Install and manage plugins changedplugins/install
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2323
2424Pick the tab for where you run Claude Code.
2525
26**Terminal**
26> [tab] Terminal
27>
28> Start Claude Code with `claude` in your project, then:
29>
30> **1. Open the plugin's details with the install command**
31>
32> Run `/plugin install` with the plugin's name and marketplace. In a session, this command doesn't install right away: it opens the `/plugin` panel on that plugin's details so you can review it and choose a scope first.
33>
34> ```text theme={null}
35> /plugin install commit-commands@claude-plugins-official
36> ```
37>
38> To browse instead, run `/plugin` with no plugin name: the panel opens on the **Discover** tab, which lists the plugins from your marketplaces, and you can type to search, then press **Enter** on a plugin to open its details.
39>
40> **2. Review what the plugin adds**
41>
42> The details pane shows the plugin's description. It can also show:
43>
44> * **Will install**: the commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP and LSP servers the plugin adds.
45> * **Last updated**: shown for a plugin in Anthropic's official marketplace.
46> * **Context cost**: for a plugin in Anthropic's official marketplace, two token estimates. **Every turn** is what the plugin adds to each message you send, and **When invoked** is what its skills and agents add once Claude loads them. The estimates appear when you open the plugin by naming its marketplace, as the step 1 command does, or from the **Marketplaces** tab. The details pane you reach from the **Discover** list doesn't show them.
47>
48> Plugins from a local or custom marketplace can show `Components will be discovered at installation` instead.
49>
50> A plugin can run hooks and MCP servers, so read the pane before you install. See [Plugin security and trust](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/security.md).
51>
52> **3. Choose a scope**
53>
54> Select one of the three install options:
55>
56> * **Install for you (user scope)**: you get the plugin in every project on this machine
57> * **Install for all collaborators on this repository (project scope)**: it's enabled for everyone who works in this repository
58> * **Install for you, in this repo only (local scope)**: you get it in this repository only
59>
60> [Choose an install scope](#choose-an-install-scope) says which settings file each one writes to and which applies when the same plugin is set at more than one.
61>
62> After you select a scope, Claude Code installs the plugin along with any dependencies it declares, then prints an install summary.
63>
64> **4. Read the install summary**
65>
66> The last sentence of the summary tells you whether the plugin is usable in this session yet:
67>
68> * **Active now**: `Plugin is now active.` No reload is needed.
69> * **Active, but a server needs setup**: `Plugin is now active.` is followed by `Its bundled MCP server needs configuration before it can start`. The plugin's [bundled MCP server](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/components.md#include-a-packaged-mcpb-server) can't start until you set its options. Select the plugin on the **Installed** tab in `/plugin` and choose **Configure** to set the server's options.
70> * **Reload needed**: `Run /reload-plugins to apply.` The panel closes and Claude Code runs that reload for you. If the reload would [invalidate the prompt cache](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/prompt-caching.md#enabling-or-disabling-a-plugin), it warns and leaves the plugin pending instead. Run `/reload-plugins --force` to activate it anyway, which costs one uncached request.
71> * **Load failed**: `The plugin couldn't be loaded`. Open the **Errors** tab in `/plugin` for the reason, then see [After install: plugin not working](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting.md#plugin-installed-but-not-working).
72>
73> **5. Confirm the plugin works**
74>
75> Type `/` and look for the plugin's skills under its name, in the form `/<plugin>:<skill>`. For `commit-commands`, `/commit-commands:commit` appears. Two other places list the plugin too:
76>
77> * Open the **Installed** tab in `/plugin`, which lists the plugin with its scope.
78> * In your shell, run `claude plugin list`, which prints the same list with `Version`, `Scope`, and `Status` lines.
79>
80> If `/commit-commands:commit` doesn't appear, see [After install: plugin not working](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting.md#plugin-installed-but-not-working).
