s) or directories (for example "./.lsp.json"), and an object declares the servers inline.

Field reference

Field	Required	Description
`command`	Yes	LSP server binary (must be in PATH)
`extensionToLanguage`	Yes	Maps file extensions to language IDs
`args`	No	Command-line arguments for the server
`transport`	No	Communication method: `stdio` (default) or `socket`
`env`	No	Environment variables for the server process
`initializationOptions`	No	Options sent during LSP initialization
`settings`	No	Workspace configuration passed to the server
`workspaceFolder`	No	Override the workspace folder path
`startupTimeout`	No	Maximum time (ms) to wait for server startup
`shutdownTimeout`	No	Maximum time (ms) for graceful shutdown
`restartOnCrash`	No	Automatically restart if the server crashes
`maxRestarts`	No	Maximum restart attempts before giving up

Example configurations

Go (gopls):

json

{
  "go": {
    "command": "gopls",
    "args": ["serve"],
    "extensionToLanguage": {
      ".go": "go"
    }
  }
}

Python (pyright):

json

{
  "python": {
    "command": "pyright-langserver",
    "args": ["--stdio"],
    "extensionToLanguage": {
      ".py": "python",
      ".pyi": "python"
    }
  }
}

TypeScript:

json

{
  "typescript": {
    "command": "typescript-language-server",
    "args": ["--stdio"],
    "extensionToLanguage": {
      ".ts": "typescript",
      ".tsx": "typescriptreact",
      ".js": "javascript",
      ".jsx": "javascriptreact"
    }
  }
}

Available LSP plugins

The official marketplace includes pre-configured LSP plugins:

Plugin	Language	Server Binary	Install Command
`pyright-lsp`	Python	`pyright-langserver`	`pip install pyright`
`typescript-lsp`	TypeScript/JavaScript	`typescript-language-server`	`npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript`
`rust-lsp`	Rust	`rust-analyzer`	Install via `rustup component add rust-analyzer`

LSP capabilities

Once configured, LSP servers provide:

Instant diagnostics — errors and warnings appear immediately after edits
Code navigation — go to definition, find references, implementations
Hover information — type signatures and documentation on hover
Symbol listing — browse symbols in the current file or workspace

`bin/` directory on `PATH`

When a plugin is enabled, its bin/ directory is prepended to the session's PATH. Any executable shipped there can be invoked directly from the Bash tool by name — no qualified path required.

bash

# In a plugin layout:
my-plugin/
├── plugin.json
└── bin/
    └── my-tool          # executable file (chmod +x)

# Inside a Claude Code session with the plugin enabled:
$ my-tool --help

Use this for CLI helpers that hooks, skills, or commands inside the same plugin will shell out to. Mark the files executable in the plugin repo (chmod +x) — git preserves the bit.

Plugin Options (v2.1.83+)

Plugins can declare user-configurable options in the manifest via userConfig. Values marked sensitive: true are stored in the system keychain rather than plain-text settings files:

json

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "userConfig": {
    "apiKey": {
      "description": "API key for the service",
      "sensitive": true
    },
    "region": {
      "description": "Deployment region",
      "default": "us-east-1"
    }
  }
}

Persistent Plugin Data (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}`) (v2.1.78+)

Plugins have access to a persistent state directory via the ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA} environment variable. This directory is unique per plugin and survives across sessions, making it suitable for caches, databases, and other persistent state:

json

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "command": "node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/track-usage.js"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The directory is created automatically when the plugin is installed. Files stored here persist until the plugin is uninstalled.

Background Monitors (v2.1.105)

Plugins can register background monitors that auto-arm when a session starts or when the plugin's skill is invoked. Add a top-level monitors key to your plugin manifest:

json

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "monitors": [
    {
      "command": "tail -f /var/log/app.log",
      "trigger": "session_start"
    }
  ]
}

The trigger field accepts:

"session_start" — arm the monitor automatically when a session begins
"skill_invoke" — arm the monitor when the plugin's skill is invoked

Monitors use the same Monitor tool under the hood, streaming stdout lines as events Claude can react to.

Inline Plugin via Settings (`source: 'settings'`) (v2.1.80+)

Plugins can be defined inline in settings files as marketplace entries using the source: 'settings' field. This allows embedding a plugin definition directly without requiring a separate repository or marketplace:

json

{
  "pluginMarketplaces": [
    {
      "name": "inline-tools",
      "source": "settings",
      "plugins": [
        {
          "name": "quick-lint",
          "source": "./local-plugins/quick-lint"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Mods (v2.1.287+)

A mod is a plugin that changes how Claude Code looks and behaves. Its code is a JavaScript or TypeScript hooks module: event handlers that Claude Code calls when something happens, such as a tool call, a submitted prompt, or part of the interface being drawn. Each handler can observe the event, rewrite it, or answer it itself. A mod installs like any other plugin (/plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace>), can ship in the same plugin as skills and MCP servers, and runs with your permissions, so install mods only from authors and marketplaces you trust. Mods work in the Claude Code CLI (v2.1.287+) and in the Code tab of the Claude Desktop app.

