Plugins overview changedplugins/overview
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33> Understand what a Claude Code plugin is, when you need one instead of a standalone skill or MCP server, and which page to read to install or create one.
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5A Claude Code plugin is a directory of skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers, or other components that Claude Code installs and loads as one unit. Most plugins come from a marketplace, which is a catalog that lists plugins and where to fetch each one. You can also load a plugin from a folder someone gives you, or [build your own](/docs/en/plugins/create).
5A Claude Code plugin is a directory of skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers, or other components that Claude Code installs and loads as one unit. Most plugins come from a marketplace, which is a catalog that lists plugins and where to fetch each one. You can also load a plugin from a folder someone gives you, or [build your own](/docs/en/plugins/create.md).
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77> [!NOTE]
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1010>
1111> * **You use claude.ai chat or Cowork and not Claude Code**: see [Plugins on claude.ai and in Cowork](https://claude.com/docs/plugins/overview)
1212> * **You built an MCP server and want it in Anthropic's directory**: see [Publish to the directory](https://claude.com/docs/directory/publish)
13> * **You want Claude Code inside VS Code or a JetBrains IDE**: that's the VS Code extension or the JetBrains plugin, not a Claude Code plugin. See [Use Claude Code in VS Code](/docs/en/vs-code) or [JetBrains IDEs](/docs/en/jetbrains)
13> * **You want Claude Code inside VS Code or a JetBrains IDE**: that's the VS Code extension or the JetBrains plugin, not a Claude Code plugin. See [Use Claude Code in VS Code](/docs/en/vs-code.md) or [JetBrains IDEs](/docs/en/jetbrains.md)
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1515To try a plugin now, run `/plugin` in a Claude Code terminal session and install one from the **Discover** tab, which lists the plugins from your marketplaces. From there:
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17* [Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install): the full install steps, scopes, and other surfaces
18* [Create a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/create): build your own
17* [Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install.md): the full install steps, scopes, and other surfaces
18* [Create a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/create.md): build your own
1919* [Decide whether you need a plugin](#decide-whether-you-need-a-plugin): whether a plugin is the right tool for what you want
2020
2121## Understand what a plugin is
2222
23A plugin is a directory of components, usually with a manifest. The manifest, a JSON file at `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`, gives the plugin its name and can add a version, a description, and other [metadata](/docs/en/plugins/manifest-reference). The components are what the plugin adds to Claude Code, such as:
23A plugin is a directory of components, usually with a manifest. The manifest, a JSON file at `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`, gives the plugin its name and can add a version, a description, and other [metadata](/docs/en/plugins/manifest-reference.md). The components are what the plugin adds to Claude Code, such as:
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25* [**Skills**](/docs/en/plugins/components#skills): `SKILL.md` instructions Claude loads when relevant, and that you can also run as a command
26* [**Agents**](/docs/en/plugins/components#agents): subagent definitions Claude can delegate to
27* [**Hooks**](/docs/en/plugins/components#hooks): commands Claude Code runs at points in its lifecycle, such as after every edit
28* [**A hooks module**](/docs/en/plugins/mods/overview): hooks written as JavaScript functions, which can also draw panes and add commands. A plugin that has one is called a mod. Some mods are [built into Claude Code](/docs/en/plugins/mods/overview#mods-built-into-claude-code).
29* [**MCP servers**](/docs/en/plugins/components#mcp-servers): tool servers Claude Code connects to while the plugin is enabled
25* [**Skills**](/docs/en/plugins/components.md#skills): `SKILL.md` instructions Claude loads when relevant, and that you can also run as a command
26* [**Agents**](/docs/en/plugins/components.md#agents): subagent definitions Claude can delegate to
27* [**Hooks**](/docs/en/plugins/components.md#hooks): commands Claude Code runs at points in its lifecycle, such as after every edit
28* [**A hooks module**](/docs/en/plugins/mods/overview.md): hooks written as JavaScript functions, which can also draw panes and add commands. A plugin that has one is called a mod. Some mods are [built into Claude Code](/docs/en/plugins/mods/overview.md#mods-built-into-claude-code).
29* [**MCP servers**](/docs/en/plugins/components.md#mcp-servers): tool servers Claude Code connects to while the plugin is enabled
3030
3131This diagram shows a plugin named `my-plugin` that holds a skill, an agent, hooks, and an MCP server, and what you get from each file once the plugin loads.