81>
82> Installing from any other marketplace requires one extra step first: [add the marketplace](#add-a-marketplace). Claude Code adds Anthropic's official marketplace for you the first time you start an interactive terminal session, which is why the example skips that step. If you found a plugin on [claude.com/marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace), its **Claude Code** button copies the install command in its [shell form](#install-from-your-shell), `claude plugin install <name>@claude-plugins-official`.
2783
28Start Claude Code with `claude` in your project, then:
84> [tab] Desktop app
85>
86> In a local or SSH session in the desktop app's **Code** tab:
87>
88> **1. Open the plugin browser**
89>
90> Click the **+** button next to the prompt box and select **Add plugins**. If the **+** menu shows **Plugins** instead of **Add plugins**, select **Plugins**, then **Browse plugins**. The plugin browser opens with the plugins from your marketplaces.
91>
92> **2. Select the plugin**
93>
94> Find `commit-commands` and select it.
95>
96> **3. Choose a scope**
97>
98> Choose a [scope](#choose-an-install-scope): your user account, this project, or local-only.
99>
100> To enable, disable, or uninstall a plugin later, see [Install plugins in the desktop app](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop.md#install-plugins).
29101
30**1. Open the plugin's details with the install command**
102> [tab] VS Code
103>
104> In the Claude Code panel in VS Code:
105>
106> **1. Open Manage plugins**
107>
108> Type `/plugins` in the prompt box to open **Manage plugins**.
109>
110> **2. Install the plugin**
111>
112> On the **Plugins** tab, search for `commit-commands` and click **Install**. If the tab lists no plugins, add `anthropics/claude-plugins-official` on the **Marketplaces** tab first.
113>
114> **3. Choose a scope**
115>
116> Choose a [scope](#choose-an-install-scope): **Install for you**, **Install for this project**, or **Install locally**.
117>
118> Your changes apply to open sessions without a restart. See [Manage plugins in VS Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code.md#manage-plugins).
31119
32Run `/plugin install` with the plugin's name and marketplace. In a session, this command doesn't install right away: it opens the `/plugin` panel on that plugin's details so you can review it and choose a scope first.
33
34```text theme={null}
35/plugin install commit-commands@claude-plugins-official
36```
37
38To browse instead, run `/plugin` with no plugin name: the panel opens on the **Discover** tab, which lists the plugins from your marketplaces, and you can type to search, then press **Enter** on a plugin to open its details.
39
40**2. Review what the plugin adds**
41
42The details pane shows the plugin's description. It can also show:
43
44* **Will install**: the commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP and LSP servers the plugin adds.
45* **Last updated**: shown for a plugin in Anthropic's official marketplace.
46* **Context cost**: for a plugin in Anthropic's official marketplace, two token estimates. **Every turn** is what the plugin adds to each message you send, and **When invoked** is what its skills and agents add once Claude loads them. The estimates appear when you open the plugin by naming its marketplace, as the step 1 command does, or from the **Marketplaces** tab. The details pane you reach from the **Discover** list doesn't show them.
47
48Plugins from a local or custom marketplace can show `Components will be discovered at installation` instead.
49
50A plugin can run hooks and MCP servers, so read the pane before you install. See [Plugin security and trust](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/security.md).
51
52**3. Choose a scope**
53
54Select one of the three install options:
55
56* **Install for you (user scope)**: you get the plugin in every project on this machine
57* **Install for all collaborators on this repository (project scope)**: it's enabled for everyone who works in this repository
58* **Install for you, in this repo only (local scope)**: you get it in this repository only
59
60[Choose an install scope](#choose-an-install-scope) says which settings file each one writes to and which applies when the same plugin is set at more than one.
61
62After you select a scope, Claude Code installs the plugin along with any dependencies it declares, then prints an install summary.
63
64**4. Read the install summary**
65
66The last sentence of the summary tells you whether the plugin is usable in this session yet:
67
68* **Active now**: `Plugin is now active.` No reload is needed.
69* **Active, but a server needs setup**: `Plugin is now active.` is followed by `Its bundled MCP server needs configuration before it can start`. The plugin's [bundled MCP server](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/components.md#include-a-packaged-mcpb-server) can't start until you set its options. Select the plugin on the **Installed** tab in `/plugin` and choose **Configure** to set the server's options.