What a mod can do	Example
Draw panes and a band above the prompt	A pane beside the transcript or a band above the prompt, with tabs, buttons, and text fields
Add commands	A `/command` that runs your function at once, with no Claude turn, even while Claude is working
Guard or change tool calls	Hold a tool call while you ask the user a question, refuse it, or answer it without running the tool
React to events	Follow tool calls, prompts, and turns; a mod's hooks share variables, so one can count tool calls while another shows the count beside the spinner
Call the mods API	Call a model, read and write files, start processes, or make network requests (a hook can do these only through the mods API)

To create a mod, describe what you want in a Claude Code session: Claude works from the built-in plugin-authoring skill (or run /plugin-authoring yourself), writes the mod, and, once you enable hot reloading for the session, reloads it at the end of each turn that changes it; claude plugin validate checks a mod without running it. Administrators decide whether mods run, and which ones, through managed settings — for example, allowManagedModsOnly lets only your organization's mods and the mods built into Claude Code run their hooks.

Note: See the official Mods overview, Create a mod, and Mods reference.

Plugin Settings

Plugins can ship a settings.json file to provide default configuration. This currently supports the agent key, which sets the main thread agent for the plugin:

json

{
  "agent": "agents/specialist-1.md"
}

When a plugin includes settings.json, its defaults are applied on installation. Users can override these settings in their own project or user configuration.

Standalone vs Plugin Approach

Approach	Command Names	Configuration	Best For
Standalone	`/hello`	Manual setup in CLAUDE.md	Personal, project-specific
Plugins	`/plugin-name:hello`	Automated via plugin.json	Sharing, distribution, team use

Use standalone slash commands for quick personal workflows. Use plugins when you want to bundle multiple features, share with a team, or publish for distribution.

Spaced invocation (v2.1.136+): Plugin slash commands also work with a space — /myplugin review resolves to the canonical /myplugin:review. Either form is fine; the colon form is canonical and recommended in scripts.

skills/ discovery (v2.1.136+): A skills entry in plugin.json no longer hides the plugin's default skills/ directory. Skills declared in both places are merged, so you can list a few highlights in plugin.json without losing the rest.

Root-level SKILL.md plugins (v2.1.142+): A plugin with a top-level SKILL.md and no skills/ subdirectory is itself surfaced as a single skill — the plugin is the skill. This is an additional pattern, not a replacement for the skills/ directory or the plugin.json skills entry; use it for small single-skill plugins where the directory layout adds no value.

Practical Examples

Example 1: PR Review Plugin

File: .claude-plugin/plugin.json

json

{
  "name": "pr-review",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Complete PR review workflow with security, testing, and docs",
  "author": {
    "name": "Anthropic"
  },
  "repository": "https://github.com/your-org/pr-review",
  "license": "MIT"
}

File: commands/review-pr.md

markdown

---
name: Review PR
description: Start comprehensive PR review with security and testing checks
---

# PR Review

This command initiates a complete pull request review including:

1. Security analysis
2. Test coverage verification
3. Documentation updates
4. Code quality checks
5. Performance impact assessment

File: agents/security-reviewer.md

yaml

---
name: security-reviewer
description: Security-focused code review
tools: Read, Grep, Bash
---

# Security Reviewer

Specializes in finding security vulnerabilities:
- Authentication/authorization issues
- Data exposure
- Injection attacks
- Secure configuration

Installation:

bash

/plugin install pr-review

# Result:
# ✅ 3 slash commands installed
# ✅ 3 subagents configured
# ✅ 2 MCP servers connected
# ✅ 4 hooks registered
# ✅ Ready to use!

Example 2: DevOps Plugin

Components:

devops-automation/
├── commands/
│   ├── deploy.md
│   ├── rollback.md
│   ├── status.md
│   └── incident.md
├── agents/
│   ├── deployment-specialist.md
│   ├── incident-commander.md
│   └── alert-analyzer.md
├── mcp/
│   ├── github-config.json
│   ├── kubernetes-config.json
│   └── prometheus-config.json
├── hooks/
│   ├── pre-deploy.js
│   ├── post-deploy.js
│   └── on-error.js
└── scripts/
    ├── deploy.sh
    ├── rollback.sh
    └── health-check.sh

Example 3: Documentation Plugin

Bundled Components:

documentation/
├── commands/
│   ├── generate-api-docs.md
│   ├── generate-readme.md
│   ├── sync-docs.md
│   └── validate-docs.md
├── agents/
│   ├── api-documenter.md
│   ├── code-commentator.md
│   └── example-generator.md
├── mcp/
│   ├── github-docs-config.json
│   └── slack-announce-config.json
└── templates/
    ├── api-endpoint.md
    ├── function-docs.md
    └── adr-template.md

Plugin Marketplace

The official Anthropic-managed plugin directory is anthropics/claude-plugins-official, auto-registered on first interactive launch. Enterprise admins can also create private plugin marketplaces for internal distribution.

There is also a community marketplace, anthropics/claude-plugins-community, hosting third-party plugins that have passed Anthropic's automated validation and safety screening — each pinned to a specific commit SHA in the catalog. Unlike the official marketplace you add it manually:

bash

/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community

# Then install from it using the claude-community marketplace name
/plugin install <plugin-name>@claude-community

Marketplace Configuration

Enterprise and advanced users can control marketplace behavior through settings:

Setting	Description
`extraKnownMarketplaces`	Add additional marketplace sources beyond the defaults
`strictKnownMarketplaces`	Control which marketplaces users are allowed to add (managed-only)
`blockedMarketplaces`	Admin-managed blocklist of marketplaces (supports `hostPattern` / `pathPattern` regex fields since v2.1.119)
`deniedPlugins`	Admin-managed blocklist to prevent specific plugins from being installed

Friendlier aliases (v2.1.232): additionalMarketplaces is accepted as an alias for extraKnownMarketplaces, and allowedMarketplaces for strictKnownMarketplaces. Changelog-sourced — the v2.1.232 changelog announces them, but the official settings reference does not yet list either name. The canonical keys are safe to keep using.