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35For every component type a plugin can hold, with an example of each, see [Plugin components](/docs/en/plugins/components). To see where each piece is located in a plugin's directory, use the [plugin explorer](/docs/en/plugins/components#explore-the-plugin-directory) on that page.
35For every component type a plugin can hold, with an example of each, see [Plugin components](/docs/en/plugins/components.md). To see where each piece is located in a plugin's directory, use the [plugin explorer](/docs/en/plugins/components.md#explore-the-plugin-directory) on that page.
3636
3737### Decide whether you need a plugin
3838
39Skills, subagents, hooks, and MCP servers all work on their own, without a plugin. A skill you save in `~/.claude/skills/`, for example, is available in every project on your machine. To set one up on its own, see [Skills](/docs/en/skills), [Subagents](/docs/en/sub-agents), [Hooks](/docs/en/hooks-guide), or [MCP](/docs/en/mcp).
39Skills, subagents, hooks, and MCP servers all work on their own, without a plugin. A skill you save in `~/.claude/skills/`, for example, is available in every project on your machine. To set one up on its own, see [Skills](/docs/en/skills.md), [Subagents](/docs/en/sub-agents.md), [Hooks](/docs/en/hooks-guide.md), or [MCP](/docs/en/mcp.md).
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4141Use a plugin when you want several skills, subagents, hooks, or MCP servers packaged as one unit. Install one to get a setup someone else built, with one command and updates from its marketplace. Make one to give your own setup to teammates, install it in many projects, or publish versioned releases.
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4545An enabled plugin is part of every session, not only the sessions where you use it. That has a few consequences worth knowing before you install one:
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47* **Context and usage**: for each skill, agent, and command that [Claude can invoke on its own](/docs/en/skills#control-who-invokes-a-skill), the name and description are in Claude's context on every turn so that Claude knows it exists. Those tokens count toward your usage and leave less room in the [context window](/docs/en/context-window) even in sessions where nothing from the plugin runs. The full text of a skill or agent loads only when it's used. What the plugin's MCP servers add per turn follows [MCP tool search](/docs/en/mcp#scale-with-mcp-tool-search).
47* **Context and usage**: for each skill, agent, and command that [Claude can invoke on its own](/docs/en/skills.md#control-who-invokes-a-skill), the name and description are in Claude's context on every turn so that Claude knows it exists. Those tokens count toward your usage and leave less room in the [context window](/docs/en/context-window.md) even in sessions where nothing from the plugin runs. The full text of a skill or agent loads only when it's used. What the plugin's MCP servers add per turn follows [MCP tool search](/docs/en/mcp.md#scale-with-mcp-tool-search).
4848* **Processes**: MCP servers the plugin defines run alongside each session where it's enabled, and its hooks fire at their events.
49* **Permissions**: what the plugin runs, it runs as you. See [Plugin security and trust](/docs/en/plugins/security) for what to review first.
49* **Permissions**: what the plugin runs, it runs as you. See [Plugin security and trust](/docs/en/plugins/security.md) for what to review first.
5050
5151You can check a plugin's footprint at each stage:
5252
5353* **Before you install**: open the plugin from the **Marketplaces** tab in `/plugin`. Plugins in Anthropic's official marketplace show a **Context cost** estimate there.
54* **After you install**: [Measure what a plugin costs](/docs/en/plugins/measure#measure-what-a-plugin-costs) shows how to read a plugin's footprint, and the **Installed** tab's **Not used recently** group lists plugins you could turn off.
55* **To stop it without uninstalling**: disable the plugin with `/plugin` or, in your shell, `claude plugin disable`. See [Manage installed plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install#manage-installed-plugins).
54* **After you install**: [Measure what a plugin costs](/docs/en/plugins/measure.md#measure-what-a-plugin-costs) shows how to read a plugin's footprint, and the **Installed** tab's **Not used recently** group lists plugins you could turn off.
55* **To stop it without uninstalling**: disable the plugin with `/plugin` or, in your shell, `claude plugin disable`. See [Manage installed plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install.md#manage-installed-plugins).
5656
5757## Get plugins from a marketplace
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6262>
6363> A plugin marketplace isn't [Claude Marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace). Claude Marketplace is the website at claude.com/marketplace where you browse plugins, connectors, partner products, and service partners. It isn't a marketplace you add with `/plugin marketplace add`.