70* **Reload needed**: `Run /reload-plugins to apply.` The panel closes and Claude Code runs that reload for you. If the reload would [invalidate the prompt cache](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/prompt-caching.md#enabling-or-disabling-a-plugin), it warns and leaves the plugin pending instead. Run `/reload-plugins --force` to activate it anyway, which costs one uncached request.
71* **Load failed**: `The plugin couldn't be loaded`. Open the **Errors** tab in `/plugin` for the reason, then see [After install: plugin not working](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting.md#plugin-installed-but-not-working).
72
73**5. Confirm the plugin works**
74
75Type `/` and look for the plugin's skills under its name, in the form `/<plugin>:<skill>`. For `commit-commands`, `/commit-commands:commit` appears. Two other places list the plugin too:
76
77* Open the **Installed** tab in `/plugin`, which lists the plugin with its scope.
78* In your shell, run `claude plugin list`, which prints the same list with `Version`, `Scope`, and `Status` lines.
79
80If `/commit-commands:commit` doesn't appear, see [After install: plugin not working](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/troubleshooting.md#plugin-installed-but-not-working).
81
82Installing from any other marketplace requires one extra step first: [add the marketplace](#add-a-marketplace). Claude Code adds Anthropic's official marketplace for you the first time you start an interactive terminal session, which is why the example skips that step. If you found a plugin on [claude.com/marketplace](https://claude.com/marketplace), its **Claude Code** button copies the install command in its [shell form](#install-from-your-shell), `claude plugin install <name>@claude-plugins-official`.
83
84**Desktop app**
85
86In a local or SSH session in the desktop app's **Code** tab:
87
88**1. Open the plugin browser**
89
90Click the **+** button next to the prompt box and select **Add plugins**. If the **+** menu shows **Plugins** instead of **Add plugins**, select **Plugins**, then **Browse plugins**. The plugin browser opens with the plugins from your marketplaces.
91
92**2. Select the plugin**
93
94Find `commit-commands` and select it.
95
96**3. Choose a scope**
97
98Choose a [scope](#choose-an-install-scope): your user account, this project, or local-only.
99
100To enable, disable, or uninstall a plugin later, see [Install plugins in the desktop app](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop.md#install-plugins).
101
102**VS Code**
103
104In the Claude Code panel in VS Code:
105
106**1. Open Manage plugins**
107
108Type `/plugins` in the prompt box to open **Manage plugins**.
109
110**2. Install the plugin**
111
112On the **Plugins** tab, search for `commit-commands` and click **Install**. If the tab lists no plugins, add `anthropics/claude-plugins-official` on the **Marketplaces** tab first.
113
114**3. Choose a scope**
115
116Choose a [scope](#choose-an-install-scope): **Install for you**, **Install for this project**, or **Install locally**.
117
118Your changes apply to open sessions without a restart. See [Manage plugins in VS Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code.md#manage-plugins).
119
120**Cloud session**
121
122A [cloud session](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments.md), including [the browser at claude.ai/code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/claude-code-on-the-web.md), has no plugin browser and doesn't load the plugins you installed on your own machine or the ones your repository's `.claude/settings.json` turns on. For plugins your organization distributes through managed settings, see [Manage plugins for your organization](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/org.md).
123
124See [which parts of your setup are also available in a cloud session](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments.md#what-carries-over-from-your-setup) for the rest of your setup.
120> [tab] Cloud session
121>
122> A [cloud session](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments.md), including [the browser at claude.ai/code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/claude-code-on-the-web.md), has no plugin browser and doesn't load the plugins you installed on your own machine or the ones your repository's `.claude/settings.json` turns on. For plugins your organization distributes through managed settings, see [Manage plugins for your organization](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins/org.md).
123>
124> See [which parts of your setup are also available in a cloud session](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments.md#what-carries-over-from-your-setup) for the rest of your setup.
125125
126126### Choose an install scope
127127
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