Owner wildcards (v2.1.223+): a "owner/*" entry allows or blocks every marketplace repo under one GitHub owner. Accepted only in strictKnownMarketplaces and blockedMarketplaces. Everywhere else a github source appears — including extraKnownMarketplaces and /plugin marketplace add — the repo value must name a single repository.

Enforcement (v2.1.117+): blockedMarketplaces and strictKnownMarketplaces are enforced on every plugin lifecycle event — install, update, refresh, and autoupdate — not just at first add. strictKnownMarketplaces is managed-only.

Example blockedMarketplaces with host/path regex (v2.1.119):

json

{
  "blockedMarketplaces": [
    {
      "hostPattern": "^evil\\.example\\.com$",
      "pathPattern": "^/marketplaces/.*"
    }
  ]
}

Marketplace `headersHelper` (v2.1.238)

A url marketplace — or an individual catalog entry — can name a headersHelper command that mints the HTTP headers used to fetch the catalog and any same-origin archives. This is how a private marketplace behind a token-issuing service authenticates without a static secret in the config.

A catalog entry's helper runs only on install or update, and only after its command has been shown to you: claude plugin install and claude plugin update prompt [y/N] before running it. Pass -y to accept without the prompt in automation.

Additional Marketplace Features

Marketplace search bar (v2.1.172): When browsing a marketplace's plugins in /plugin, a search bar lets you filter the marketplace's plugins by name or keyword — handy for large marketplaces where scrolling the full list is slow.
Default git timeout: Increased from 30s to 120s for large plugin repositories
Custom npm registries: Plugins can specify custom npm registry URLs for dependency resolution
Version pinning: Lock plugins to specific versions for reproducible environments
Projected context cost in the browse pane (v2.1.143): The /plugin marketplace browser shows each plugin's projected per-turn context-token cost — the sum of always-loaded skills, hooks, and MCP server descriptors. Use it to size plugin adoption before installing. The same projection is available post-install via claude plugin details <name>.

Example browse row with the cost column:

text

NAME              VERSION   AUTHOR     CTX/TURN   DESCRIPTION
code-reviewer     1.2.0     anthropic  +1,420     Multi-agent PR review
devops-toolkit    0.4.1     acme       +3,180     SRE playbooks, on-call helpers
docs-helper       0.9.0     community  +610       Doc-style guide enforcement

Marketplace definition schema

Plugin marketplaces are defined in .claude-plugin/marketplace.json:

json

{
  "name": "my-team-plugins",
  "owner": "my-org",
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "code-standards",
      "source": "./plugins/code-standards",
      "description": "Enforce team coding standards",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "author": "platform-team"
    },
    {
      "name": "deploy-helper",
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "my-org/deploy-helper",
        "ref": "v2.0.0"
      },
      "description": "Deployment automation workflows"
    }
  ]
}

Field	Required	Description
`name`	Yes	Marketplace name in kebab-case
`owner`	Yes	Organization or user who maintains the marketplace
`plugins`	Yes	Array of plugin entries
`plugins[].name`	Yes	Plugin name (kebab-case)
`plugins[].source`	Yes	Plugin source (path string or source object)
`plugins[].description`	No	Brief plugin description
`plugins[].version`	No	Semantic version string
`plugins[].author`	No	Plugin author name
`plugins[].renames`	No	Maps a former plugin `name` to its current name (or `null` if removed) so users migrate automatically (v2.1.193)
`plugins[].displayName`	No	Human-readable name shown in the UI; not used for lookup (v2.1.143)
`plugins[].defaultEnabled`	No	If `false`, the plugin installs disabled until the user opts in (v2.1.154)

Plugin source types

Plugins can be sourced from multiple locations:

Source	Syntax	Example
Relative path	String path	`"./plugins/my-plugin"`
GitHub	`{ "source": "github", "repo": "owner/repo" }`	`{ "source": "github", "repo": "acme/lint-plugin", "ref": "v1.0" }`
Git URL	`{ "source": "url", "url": "..." }`	`{ "source": "url", "url": "https://git.internal/plugin.git" }`
Git subdirectory	`{ "source": "git-subdir", "url": "...", "path": "..." }`	`{ "source": "git-subdir", "url": "https://github.com/org/monorepo.git", "path": "packages/plugin" }`
npm	`{ "source": "npm", "package": "..." }`	`{ "source": "npm", "package": "@acme/claude-plugin", "version": "^2.0" }`
pip	`{ "source": "pip", "package": "..." }`	`{ "source": "pip", "package": "claude-data-plugin", "version": ">=1.0" }`
Archive (v2.1.224+)	`{ "source": "archive", "url": "..." }`	`{ "source": "archive", "url": "https://cdn.example.com/lint-plugin-1.2.0.zip", "sha256": "…" }`
Command (v2.1.229+)	`{ "source": "command", "command": "..." }`	`{ "source": "command", "command": "acme-plugin-resolver --print-dir" }`

GitHub and git sources support optional ref (branch/tag) and sha (commit hash) fields for version pinning.

