Install plugins

cowork/guide/plugins First recorded · 96 lines, first recorded

# Install plugins ## What a plugin can contain ## Install a plugin ## Use a Git repository as a marketplace ## Limits ## Plugins managed by your organization ## Update and remove plugins ## Related

The first capture of this source. The page was already there, and this is what it said.

# Install plugins

> Add packaged skills, connectors, and agents to Cowork from the plugin marketplace or a file.

A plugin is a package that extends what Claude can do in Cowork. Installing one can add skills, MCP connectors, subagents, slash commands, or hooks in a single step. Plugins come from the marketplace, from your organization, or from a file you upload.

Plugins are available in Cowork and Code. They aren't used in Chat.

## What a plugin can contain

A plugin's manifest declares any combination of the following.

| Component  | What it adds                                               |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Skills     | Reusable instructions that teach Claude a workflow         |
| Connectors | MCP servers that give Claude access to an external service |
| Agents     | Specialized subagents Claude can delegate to               |
| Hooks      | Scripts that run at defined points in a session            |

After installing, open the plugin to see what it provides. Skills and agents appear as tabs; connectors and hooks have their own pages.

## Install a plugin

Open **Customize** in the sidebar, then **Plugins**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Browse the marketplace">
    Select **Browse plugins** to see available plugins. The default marketplace
    is Anthropic's official catalog; you can add other marketplaces by URL.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install">
    Select a plugin and click **Install**. If the plugin includes a connector
    that needs authentication, you're prompted to sign in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review components">
    Open the installed plugin to see its skills, connectors, agents, and hooks.
    Enable or disable individual components as needed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To install from a file instead, select the upload option on the Plugins page and select the plugin package.

## Use a Git repository as a marketplace

A Git repository that contains plugin packages can serve as a marketplace. This is the typical way teams distribute their own plugins without publishing to the public catalog. Repositories on GitHub (including GitHub Enterprise) are supported; public repositories on GitLab and Bitbucket also work.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the repository">
    On the Plugins page, select **Add marketplace** and enter the repository's
    URL. Cowork accepts the standard `https://github.com/owner/repo` form and
    the `owner/repo` shorthand for GitHub.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install plugins from it">
    Plugins defined in the repository appear alongside plugins from other
    marketplaces. Install them the same way.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Click **Update** on a marketplace to pull the latest plugins from its repository.

For administrator-managed marketplaces, see [MCP, plugins, skills, and hooks](/docs/cowork/3p/extensions) in the deployment guide.

## Limits

The following are the default limits for plugin packages and marketplaces.

| Limit                              | Value  |
| ---------------------------------- | ------ |
| Plugin package size (uncompressed) | 200 MB |
| Files per plugin package           | 5,000  |
| Marketplace repository archive     | 512 MB |
| Plugins per marketplace            | 500    |
| Marketplaces you can add           | 25     |

The in-app skill viewer previews individual files up to 1 MB. Larger files appear in the file list as "too large to preview" but are still available to Claude at runtime.

## Plugins managed by your organization

On Team and Enterprise plans, administrators can require certain plugins for everyone in the organization. Required plugins install automatically and show **This plugin is required by your organization**; you can't remove them.

For how administrators provision plugins, see [MCP, plugins, skills, and hooks](/docs/cowork/3p/extensions) in the deployment guide.

## Update and remove plugins

Cowork checks for plugin updates from the marketplace they came from. If you've edited a plugin's files locally, Cowork detects the change and warns you before an update would overwrite it.

To remove a plugin you installed, open it under **Customize → Plugins** and click **Uninstall**. Organization-managed plugins can only be removed by an administrator.

## Related

* [Plugins overview](/docs/plugins/overview) for how plugins work across Claude products
* [Submit a plugin](/docs/plugins/submit) to publish your own to the marketplace
* [MCP, plugins, skills, and hooks](/docs/cowork/3p/extensions) for administrator provisioning