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65Claude Code adds Anthropic's official marketplace the first time you start an interactive terminal session, unless a [managed policy](/docs/en/plugins/org#allow-the-official-marketplace-and-your-own) blocks it. Claude Code doesn't add Anthropic's community and demo marketplaces on its own. To distinguish the three Anthropic marketplaces, read [Anthropic's marketplaces](/docs/en/plugins/anthropic-marketplaces). To see what the official one lists, open the **Discover** tab of `/plugin` in a session or browse [Claude Marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace/plugins).
65Claude Code adds Anthropic's official marketplace the first time you start an interactive terminal session, unless a [managed policy](/docs/en/plugins/org.md#allow-the-official-marketplace-and-your-own) blocks it. Claude Code doesn't add Anthropic's community and demo marketplaces on its own. To distinguish the three Anthropic marketplaces, read [Anthropic's marketplaces](/docs/en/plugins/anthropic-marketplaces.md). To see what the official one lists, open the **Discover** tab of `/plugin` in a session or browse [Claude Marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace/plugins).
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6767This diagram shows the path from a marketplace to your session. A marketplace lists a plugin, you install that plugin, and Claude Code loads its components.
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71[Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install#install-a-plugin) has the install steps for each place you run Claude Code. While you're developing a plugin, you don't need a marketplace: load it straight from its folder with `--plugin-dir`, as [Develop without a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/create#develop-without-a-marketplace) shows.
71[Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install.md#install-a-plugin) has the install steps for each place you run Claude Code. While you're developing a plugin, you don't need a marketplace: load it straight from its folder with `--plugin-dir`, as [Develop without a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/create.md#develop-without-a-marketplace) shows.
7272
7373### Make an installed plugin available in your session
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7676
7777* **Settings**: your settings list the marketplaces you've added and the plugins that are enabled.
7878* **Disk**: `~/.claude/plugins/` holds what Claude Code has fetched and installed.
79* **Session**: plugins load at startup, or when you [reload plugins](/docs/en/plugins/loading#check-which-stage-a-plugin-reached).
79* **Session**: plugins load at startup, or when you [reload plugins](/docs/en/plugins/loading.md#check-which-stage-a-plugin-reached).
8080
81Read [Plugin loading reference](/docs/en/plugins/loading) for the rules at each layer, including which settings file takes precedence and where the files are on disk.
81Read [Plugin loading reference](/docs/en/plugins/loading.md) for the rules at each layer, including which settings file takes precedence and where the files are on disk.
8282
8383## Tell Anthropic's marketplaces from third-party ones
8484
8585A marketplace's name places it in one of three tiers. Claude Code accepts the official and community names only for marketplaces sourced from `github.com/anthropics/` repositories:
8686
87* **Official**: marketplaces with one of Anthropic's [official marketplace names](/docs/en/plugins/security#official-marketplace-names), including `claude-plugins-official` and the demo marketplace `claude-code-plugins`.
88* **Community**: marketplaces with one of Anthropic's community names, such as `claude-community`. [Identify Anthropic's marketplaces by name](/docs/en/plugins/security#marketplace-tiers) lists them.
87* **Official**: marketplaces with one of Anthropic's [official marketplace names](/docs/en/plugins/security.md#official-marketplace-names), including `claude-plugins-official` and the demo marketplace `claude-code-plugins`.
88* **Community**: marketplaces with one of Anthropic's community names, such as `claude-community`. [Identify Anthropic's marketplaces by name](/docs/en/plugins/security.md#marketplace-tiers) lists them.
8989* **Third-party**: every other marketplace. A marketplace your coworker or your organization publishes is third-party.
9090
91Whatever the tier, a plugin you install can run code with your user privileges. Read [Plugin security and trust](/docs/en/plugins/security) for how to review a plugin before you install it.
91Whatever the tier, a plugin you install can run code with your user privileges. Read [Plugin security and trust](/docs/en/plugins/security.md) for how to review a plugin before you install it.
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93Through [managed settings](/docs/en/settings#settings-files), an organization can allowlist or block marketplaces, force-install plugins, and turn off session-only loading. Read [Manage plugins for your organization](/docs/en/plugins/org) for those controls.