Bare source names and metadata.pluginRoot (v2.1.239): a marketplace's metadata.pluginRoot now takes effect — a bare plugin source name in the catalog resolves to a directory under that root, instead of having to be spelled as a full relative path on every entry.

Skills synced from claude.ai (v2.1.239): plugins synced down from claude.ai appear as name@synced. Address them that way in claude plugin enable <name>@synced and claude plugin disable <name>@synced. A synced plugin never overrides an installed plugin of the same name — the two coexist, distinguished by the @synced suffix.

`archive` source (v2.1.224+)

Install a plugin from a zip over HTTPS — no git clone, no npm install.

json

{
  "source": "archive",
  "url": "https://cdn.example.com/lint-plugin-1.2.0.zip",
  "sha256": "3b1f0c2e9a7d4f5b8c6e1a2d3f4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b"
}

Field	Required	Notes
`url`	Yes	HTTPS only. `http://`, loopback, link-local, and cloud-metadata hosts are rejected — and re-checked on every redirect hop, so a redirect cannot smuggle you onto a blocked host
`sha256`	No	64 hex characters. On mismatch the install fails with `Plugin archive integrity check failed`

Archives are capped at 256 MiB. Pin sha256 for anything you did not build yourself — without it, whoever controls the URL controls the code that runs in your session.

`command` source (v2.1.229+)

Let a locally installed tool decide where the plugin lives. Useful when an internal package manager already knows how to fetch and lay out your plugins.

json

{
  "source": "command",
  "command": "acme-plugin-resolver --print-dir",
  "timeout": 60,
  "mode": "copy"
}

The contract is strict: the command must print exactly one line on stdout and exit with code 0. That line is the absolute path of a directory containing the complete plugin.

Field	Required	Default	Notes
`command`	Yes	—	The command to run
`timeout`	No	`60` (seconds)	Maximum 600
`mode`	No	`"copy"`	`"copy"` snapshots the directory; `"link"` symlinks it, so edits are live

The command is re-resolved each session and the result is applied without a restart. Organizations can block this source type entirely with disableCommandPluginSources.

Reserved marketplace names now include first-party-plugins and healthcare (v2.1.205) — these are held for official use and cannot be claimed by a custom marketplace.

Distribution methods

GitHub (recommended):

bash

# Users add your marketplace
/plugin marketplace add owner/repo-name

Other git services (full URL required):

bash

/plugin marketplace add https://gitlab.com/org/marketplace-repo.git

Bare gitlab.com repo URLs — including nested subgroups — clone the same way github.com URLs do (v2.1.232). The scheme is mandatory: since v2.1.196 a bare gitlab.example.com/team/plugins is rejected as an invalid owner/repo shorthand, so use the full https://gitlab.com/company/plugins.git form. v2.1.232 also added GitLab token-family secret redaction and gave the glab CLI the same sandbox and credential-path protection gh already had.

Private repositories: Supported via git credential helpers or environment tokens. Users must have read access to the repository.

Official marketplace submission: Submit plugins to the Anthropic-curated marketplace for broader distribution via claude.ai/settings/plugins/submit or platform.claude.com/plugins/submit.

Managing Marketplaces

bash

# Marketplace CLI commands
claude plugin marketplace add <source>       # Add marketplace (GitHub, URL, local)
claude plugin marketplace update [name]      # Refresh catalog index
claude plugin marketplace remove <name>      # Remove marketplace
claude plugin marketplace list               # List configured marketplaces

Important: marketplace update only refreshes the plugin catalog (what's available to install). It does NOT update installed plugins. Use plugin update <name> to update specific installed plugins.

Strict mode

Control how marketplace definitions interact with local plugin.json files:

Setting	Behavior
`strict: true` (default)	Local `plugin.json` is authoritative; marketplace entry supplements it
`strict: false`	Marketplace entry is the entire plugin definition

Organization restrictions with strictKnownMarketplaces:

Value	Effect
Not set	No restrictions — users can add any marketplace
Empty array `[]`	Lockdown — no marketplaces allowed
Array of patterns	Allowlist — only matching marketplaces can be added

json

{
  "strictKnownMarketplaces": [
    "my-org/*",
    "github.com/trusted-vendor/*"
  ]
}

Warning: In strict mode with strictKnownMarketplaces, users can only install plugins from allowlisted marketplaces. This is useful for enterprise environments requiring controlled plugin distribution.

Plugin Installation & Lifecycle

Plugin Features Comparison

Feature	Slash Command	Skill	Subagent	Plugin
Installation	Manual copy	Manual copy	Manual config	One command
Setup Time	5 minutes	10 minutes	15 minutes	2 minutes
Bundling	Single file	Single file	Single file	Multiple
Versioning	Manual	Manual	Manual	Automatic
Team Sharing	Copy file	Copy file	Copy file	Install ID
Updates	Manual	Manual	Manual	Auto-available
Dependencies	None	None	None	May include
Marketplace	No	No	No	Yes
Distribution	Repository	Repository	Repository	Marketplace

Plugin CLI Commands

All plugin operations are available as CLI commands:

bash

claude plugin install <name>@<marketplace>   # Install from a marketplace
claude plugin uninstall <name>               # Remove a plugin
claude plugin update <name>                  # Update installed plugin to latest version
claude plugin list                           # List installed plugins
claude plugin enable <name>                  # Enable a disabled plugin
claude plugin disable <name>                 # Disable a plugin
claude plugin validate <path>                # Validate the plugin structure at <path>
claude plugin tag [path]                     # Create a {name}--v{version} release git tag (v2.1.118+)
claude plugin prune                          # Remove orphaned auto-installed plugin dependencies (v2.1.121+)
claude plugin uninstall <name> --prune       # Uninstall and cascade-clean orphaned dependencies (v2.1.121+)
claude plugin details <name>                 # Show inventory + projected per-turn token cost (v2.1.139+)
claude plugin configure <name>               # Show a plugin's options and which are unset; save values from stdin with --values-stdin (v2.1.285+)
claude plugin init <name>                    # Scaffold a new plugin (alias: claude plugin new)

Aliases: claude plugin new for init, remove / rm for uninstall, ls for list, and autoremove for prune.

