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Decide what to include in your plugin changedconnectors/building/what-to-build

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# Decide what to include in your plugin ## Reach your product with an MCP connector ## Teach Claude your workflows with skills ## Add commands, agents, and UI ## Package and list the plugin # What should I build: MCP, plugin, or both? ## The recommendation ## When to build only one ## What a plugin can bundle ## How they coexist ## Skills are not a standalone directory type ## Build it with Claude

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1# What should I build: MCP, plugin, or both?

1# Decide what to include in your plugin

3> Decide between an MCP server, a plugin, or both for your Claude integration

3> Decide which pieces your Claude plugin needs: an MCP connector backed by a server you host, skills, commands, agents, or UI, and how they're listed together.

5Most partners ship two things: a remote MCP server and a plugin that wraps it. They serve different purposes, and together they give users the best experience.

5When you build for people who use Claude, you build a plugin. A plugin can package any combination of these pieces:

7## The recommendation

7* An MCP connector that gives Claude access to your product

8* Skills that teach Claude your workflows

9* Commands and agents

10* Interactive UI on the connector

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9Build a **remote MCP server with OAuth** first to provide connectivity and core functionality. Then create a **plugin with skills** that helps users get the most out of that MCP server.

12A plugin with only a connector or only skills is complete.

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11| | MCP server | Plugin |

12| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |

13| **What it is** | A live tool surface Claude calls over HTTP | An installable bundle of skills and connectors |

14| **Mental model** | "Claude can call your API" | "Claude knows how to *use* your product" |

15| **Contains** | Tools, prompts, resources, optionally MCP App UI | Skills, MCP connector references, slash commands |

16| **Works in** | Claude.ai, Desktop, mobile, Cowork, Claude Code | Claude Code, Cowork |

14This page is for developers deciding which of those pieces their plugin needs. Once you've decided, [Plugin structure and testing](/docs/plugins/build), [Build an MCP server for Claude](/docs/connectors/building/index), and [Publish to the directory](/docs/directory/publish) cover the work.

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18## When to build only one

16<Note>

17 * If you're choosing what to add to your own Claude rather than what to build, see [Connectors, skills, and plugins](/docs/extend/overview), which compares the three from the user's side

18 * If you're building for your own organization and not listing publicly, the same decisions apply, and you distribute the result as a [custom connector](/docs/connectors/custom/add-unlisted#add-a-connector-by-url) and an [organization plugin](/docs/plugins/admin) instead of through the directory

19</Note>

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20**MCP server only** is fine when your integration is simple and doesn't need skills—a few well-named tools that Claude can use without additional guidance.

21## Reach your product with an MCP connector

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22**Plugin only** is fine when you already have a public API or CLI that doesn't need an MCP wrapper. A plugin can ship skills that teach Claude to use that API or CLI directly.

23Include an MCP connector when Claude needs to read from or act in your product or data. The connector points at a remote MCP server that you build and host, with [OAuth sign-in](/docs/connectors/building/authentication) if your tools act on the user's own account. [Build an MCP server for Claude](/docs/connectors/building/index) covers the server, and [Build your first MCP server for Claude](/docs/connectors/building/quickstart) is the place to start if you haven't written one.

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24## What a plugin can bundle

25Once the server is live, people can use your product in chat on web, desktop, and mobile, in Cowork, and in Claude Code. Tools you add to the server later reach every plugin that references it without a new plugin release.

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26A plugin can contain any combination of:

27A plugin can reference remote and local MCP servers, and more than one of each. A remote server reaches users on every surface. A local one runs in Claude Code and in a Cowork session that runs on the user's computer in the desktop app, not in chat, so most plugins reference remote servers.

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28* Skills only

29* A single MCP connector reference

30* Skills plus one or more MCP connectors

31* Multiple MCP connectors

29If you already have a public API or CLI that Claude can use directly, the plugin can leave the connector out: its skills teach Claude to use that API or CLI instead.

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33Plugins can reference both remote and local MCP servers. A remote MCP works on every Claude surface (web, mobile, Cowork, Desktop, Claude Code); a local MCP works only in Claude Desktop and Claude Code. Most MCP servers are remote.

31## Teach Claude your workflows with skills

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35## How they coexist

33Include skills when you want Claude to use your product the way it's meant to be used, instead of however each user happens to prompt. A connector on its own leaves Claude to work out your workflow from tool names. The skills are where you put the sequence of steps, the defaults, and what good output looks like.

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37A plugin references a remote MCP server by **URL**. If a user has both your directory connector and your plugin installed, Claude sees one set of tools—the plugin and the connector point at the same server. If a plugin references an MCP URL that isn't in the directory, the connector appears as **Custom** in the user's settings.

35A connector with a few well-named tools that Claude can use without guidance may not need skills. You can't submit a skill to the directory on its own, so a plugin is also how skills reach the directory.