93Through [managed settings](/docs/en/settings.md#settings-files), an organization can allowlist or block marketplaces, force-install plugins, and turn off session-only loading. Read [Manage plugins for your organization](/docs/en/plugins/org.md) for those controls.
9494
9595## Understand install scopes
9696
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9797When you install a plugin, you pick a scope, and the scope decides who the plugin is enabled for:
9898
9999* **User scope**: enabled for you in every project on this computer
100* **Project scope**: enabled for everyone who works in this repository, through the committed `.claude/settings.json`. Each collaborator still [installs it on their own machine](/docs/en/plugins/loading#enabled-in-project-settings-but-not-installed)
100* **Project scope**: enabled for everyone who works in this repository, through the committed `.claude/settings.json`. Each collaborator still [installs it on their own machine](/docs/en/plugins/loading.md#enabled-in-project-settings-but-not-installed)
101101* **Local scope**: enabled for you in this repository only
102102
103A plugin you install at user scope in the terminal, the desktop app's local sessions, or the VS Code extension is available in the other two on that computer, because all three read the same settings files. See [Choose an install scope](/docs/en/plugins/install#choose-an-install-scope) for how to pick one.
103A plugin you install at user scope in the terminal, the desktop app's local sessions, or the VS Code extension is available in the other two on that computer, because all three read the same settings files. See [Choose an install scope](/docs/en/plugins/install.md#choose-an-install-scope) for how to pick one.
104104
105A cloud session, including one in the browser at claude.ai/code, doesn't load the plugins in your local settings. For install steps in the terminal, VS Code, and the desktop app, and for what a cloud session loads, see [Install a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/install#install-a-plugin).
105A cloud session, including one in the browser at claude.ai/code, doesn't load the plugins in your local settings. For install steps in the terminal, VS Code, and the desktop app, and for what a cloud session loads, see [Install a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/install.md#install-a-plugin).
106106
107107> [!NOTE]
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110110
111111## Next steps
112112
113Most people start by installing a plugin from Anthropic's official marketplace, which Claude Code adds the first time you start an interactive terminal session. Run `/plugin` in a terminal session to browse it, or follow [Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install), which also covers the desktop app and VS Code. To see what's in that marketplace before you open Claude Code, browse [Claude Marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace/plugins) on the web.
113Most people start by installing a plugin from Anthropic's official marketplace, which Claude Code adds the first time you start an interactive terminal session. Run `/plugin` in a terminal session to browse it, or follow [Install and manage plugins](/docs/en/plugins/install.md), which also covers the desktop app and VS Code. To see what's in that marketplace before you open Claude Code, browse [Claude Marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace/plugins) on the web.
114114
115To build your own, [Create a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/create) starts with an empty directory and ends with a working plugin.
115To build your own, [Create a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/create.md) starts with an empty directory and ends with a working plugin.
116116
117117Once you've installed or built a plugin, these pages cover what comes next:
118118
119* **Share what you built**: [Publish and distribute a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/publish), through your own marketplace or [Anthropic's directory](/docs/en/plugins/publish#submit-to-anthropics-directory)
120* **Check whether it works and is used**: [Test plugins with evals](/docs/en/plugin-evals) and [Measure plugin cost and usage](/docs/en/plugins/measure)
121* **Run a marketplace for your team**: [Create a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/create-marketplace), then [Host and maintain a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/host-marketplace)
122* **Set plugin policy for an organization**: [Manage plugins for your organization](/docs/en/plugins/org)
123* **Fix a problem**: [Troubleshoot plugins](/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting)
119* **Share what you built**: [Publish and distribute a plugin](/docs/en/plugins/publish.md), through your own marketplace or [Anthropic's directory](/docs/en/plugins/publish.md#submit-to-anthropics-directory)
120* **Check whether it works and is used**: [Test plugins with evals](/docs/en/plugin-evals.md) and [Measure plugin cost and usage](/docs/en/plugins/measure.md)
121* **Run a marketplace for your team**: [Create a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/create-marketplace.md), then [Host and maintain a marketplace](/docs/en/plugins/host-marketplace.md)
122* **Set plugin policy for an organization**: [Manage plugins for your organization](/docs/en/plugins/org.md)
123* **Fix a problem**: [Troubleshoot plugins](/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting.md)
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