Flags worth knowing:

Command	Flag	Purpose
`plugin init`	`--with <components...>`	Scaffold specific component folders: `skills`, `agents`, `hooks`, `mcp`, `lsp`, `output-style`, `channel`
`plugin init`	`-f`, `--force`	Overwrite an existing `.claude-plugin/` directory
`plugin install`	`--config <key=value>`	Set a `userConfig` option at install time; since v2.1.285, `<server>.<key>=<value>` sets a bundled `.mcpb` MCP server's own setting so it starts without visiting `/plugin` → Configure
`plugin install`	`-y`, `--yes`	Accept commands without a confirmation prompt
`plugin list`	`--available`	Also list plugins available from marketplaces (requires `--json`)
`plugin tag`	`--push`	Push the tag to the remote after creating it
`plugin tag`	`--dry-run`	Print what would be tagged without creating the tag
`plugin validate`	`--strict`	Treat warnings as errors
`plugin validate`	`--json`	Emit a machine-readable validation report (v2.1.259+)

claude plugin validate also checks .mcp.json entries (v2.1.281+) and fails when outputStyles, themes, monitors, or lspServers paths are missing or point outside the plugin directory (v2.1.283+).

Example: claude plugin tag ./my-plugin takes a path to the plugin (not a version string). It creates a {name}--v{version} git tag derived from plugin.json, validating that plugin.json and any enclosing marketplace entry agree, and is the recommended way to cut plugin releases for distribution.

claude plugin prune is useful after installing or uninstalling marketplace plugins that pulled in their own dependencies — it removes any auto-installed plugins whose parent plugin has since been removed. plugin uninstall --prune does the same cascade in a single step.

Dependency enforcement (v2.1.143): claude plugin disable <name> refuses if another enabled plugin still depends on the target (the dependency graph would break). claude plugin enable <name> force-enables transitive dependencies after a single confirmation prompt rather than requiring a separate enable for each. Use claude plugin prune to clean up dependencies whose dependents were later removed.

`claude plugin details <name>` (v2.1.139+)

claude plugin details <name> prints the plugin's full component inventory — skills, hooks, MCP servers, LSP servers, background monitors, slash commands — plus a projected per-turn (and per-invocation) token cost. Use it to size a plugin before adopting it, especially on context-constrained models.

Example output (abbreviated):

text

plugin: code-reviewer (1.2.0)
skills:        3      hooks: 2      mcp: 1      lsp: 0      monitors: 0
commands:      /review, /security-review
projected ctx: +1,420 tokens per turn  ·  +9,800 tokens per /review invocation

LSP servers were added to the details pane in v2.1.142. See also the marketplace browse pane's projected context cost (v2.1.143) covered in Plugin Marketplace.

`claude plugin eval` (v2.1.269+)

claude plugin eval runs a plugin's eval suite and reports scored, reproducible results, so you can tell whether a change to a skill or agent actually improved it. Results come back as JSON plus an HTML report. Since v2.1.283, it requires git 2.31 or later when git is installed.

bash

claude plugin eval            # Run the plugin's eval suite
claude plugin eval --help     # Full option list

Machine-readable output with `--json` (v2.1.268+)

--json is accepted on install, uninstall, update, enable, and disable, which makes plugin management scriptable in CI. Each row of claude plugin list --json also carries errorDetails and noteDetails, so a failing plugin explains itself without a second command.

bash

claude plugin install my-plugin@my-marketplace --json
claude plugin list --json

Accepting an exact command with `--accept-command` (v2.1.271+)

--accept-command <sha256> on install and update accepts exactly the command a previous --json run displayed, in place of a blanket -y.

bash

claude plugin install my-plugin@my-marketplace --accept-command <sha256>

Installing from a marketplace you haven't added (v2.1.275+)

In a session, /plugin install <plugin> --marketplace <source> names the marketplace inline and offers to add it before installing, so discovering and adding a marketplace is no longer a separate step. From your shell, claude plugin install <plugin> --marketplace <source> does the same (v2.1.292+): it adds the marketplace if needed, under the same policy checks as claude plugin marketplace add, then installs the plugin.

bash

/plugin install code-reviewer --marketplace anthropics/claude-code-plugins
claude plugin install code-reviewer --marketplace anthropics/claude-code-plugins   # same, from your shell (v2.1.292+)

Installation Methods

From Marketplace

bash

/plugin install plugin-name
# or from CLI:
claude plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name

Does it take effect right away? Since v2.1.221, usually yes — read the last line of the install summary:

Install summary says	What it means
`Plugin is now active.`	Claude Code activated the plugin as part of the install. Nothing more to do.
`Run /reload-plugins to activate.`	The plugin is installed but not live yet — either activating it would have invalidated the prompt cache, or the activation attempt failed.