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39Both MCP servers and plugins can update without Anthropic involvement. When you add tools to your MCP server, plugins that reference it pick them up automatically. Plugin updates are pushed via GitHub and pass through automated screening.

37## Add commands, agents, and UI

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41## Skills are not a standalone directory type

39Commands, agents, and UI are optional pieces, and each fits a particular need:

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43Skills are user-shared micro-workflows. **Plugins are the distribution mechanism for skills**—you can't submit a skill to the directory on its own. If you have skills to ship, bundle them in a plugin.

41* **Commands**: named actions people run themselves, such as `/your-plugin:weekly-report`, for tasks they start deliberately rather than describe

42* **Agents**: specialists Claude can delegate part of a task to. Cowork and Claude Code run them; chat doesn't, as [Plugin feature support across platforms](/docs/plugins/platform-support) lists

43* **An MCP App**: interactive UI that your connector shows in the conversation, such as a form or a chart. [Add interactive UI with MCP Apps](/docs/connectors/building/mcp-apps/getting-started) covers building one

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45## Build it with Claude

45## Package and list the plugin

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47The fastest way to scaffold an MCP server is with Claude itself. Install the official [`mcp-server-dev` plugin](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/tree/main/plugins/mcp-server-dev) in Claude Code and run `/mcp-server-dev:build-mcp-server`—it interviews you about your use case, picks the right deployment model, and generates a working server.

47Most plugins for a product include both an MCP connector and skills: the connector so Claude can reach the product, and the skills so Claude uses it the way you intend. Everything in the plugin is packaged together, so one listing gives people all of it.

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49## Next steps

49When you list the plugin, submit the server too: the plugin as a plugin bundle and the server as an MCP connector. Submitting the server as a connector gives your organization the connector's listing and its dashboard, and lets you pair the two listings. [Submit your plugin, and your MCP server as a connector](/docs/directory/publish#submit-your-plugin-and-your-mcp-server-as-a-connector) explains the pairing.

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51<Columns cols={2}>

52 <Card title="Build an MCP server" icon="server" href="/docs/connectors/building/index">

53 Start with the MCP building guide.

54 </Card>

51The diagram shows what the server and the plugin each give people. The server gives them your connector. The plugin adds your skills and points to that same server.

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56 <Card title="Build a plugin" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/docs/plugins/overview">

57 Bundle skills and connectors together.

58 </Card>

59</Columns>

53<img className="block dark:hidden" src="https://mintcdn.com/claude-ai/-njlLvrWxFCRdJVz/images/extend/what-you-ship.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=-njlLvrWxFCRdJVz&q=85&s=532adf863a7d27314b67c68b561ee94d" alt="Diagram in two columns. Left, what you ship: 1, a remote MCP server you host, with your tools; 2, a plugin holding a connector entry with your server's URL and skills that teach Claude how to use your product. Right, what people get: your connector, so Claude can reach your product, and your skills, so Claude uses it the way you intend, in Chat, Cowork, and Claude Code. Three straight arrows: from the server across to your connector, labeled people connect to it; from the plugin's connector entry up to the server, labeled points to the same server; and from the plugin's skills across to your skills, labeled people add the plugin." width="1000" height="440" data-path="images/extend/what-you-ship.svg" />

55<img className="hidden dark:block" src="https://mintcdn.com/claude-ai/-njlLvrWxFCRdJVz/images/extend/what-you-ship-dark.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=-njlLvrWxFCRdJVz&q=85&s=c68dde016b86337ca85dfa19c538d95e" alt="Diagram in two columns. Left, what you ship: 1, a remote MCP server you host, with your tools; 2, a plugin holding a connector entry with your server's URL and skills that teach Claude how to use your product. Right, what people get: your connector, so Claude can reach your product, and your skills, so Claude uses it the way you intend, in Chat, Cowork, and Claude Code. Three straight arrows: from the server across to your connector, labeled people connect to it; from the plugin's connector entry up to the server, labeled points to the same server; and from the plugin's skills across to your skills, labeled people add the plugin." width="1000" height="440" data-path="images/extend/what-you-ship-dark.svg" />

57In a plugin, you reference a remote MCP server by URL. If a user has both your directory connector and your plugin installed, Claude sees one set of tools, because the plugin and the connector point at the same server.

59If your plugin references an MCP URL that isn't in the directory, the user first adds it as a custom connector from the plugin's **Connectors** tab, and it then has the **Custom** label. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector for the organization, and members then connect with their own account.

61## Next steps

63* [Plugin structure and testing](/docs/plugins/build): write the folder that packages your connector, skills, and the rest, and installs on every surface

64* [Build an MCP server for Claude](/docs/connectors/building/index): implement the server and its authentication, and test it against Claude

65* [Publish to the directory](/docs/directory/publish): submit the plugin, and its MCP server as a connector, from the [developer portal](https://claude.ai/directory/manage). Anyone on a paid Claude plan can submit, and on Team and Enterprise an Owner submits

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