Before v2.1.221, no install took effect in the current session until you ran /reload-plugins or restarted, so older guides describe that step as unconditional.

Enable / Disable (with auto-detected scope)

bash

/plugin enable plugin-name
/plugin disable plugin-name

The /plugin interface surfaces unused plugins so you can clean them up (v2.1.187+). Enable/disable also works when a plugin's plugin.json name differs from its marketplace entry name (v2.1.195+).

Listing installed plugins (v2.1.163)

Confirm which plugins are active in the current session:

bash

/plugin list             # all installed plugins
/plugin list --enabled   # only enabled plugins
/plugin list --disabled  # only disabled plugins

Local Plugin (for development)

bash

# CLI flag for local testing (repeatable for multiple plugins)
claude --plugin-dir ./path/to/plugin
claude --plugin-dir ./plugin-a --plugin-dir ./plugin-b

# --plugin-dir also accepts a .zip archive path (v2.1.128+)
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin.zip

# Fetch a plugin .zip archive from a URL for the current session (v2.1.129+, repeatable)
claude --plugin-url https://example.com/releases/my-plugin-0.3.0.zip

From Git Repository

bash

/plugin marketplace add username/repo                    # Add the GitHub repo as a marketplace
/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name             # Then install a plugin from it
/plugin install plugin-name --marketplace username/repo  # Or both in one step (v2.1.275+)

Auto-Update

Claude Code can automatically update marketplaces and their installed plugins at startup.

Marketplace Type	Auto-Update Default	How to Toggle
Official (`claude-plugins-official`)	✅ Enabled	`/plugin` → Marketplaces → Select
Third-party / Local	❌ Disabled	Same UI path

When auto-update runs, Claude Code:

Refreshes marketplace catalog
Updates installed plugins to latest versions
Reports the outcome per plugin: Plugin is now active. when Claude Code activated it as part of the update, or Run /reload-plugins to activate. when it did not

Environment Variables

Variable	Effect
`DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1`	Disable all auto-updates (Claude Code + plugins)
`DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1` + `FORCE_AUTOUPDATE_PLUGINS=1`	Keep plugin updates, disable Claude Code updates
`CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_PREFER_HTTPS=1`	(v2.1.141+) Force `claude plugin install` to clone GitHub plugin sources over HTTPS instead of SSH, even when an SSH remote is available. Use in CI runners or containers without SSH keys.

bash

# Disable all auto-updates
export DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1

# Keep plugin auto-updates only
export DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1
export FORCE_AUTOUPDATE_PLUGINS=1

# CI runner without SSH keys — force HTTPS for plugin installs
export CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_PREFER_HTTPS=1
claude plugin install code-reviewer@anthropic

Remote session plugin loading (v2.1.179): Plugin loading performance in remote sessions was improved in v2.1.179, so plugins become available faster when you connect to a remote session.

When to Create a Plugin

Plugin Use Cases

Use Case	Recommendation	Why
Team Onboarding	✅ Use Plugin	Instant setup, all configurations
Framework Setup	✅ Use Plugin	Bundles framework-specific commands
Enterprise Standards	✅ Use Plugin	Central distribution, version control
Quick Task Automation	❌ Use Command	Overkill complexity
Single Domain Expertise	❌ Use Skill	Too heavy, use skill instead
Specialized Analysis	❌ Use Subagent	Create manually or use skill
Live Data Access	❌ Use MCP	Standalone, don't bundle

Testing a Plugin

Before publishing, test your plugin locally using the --plugin-dir CLI flag (repeatable for multiple plugins):

bash

claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin --plugin-dir ./another-plugin

# --plugin-dir accepts .zip archives in addition to directories (v2.1.128+)
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin.zip

# --plugin-url fetches a plugin .zip from a URL for this session (v2.1.129+, repeatable)
claude --plugin-url https://example.com/releases/my-plugin-0.3.0.zip

This launches Claude Code with your plugin loaded, allowing you to:

Verify all slash commands are available
Test subagents and agents function correctly
Confirm MCP servers connect properly
Validate hook execution
Check LSP server configurations
Check for any configuration errors

Hot-Reload

Plugins support hot-reload during development. When you modify plugin files, Claude Code can detect changes automatically. You can also force a reload with:

bash

/reload-plugins

This re-reads all plugin manifests, commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP/LSP configurations without restarting the session.

Managed Settings for Plugins

Administrators can control plugin behavior across an organization using managed settings:

Setting	Description
`enabledPlugins`	Allowlist of plugins that are enabled by default
`deniedPlugins`	Blocklist of plugins that cannot be installed
`extraKnownMarketplaces`	Add additional marketplace sources beyond the defaults
`strictKnownMarketplaces`	Restrict which marketplaces users are allowed to add (managed-only; enforced on every plugin lifecycle event since v2.1.117)
`blockedMarketplaces`	Blocklist of marketplaces; enforced on every plugin lifecycle event since v2.1.117; supports `hostPattern` / `pathPattern` regex fields since v2.1.119
`allowedChannelPlugins`	Control which plugins are permitted per release channel
`disableCommandPluginSources`	Block the `command` plugin source type org-wide (v2.1.229+)

Friendlier aliases (v2.1.232): additionalMarketplaces is accepted as an alias for extraKnownMarketplaces, and allowedMarketplaces for strictKnownMarketplaces. Changelog-sourced — the v2.1.232 changelog announces them, but the official settings reference does not yet list either name. The canonical keys are safe to keep using.

Owner wildcards (v2.1.223+): a "owner/*" entry allows or blocks every marketplace repo under one GitHub owner. Accepted only in strictKnownMarketplaces and blockedMarketplaces. Everywhere else a github source appears — including extraKnownMarketplaces and /plugin marketplace add — the repo value must name a single repository.

These settings can be applied at the organization level via managed configuration files and take precedence over user-level settings.

Plugin Security

Plugin subagents run in a restricted sandbox. The following frontmatter keys are not allowed in plugin subagent definitions:

hooks -- Subagents cannot register event handlers
mcpServers -- Subagents cannot configure MCP servers
permissionMode -- Subagents cannot override the permission model

This ensures that plugins cannot escalate privileges or modify the host environment beyond their declared scope.

Publishing a Plugin

Steps to publish:

Create plugin structure with all components
Write .claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest
Create README.md with documentation
Test locally with claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin
Tag the release with claude plugin tag ./my-plugin (v2.1.118+) — takes the plugin path and creates a {name}--v{version} git tag derived from plugin.json
Submit to plugin marketplace
Get reviewed and approved
Published on marketplace
Users can install with one command

Example submission:

markdown

# PR Review Plugin

## Description
Complete PR review workflow with security, testing, and documentation checks.

## What's Included
- 3 slash commands for different review types
- 3 specialized subagents
- GitHub and CodeQL MCP integration
- Automated security scanning hooks

## Installation
```bash
/plugin install pr-review

Features

✅ Security analysis ✅ Test coverage checking ✅ Documentation verification ✅ Code quality assessment ✅ Performance impact analysis

Usage

bash

/review-pr
/check-security
/check-tests

Requirements

Claude Code 2.1+
GitHub access
CodeQL (optional)


## Plugin vs Manual Configuration

**Manual Setup (2+ hours):**
- Install slash commands one by one
- Create subagents individually
- Configure MCPs separately
- Set up hooks manually
- Document everything
- Share with team (hope they configure correctly)

**With Plugin (2 minutes):**
```bash
/plugin install pr-review
# ✅ Everything installed and configured
# ✅ Ready to use immediately
# ✅ Team can reproduce exact setup

Best Practices

Do's ✅

Use clear, descriptive plugin names
Include comprehensive README
Version your plugin properly (semver)
Test all components together
Document requirements clearly
Provide usage examples
Include error handling
Tag appropriately for discovery
Maintain backward compatibility
Keep plugins focused and cohesive
Include comprehensive tests
Document all dependencies

Don'ts ❌

Don't bundle unrelated features
Don't hardcode credentials
Don't skip testing
Don't forget documentation
Don't create redundant plugins
Don't ignore versioning
Don't overcomplicate component dependencies
Don't forget to handle errors gracefully

Installation Instructions

Installing from Marketplace

Browse available plugins:
bash
```
/plugin list
```
View plugin details:
bash
```
claude plugin details plugin-name
```
Install a plugin:
bash
```
/plugin install plugin-name
```

Installing from Local Path

bash

/plugin install ./path/to/plugin-directory

Installing from GitHub

bash

/plugin marketplace add username/repo                    # Add the GitHub repo as a marketplace
/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name             # Then install a plugin from it
/plugin install plugin-name --marketplace username/repo  # Or both in one step (v2.1.275+)

Listing Installed Plugins

bash

/plugin list             # all installed plugins
/plugin list --enabled   # only enabled plugins
/plugin list --disabled  # only disabled plugins

Updating a Plugin

Use the CLI form — it is the one documented under plugin update and the one Claude Code itself points you to when an update is available:

bash

claude plugin update plugin-name

Disabling/Enabling a Plugin

bash

# Temporarily disable
/plugin disable plugin-name

# Re-enable
/plugin enable plugin-name

Uninstalling a Plugin

bash

/plugin uninstall plugin-name

The following Claude Code features work together with plugins:

Slash Commands - Individual commands bundled in plugins
Memory - Persistent context for plugins
Skills - Domain expertise that can be wrapped into plugins
Subagents - Specialized agents included as plugin components
MCP Servers - Model Context Protocol integrations bundled in plugins
Hooks - Event handlers that trigger plugin workflows

Complete Example Workflow

PR Review Plugin Full Workflow

1. User: /review-pr

2. Plugin executes:
   ├── pre-review.js hook validates git repo
   ├── GitHub MCP fetches PR data
   ├── security-reviewer subagent analyzes security
   ├── test-checker subagent verifies coverage
   └── performance-analyzer subagent checks performance

3. Results synthesized and presented:
   ✅ Security: No critical issues
   ⚠️  Testing: Coverage 65% (recommend 80%+)
   ✅ Performance: No significant impact
   📝 12 recommendations provided

Troubleshooting

Plugin Won't Install

Check Claude Code version compatibility: /version
Verify plugin.json syntax with a JSON validator
Check internet connection (for remote plugins)
Review permissions: ls -la plugin/

Components Not Loading

Verify paths in plugin.json match actual directory structure
Check file permissions: chmod +x scripts/
Review component file syntax
Check the component inventory: claude plugin details plugin-name

MCP Connection Failed

Verify environment variables are set correctly
Check MCP server installation and health
Test MCP connection independently with /mcp test
Review MCP configuration in mcp/ directory

Commands Not Available After Install

Ensure plugin was installed successfully: /plugin list
Check if plugin is enabled: /plugin list --enabled
Check whether it's active yet — see the install summary guidance in Installation Methods: Plugin is now active. needs no action, Run /reload-plugins to activate. means run that command (a restart is not required)
Check for naming conflicts with existing commands

Hook Execution Issues

Verify hook files have correct permissions
Check hook syntax and event names
Review hook logs for error details
Test hooks manually if possible

Additional Resources

Last Updated: October 10, 2026 Claude Code Version: 2.1.296 Sources:

Claude Code Plugins ​

Overview ​

Plugin Architecture ​

Plugin Loading Process ​

Plugin Types & Distribution ​

Plugin Definition Structure ​

Plugin Structure Example ​

LSP server configuration ​

Field reference ​

Example configurations ​

Available LSP plugins ​

LSP capabilities ​

bin/ directory on PATH ​

Plugin Options (v2.1.83+) ​

Persistent Plugin Data (${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}) (v2.1.78+) ​

Background Monitors (v2.1.105) ​

Inline Plugin via Settings (source: 'settings') (v2.1.80+) ​

Mods (v2.1.287+) ​

Plugin Settings ​

Standalone vs Plugin Approach ​

Practical Examples ​

Example 1: PR Review Plugin ​

Example 2: DevOps Plugin ​

Example 3: Documentation Plugin ​

Plugin Marketplace ​

Marketplace Configuration ​

Marketplace headersHelper (v2.1.238) ​

Additional Marketplace Features ​

Marketplace definition schema ​

Plugin source types ​

archive source (v2.1.224+) ​

command source (v2.1.229+) ​

Distribution methods ​

Managing Marketplaces ​

Strict mode ​

Plugin Installation & Lifecycle ​

Plugin Features Comparison ​

Plugin CLI Commands ​

claude plugin details <name> (v2.1.139+) ​

claude plugin eval (v2.1.269+) ​

Machine-readable output with --json (v2.1.268+) ​

Accepting an exact command with --accept-command (v2.1.271+) ​

Installing from a marketplace you haven't added (v2.1.275+) ​

Installation Methods ​

From Marketplace ​

Enable / Disable (with auto-detected scope) ​

Listing installed plugins (v2.1.163) ​

Local Plugin (for development) ​

From Git Repository ​

Auto-Update ​

Environment Variables ​

When to Create a Plugin ​

Plugin Use Cases ​

Testing a Plugin ​

Hot-Reload ​

Managed Settings for Plugins ​

Plugin Security ​

Publishing a Plugin ​

Features ​

Usage ​

Requirements ​

Best Practices ​

Do's ✅ ​

Don'ts ❌ ​

Installation Instructions ​

Installing from Marketplace ​

Installing from Local Path ​

Installing from GitHub ​

Listing Installed Plugins ​

Updating a Plugin ​

Disabling/Enabling a Plugin ​

Uninstalling a Plugin ​

Related Concepts ​

Complete Example Workflow ​

PR Review Plugin Full Workflow ​

Troubleshooting ​

Plugin Won't Install ​

Components Not Loading ​

MCP Connection Failed ​

Commands Not Available After Install ​

Claude Code Plugins

Overview

Plugin Architecture

Plugin Loading Process

Plugin Types & Distribution

Plugin Definition Structure

Plugin Structure Example

LSP server configuration

Field reference

Example configurations

Available LSP plugins

LSP capabilities

`bin/` directory on `PATH`

Plugin Options (v2.1.83+)

Persistent Plugin Data (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}`) (v2.1.78+)

Background Monitors (v2.1.105)

Inline Plugin via Settings (`source: 'settings'`) (v2.1.80+)

Mods (v2.1.287+)

Plugin Settings

Standalone vs Plugin Approach

Practical Examples

Example 1: PR Review Plugin

Example 2: DevOps Plugin

Example 3: Documentation Plugin

Plugin Marketplace

Marketplace Configuration

Marketplace `headersHelper` (v2.1.238)

Additional Marketplace Features

Marketplace definition schema

Plugin source types

`archive` source (v2.1.224+)

`command` source (v2.1.229+)

Distribution methods

Managing Marketplaces

Strict mode

Plugin Installation & Lifecycle

Plugin Features Comparison

Plugin CLI Commands

`claude plugin details <name>` (v2.1.139+)

`claude plugin eval` (v2.1.269+)

Machine-readable output with `--json` (v2.1.268+)

Accepting an exact command with `--accept-command` (v2.1.271+)

Installing from a marketplace you haven't added (v2.1.275+)

Installation Methods

From Marketplace

Enable / Disable (with auto-detected scope)

Listing installed plugins (v2.1.163)

Local Plugin (for development)

From Git Repository

Auto-Update

Environment Variables

When to Create a Plugin

Plugin Use Cases

Testing a Plugin

Hot-Reload

Managed Settings for Plugins

Plugin Security

Publishing a Plugin

Features

Usage

Requirements

Best Practices

Do's ✅

Don'ts ❌

Installation Instructions

Installing from Marketplace

Installing from Local Path

Installing from GitHub

Listing Installed Plugins

Updating a Plugin

Disabling/Enabling a Plugin

Uninstalling a Plugin

Related Concepts

Complete Example Workflow

PR Review Plugin Full Workflow

Troubleshooting

Plugin Won't Install

Components Not Loading

MCP Connection Failed

Commands Not Available After Install